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The Brute, the Victim and the Authority: Transmitting Colonial Racisms Through International Development

Bridenstine, Caitlyn LU (2012) SIMV23 20121
Graduate School
Master of Science in Development Studies
Department of Gender Studies
Abstract (Swedish)
Reviewing the historical legacy of colonialism and slavery on attitudes about race, gender and citizenship within the United States, this thesis attempts to illuminate three principle archetypes within development discourse: the Brute, the Victim and the Authority. Each of these three discursive threads, deriving from unique historical processes, provides an opposing Other against which US citizens may form a coherent sense of self. The Brute embodies American fears of foreign threats and the Victim provides an emotionally satisfying justification for development intervention. The Authority is the unspoken result of these two archetypes; it is the disembodied norm which affirms the modernity and superiority of the United States in relation... (More)
Reviewing the historical legacy of colonialism and slavery on attitudes about race, gender and citizenship within the United States, this thesis attempts to illuminate three principle archetypes within development discourse: the Brute, the Victim and the Authority. Each of these three discursive threads, deriving from unique historical processes, provides an opposing Other against which US citizens may form a coherent sense of self. The Brute embodies American fears of foreign threats and the Victim provides an emotionally satisfying justification for development intervention. The Authority is the unspoken result of these two archetypes; it is the disembodied norm which affirms the modernity and superiority of the United States in relation to the so-called Third World. Through discourse analysis, this paper explores USAID’s specific contributions to the construction of foreign Others and the subsequent formation of a visual and textual development field, also known as the “developscape”. A postcolonial and critical theory perspective demonstrates how racial difference and power differentials arrange donor and recipient nations in development discourse and unquestioningly endorse the notion that development is inherently good. (Less)
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author
Bridenstine, Caitlyn LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMV23 20121
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
violence, discourse, development, United States, race, gender
language
English
id
2760588
date added to LUP
2012-06-11 12:14:49
date last changed
2014-07-30 08:44:24
@misc{2760588,
  abstract     = {{Reviewing the historical legacy of colonialism and slavery on attitudes about race, gender and citizenship within the United States, this thesis attempts to illuminate three principle archetypes within development discourse: the Brute, the Victim and the Authority. Each of these three discursive threads, deriving from unique historical processes, provides an opposing Other against which US citizens may form a coherent sense of self. The Brute embodies American fears of foreign threats and the Victim provides an emotionally satisfying justification for development intervention. The Authority is the unspoken result of these two archetypes; it is the disembodied norm which affirms the modernity and superiority of the United States in relation to the so-called Third World. Through discourse analysis, this paper explores USAID’s specific contributions to the construction of foreign Others and the subsequent formation of a visual and textual development field, also known as the “developscape”. A postcolonial and critical theory perspective demonstrates how racial difference and power differentials arrange donor and recipient nations in development discourse and unquestioningly endorse the notion that development is inherently good.}},
  author       = {{Bridenstine, Caitlyn}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Brute, the Victim and the Authority: Transmitting Colonial Racisms Through International Development}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}