Narratives of Development

An Anthropological Investigation into Narratives as a Source of Enquiry in Development Planning

in Anthropology in Action
Author:
Taapsi Ramchandani Syracuse University taramcha@syr.edu

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Abstract

The Chaguanas Borough Corporation in Trinidad and Tobago is currently the fastest-growing borough where economic development is complemented by investment in residential, commercial and infrastructural programmes. In tandem with the local government, an inter-governmental organisation (IGO) sought to understand the sociohistorical context within which economic growth has taken place to inform the IGO’s development plans for the area. This article focuses on local narratives collected in 2013 as part of a historical case study that reveals a complex relationship of citizens to the state within the context of a post-colonial, multi-ethnic society. Using an interpretivist framework of narratives as language, metaphor and knowledge, I examine how narratives reflect the lived experience of economic development as a confluence of history, ethnic identity and neoliberal ideas of entrepreneurship. Their inclusion as a source of enquiry in development planning will ensure that exogenous intervention remains holistic, equitable and informed by historical institutions of social practice.

Contributor Notes

Taapsi Ramchandani is a fourth-year doctoral student in cultural anthropology at Syracuse University, New York. She is currently in the process of data collection in Trinidad and Tobago. Her dissertation is tentatively titled, ‘“Power from Towers to Ours”: Civic Engagement and Vulnerable Politics in Trinidad’. Email: taramcha@syr.edu

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Journal for Applied Anthropology in Policy and Practice

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