Development anthropology refers to the application of anthropological perspectives to the multidisciplinary branch of development studies. It takes international development and international aid as primary objects. In this branch of anthropology, the term development refers to the social action made by different agents (institutions, business, enterprise, states, independent volunteers) who are trying to modify the economic, technical, political or/and social life of a given place in the world, especially in impoverished, formerly colonized regions.
Development anthropologists share a commitment to simultaneously critique and contribute to projects and institutions that create and administer Western projects that seek to improve the economic well-being of the most marginalized, and to eliminate poverty. While some theorists distinguish between the 'anthropology of development' (in which development is the object of study) and development anthropology (as an applied practice), this distinction is increasingly thought of as obsolete (see Escobar, 1997, in Edelman and Haugerud, 2005:40). With researches on the field, the anthropologist can describe, analyze and understand the different actions of development that took and take place in a given place. The various impacts on the local population, environment, social and economic life are to be examined.
Read more about Development Anthropology: Development Criticism, Applied Anthropology in Development
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