The seductions of determinism in development theory: Foucault's functionalism

Graaff, Johann

doi:10.1080/01436590601027255

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Moreover, where it is argued that the gaze is characterized by its own 'ahuman agency' (Hollinshead 1999: 14), there are echoes of the functionalism inherent in Foucauldian thinking (and Foucauldian critics of capitalism -see Hardt and Negri 2000) in which the agency of subjects is underplayed (see Foucault 1980: 154-6;Mouzelis 1995: 45-8;Graaff 2006). In this regard, subjects are no longer seen as partial creators of the discourses and institutions that entrap them; rather, they unwittingly interiorize the 'powerful objectifying gaze of the tourist system' (Hollinshead 1992: 43) to such an extent that there is no escape from its tentacles.…”

Section: The Elusiveness Of Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Analyses that deploy terms such as 'productive consumption' (Aitchison 2001: 144) or 'production-consumption dialects' (Ateljevic 2000: 371) are not necessarily helpful and suggest a profound ambiguity with regard to the determining forces of change coupled with a fear of being labelled 'determinist'! Indeed, as Graaff (2006Graaff ( : 1391 states 'multiplying the sources of determination does nothing to lessen the fact of determination'! That is not to say that studies of consumption are unimportant, rather that it should be understood that 'one person's consumption is another person's production' (Perrons 1999: 102).…”

Section: The 'Essentialist' Sins Of Structuralist Analyses?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ‘Critical Turn’ in Tourism Studies: A Radical Critique

Bianchi

2009

Tourism Geographies

291

137

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Section: The Elusiveness Of Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The 'Essentialist' Sins Of Structuralist Analyses?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘Critical Turn’ in Tourism Studies: A Radical Critique

Bianchi

2009

Tourism Geographies

291

137

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“…2 Discourses of 'third worldality' reproduce these structural boundaries while simultaneously seeking to transform them. 3 Changed relationships have led international development and postcolonial scholars to bridge the fields, to make development studies more receptive to a diversity of voices and issues. 4 In this article the conscious use of the term 'third worldality' highlights uncomfortable dimensions of social and political life which are often ignored in development practice.…”

Section: 'Third Worldality' Inside the First Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development's Paradox: is Washington DC a Third World city?

Bratman

2011

Third World Quarterly

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This article examines an urban centre in the heart of the First World through a critical development lens. It contends that traits of the Third World entail certain characteristics which remain consequential as axes of analysis for a variety of economic, political and geographic settings, including new applications in contexts that are typically excluded from the focus of international development practice and scholarship. The article discusses characteristics of 'third worldality' in relation to Washington DC. It posits that, despite being emblematic as a power centre, the city exhibits many of the characteristics of a Third World city. Highlighting disenfranchisement, socioeconomic inequality, and environmental health issues, the article reveals a paradox: underdevelopment in the heart of the 'developed' world. The article calls for greater recognition of the paradoxes of development theory and practice so as to confront persistent problems of orientalism and lack of selfreflexivity in the field of international development.Every autumn I teach a course for undergraduates called 'Third World Cities'. My students generally take the course just before or immediately after studying abroad in far-away places. They come into the course seeking to make sense of the troubling problems of under-development which they witnessed from an urban development perspective. The course offers students a chance to investigate problems of urban development around the world, but we use Washington DC as an empirical case to explore the topic. This proves jarring on a number of levels: the investigations do not conform to expectations of what constitute problems of the Third World and, moreover, it forces critical inquiry into places which are traditionally avoided by international development practitioners. This article aims to provoke development students, scholars and practitioners alike to critically examine the geographies of development, following calls for greater self-reflexivity from within the development field. In what ways might the field of development reconsider its focus, so that it might avoid falling into the pitfalls of 'othering' and misperceived problems of (and solutions to) poverty Eve Bratman is in the

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“…For instance, development theorists such as Pieterse (2001) have attempted to reconstruct some version of progressive change which is cognizant of, but not limited by, Escobar’s critique of “developmentalism”, that is, a faith in development as a project. Others too have joined in and nuanced the critiques offered by Escobar (Cowen and Shenton, 1996; Crush, 1995; and see Graaff, 2006 for an interesting overview).…”

Section: Revisiting Migration Development and Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

International Migration and Development in Asia: Exploring Knowledge Frameworks

Asis¹,

Piper

Raghuram

2010

International Migration

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There is revived interest and debate on the relation between international migration and development, with Asia emerging as one important locus for such deliberations. A number of institutions, journals, people and organizations have emerged as key players in these discussions but so far there have been few attempts to investigate the information gathered from the perspective of ''knowledge production''. This paper's objective, therefore, is to outline some of the ways in which knowledge about migration and development is being produced in Asia. We focus on selected aspects of knowledge production to identify the lenses through which much of the work is currently generated and the research imagination resulting from existing approaches.

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The seductions of determinism in development theory: Foucault's functionalism

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

The ‘Critical Turn’ in Tourism Studies: A Radical Critique

The ‘Critical Turn’ in Tourism Studies: A Radical Critique

Development's Paradox: is Washington DC a Third World city?

International Migration and Development in Asia: Exploring Knowledge Frameworks

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