Description
Book SynopsisThis unique collection contains essays by Duke University undergraduates in which they recount their experiences initiating small research and development projects in Togo. Of interest to students and teachers involved in service learning and study abroad,
Doing Development in West Africa provides a relatable and intimate look into student-initiated development projects.
Trade Review"Students are refreshingly candid about the nature and multitude of problems they faced and the need to scale back their expectations. As Piot notes, development is hard work. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty."
-- S. Paul * Choice *
"
Doing Development in West Africa constitutes an impressive practical and scholarly accomplishment. . . . Contributions and challenges, strengths and limitations, joys and frustrations find articulate and compelling voices in this forthright treatment of selected small-scale student projects undertaken over the past eight years." -- Peter H. Koehn * Journal of Modern African Studies *
"
Doing Development in West Africa will be a valuable book for courses in international development, African studies, and development anthropology, and provides good 'hands-on' guidance for students preparing for summer projects in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. While written for undergraduates, the book also provides important lessons for development practitioners who often fail to appreciate the importance of local context, history, and knowledge systems, and then wonder why their development efforts go awry." -- Peter D. Little * African Studies Review *
"This is an unusual and unusually useful volume. . . . Clearly, this little volume can be used to advantage not only in courses on development but also in applied anthropology and qualitative methods courses." -- Constance deRoche * General Anthropology *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii
Introduction / Charles Piot 1
Part I. Personal Reflections
1. Students Reflect / Stephanie Rotolo, Allie Middleton, Kelly Andrejko, Benjamin Ramsey, Maria Cecilia Romano 19
Part II. Research Articles
2. The Social Life of Medicine / Allie Middleton 43
3. Biomedicine and Traditional Healing / Stephanie Rotolo 67
4. Rural Medicines in an Urban Setting / Kelly Andrejko 83
5. Village Health Insurance / Cheyenne Allenby 99
6. Youth Migration / Maria Cecilia Romano 113
7. Cyber Village / Connor Cotton 137
8. Computer Classes / Sarah Zimmerman 153
9. Microfinancing Teens / Emma Smith 165
10. The Farendé Writers' Society / Caitlin Moyles 187
Epilogue / Charles Piot 205
Index 213
