Whose Development in 'Theatre for Development'? Donors, Directors, and Local Participation in a South African Non-Governmental Organization

Laine Forman

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Vesperi, Maria

Keywords

Anthropology of Development, Theatre of Development, South Africa

Area of Concentration

Anthropology

Abstract

This is an ethnographic study of a non-governmental organization in South Africa and the women it sought to "empower" through community theater performances about HIV and gender-based violence. Theatre for Development is examined through the relationship among its international donors, NGO directors, and local community participants, to examine how the actors had contradictory and often opposing goals that reinforced unequal power dynamics. The NGO constructed a project that reflected a donor�s agenda; these goals were then transferred to a target community for "development." The participants� various reasons for joining the workshop often did not reflect the kind of "empowerment" the NGO intended, yet the participants ultimately used the organization to meet their own needs.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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