Development programs as cultural encounters: Locating culture in three development programs in Yucatan, Mexico

This research addresses a significant inconsistency between the practical goals and theoretical foundation of global development. Although development practice has been revised to focus on the anthropological problems of human development and poverty reduction rather than just economic development, the theory underpinning these efforts has not been revised accordingly. Gaps between the intended and actual outcomes of development programs demonstrate that the holistic, positivist theory that guided previous decades of economic development provides an inadequate foundation for addressing the anthropological problems at the center of the Millennium Development framework. This research argues that more relational theory is needed to scientifically understand the complexity of the problems of human development and to formulate solutions that effectively and responsibly address these problems.;The dissertation proposes the encounters approach as a methodological alternative for operationalizing the application of anthropological theory in local development practice. The encounters approach, a practice-oriented relational perspective, reconceptualizes development programs as platforms for cultural interaction between practitioners and program recipients and ultimately recognizes the active roles both practitioner and recipient culture play in determining the outcomes of development programs. Applied anthropological research of the role of culture in three state development programs in Yucatan, Mexico allowed for the investigation and testing of the encounters approach as a methodology for systematizing cultural considerations within the Millennium Development framework.