The thesis analyses the motives of charity and its various forms in the present society. It builds on the critical theory of "studying up", formulated by Laura Nader in 1970s. It considers the difficulties of ethnographic research in an unequal-power terrain, where the anthropologist finds himself in an unwelcome position. Based on a one-year long research of Rotary clubs, the thesis examines the question of whether the charity is a pure act of altruism, following of self-interest, or a combination of both. Charity has lost its significance from its original Christian form over time. Today, it takes the form of a successful marketing tool. For someone it may mean caring for the disadvantaged, for another a simple tool to ease his conscience; for others a convenient pretext for the setting up of a private club. Charity in some respect replaced the Christian confession and like other commodities in the neoliberal system is consumed without creating a long-term relation between the donor and the donee. Rotary International is a worldwide network of private clubs, among its members are leaders in the financial sector, health care, public administration, journalism and science and research. One can therefore examine the Rotary club from an anthropological point of view of emerging capitalism in the...

There has been a rise non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as part of a global health system that seeks to treat children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) in resource-poor countries. As a craniofacial abnormality, CLP affects a child’s ability to communicate and consume food, and the stigma associated with the condition leads to both social and physiological suffering. International NGOs use an apolitical humanitarian rhetoric to justify the need to provide this life-saving surgery. This thesis assesses CLP interventions by applying a critique of neoliberalism to explore the ways economic rationalities are extended to the domain of humanitarianism. By employing an ethnographic approach of “studying up,” this thesis critiques a North American NGO, referred to as Mission Smile. To reveal how neoliberal rationalities are embedded within the organization, this research draws on data from media analysis, participant observation, and interviews with medical volunteers and employees at Mission Smile. This thesis argues that neoliberal rationalities permeate throughout the organization. Economic calculus are not only embedded in the organization’s goal to provide surgery to “as many children as possible,” but also undergirds the distribution of humanitarian aid. Moreover, the surgery Mission Smile provides is described as an “investment in a child’s future” that enable children with CLP to become a contributing member of society. While this study reveals how neoliberal rationalities can converge with values of humanitarianism, it also shows that the extension of neoliberal rationalities into new domains is not a cohesive process. Volunteers describe an emergence of communitas, a feeling of bubbling joy and a shared humanity, and a development of a moral relationship with their recipients that lies partially outside the domain of market rationalities. / Graduate

The anthropology of public policy critically examines policy and its processes and the myriad ways in which power is exercised. To explore these power dynamics, anthropologists studying policy often study up, or study through a particular policy field. This entails the risky work of studying powerful people, whose ability to retaliate against the researcher and others create methodological and ethical dilemmas and contradictions, as well as potentially harmful consequences. Politicians, bureaucrats, employees of powerful non-profits, and, in the public-private neoliberal reality, even the head decision makers within corporations are all prospective research participants--an intimidating prospect for most anthropologists. In contrast, engaged ethnography, with its presupposition that researchers will be aligned with politically marginalized groups, encourages the researcher to engage on a more transparent, reflexive, and expressly positioned level that attempts to make the researcher more exposed, thus equalizing the power differentials between the researcher and the researched. The inherent contradictions between engaged ethnography and studying up create a situation ripe for methodological and ethical dilemmas, but also for breaking new theoretical ground. This paper will critically examine my experiences with a dominant community development corporation involved in housing and urban development. As such, the purpose of this thesis is twofold. First, I aim to explore the theoretical contradictions, ethical dilemmas, and methodological quandaries that arise from pairing engaged anthropology with the studying up required by the anthropology of public policy. The aim of this query is to show how the difficulties that arose during my thesis research project expose gaps within each body of literature. Second, I hope to present engaging-up as a promising (not just problematic) method that can be employed to better understand a myriad of topical interests of anthropology. Because of its promise, it is important to document this failed attempt so that others may be better prepared. As such, my hope is that my consideration of the contradictions that were unable to be overcome will be described with enough ethnographic clarity and framed in broad enough methodological terms as to be helpful to other engaged ethnographers.

This study examines the relationship between proposed desalination plants and increased plastic pollution along the Texas Gulf Coast. It specifically focuses on their expected impact on communities in the area and was conducted for Society of Native Nations. The goal was to gather information about environmental ideologies and experiences from different environmental experts and scientists to educate community members and inform policy recommendations. The study relied on semi structured interviews and archival research to understand how environmental experts and scientists envision the future, how they interpret the impact of desalination plants as related to plastic pollution. Ideas that guided this research include decolonial methodologies, political ecology, Indigenous research agendas, environmental justice and knowledge, cultural hybridity, and the anthropology of the borderlands. This research provides actionable steps and recommendations to improve environmental education in Texas Gulf Coast communities on the U.S./Mexico border and to reduce plastic pollution in order to ensure that these communities have ample amounts of water supply without relying on desalination plants.