Anthropology and development

This article analyzes the work of anthropologists drawing up the self-defined field of “anthropology for development,” both those working in promotion and development institutions and training students in anthropology departments. Also, I outline a critique of development and anthropology for development, elaborated since the late 1980s by a growing number of anthropologists in the area labeled “anthropology of development.” Finally, I propose various strategies to move beyond the impasse created by these two positions, focusing on the work of several anthropologists who are experimenting with creative ways of articulating anthropological theory and practice in the field of development.