Countering Development

Reviews / Votes

"Gow's book once again points to the necessity of changing the way development is approached in order to make human rights and social justice a priority. The book is to be recommended to scholars, students and practitioners of development, planning and indigenous politics." - Patricia Richards, Journal of Latin American Studies "Ethnographers practicing and critiquing development as well as development practitioners themselves would be well advised to read Gow's ethnography, but the impact of the book stretches beyond development studies. It includes a detailed case study of education policy and practice at the local level and a close examination of indigenous struggle for participatory citizenship in a more inclusive state. This will articulate with Latin Americanists studying new social movements, democracy, and education, especially, in Mexico, Guatemala, and Bolivia." - Walter E. Little, Journal of Anthropological Research "David Gow's book, written with an unprecedented volume of privileged information about the communities, raises questions which will, without doubt, provoke an important debate among anthropologists involved in social development. . ." - Renato Athias, Development in Practice "David Gow has written a fascinating and provocative book on how subaltern indigenous communities in southwestern Colombia re-imagine the concept of 'development' to further their own aims. . . . Gow offers readers not only a new understanding of ethnic politics in the Cauca, but also an empowering and 'moral' way to do anthropology." - Brett Troyan, Bulletin of Latin American Research "[A] richly textured and at times brilliant ethnography of indigenous development. . ." - Tom Perreault, American Ethnologist "Gow should be commended for his attention to indigenous interlocutors and for his meticulous research. . . . [T]he book is a unique and refreshing contribution to an anthropology of development and indigenous peoples, deserving significant attention in these areas." - Jason Antrosio, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology "The insights Gow presents are compelling. . . . Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, professionals." - M. A. Gwynne, Choice "Amid abundant critiques of development, salutary and incisive as they may be, two countervailing patterns are disconcertingly persistent: dominant institutions continue to implement development programs according to their own top-down plans, and many subordinated peoples continue to 'desire' development even while harboring deep skepticism of top-down solutions. David D. Gow's study moves us beyond this impasse, showing how indigenous struggles have subverted dominant plans, not by rejecting development wholesale, but rather through pragmatic, militant struggle from within. His findings are sober yet profoundly hopeful for the transformative potential of grassroots indigenous politics and, equally important, for a rejuvenated anthropology that learns from these struggles by simultaneously taking part in them."-Charles R. Hale, Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin "[A] richly textured and at times brilliant ethnography of indigenous development. . ." - Tom Perreault (American Ethnologist) "David Gow has written a fascinating and provocative book on how subaltern indigenous communities in southwestern Colombia re-imagine the concept of 'development' to further their own aims. . . . Gow offers readers not only a new understanding of ethnic politics in the Cauca, but also an empowering and 'moral' way to do anthropology." - Brett Troyan (Bulletin of Latin American Research) "David Gow's book, written with an unprecedented volume of privileged information about the communities, raises questions which will, without doubt, provoke an important debate among anthropologists involved in social development. . ." - Renato Athias (Development in Practice) "Ethnographers practicing and critiquing development as well as development practitioners themselves would be well advised to read Gow's ethnography, but the impact of the book stretches beyond development studies. It includes a detailed case study of education policy and practice at the local level and a close examination of indigenous struggle for participatory citizenship in a more inclusive state. This will articulate with Latin Americanists studying new social movements, democracy, and education, especially, in Mexico, Guatemala, and Bolivia." - Walter E. Little (Journal of Anthropological Research) "Gow should be commended for his attention to indigenous interlocutors and for his meticulous research. . . . [T]he book is a unique and refreshing contribution to an anthropology of development and indigenous peoples, deserving significant attention in these areas." - Jason Antrosio (Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology) "Gow's book once again points to the necessity of changing the way development is approached in order to make human rights and social justice a priority. The book is to be recommended to scholars, students and practitioners of development, planning and indigenous politics." - Patricia Richards (Journal of Latin American Studies) "The insights Gow presents are compelling. . . . Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, professionals." - M. A. Gwynne (Choice)