Doctoral Dissertation Research: Evaluating what Factors Contribute to Effectiveness in Heritage Commercialization

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

Heritage commercialization has frequently been promoted as a critical strategy for development in indigenous communities. The view that culture is a critical resource for poverty alleviation among indigenous communities has become so widespread that some organizations, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, compel nation-states to participate in these initiatives. Despite the prevalence of such development schemes, the communities targeted continue to face high indices of poverty and vulnerability. This research sets out to understand why such inequalities remain entrenched, and how that entrenchment varies among communities. This project, which trains a student in the methods of empirical, scientific data collection and analysis, will test whether current investments in such heritage-based development initiatives contribute to or impede economic welfare objectives in three different contexts. In addition to providing funding for the training of a graduate student in anthropology, the project would enhance scientific understanding by broadly disseminating its findings to organizations interested in development and poverty alleviation efforts. Ana Hasemann, under the supervision of Dr. Monica Udvardy of the University of Kentucky, will explore whether participation in heritage commercialization and development efforts contributes to economic welfare. This research will be conducted in three Lenca communities located in Southwest Honduras, which are chosen because of their extensive participation in development initiatives. The researcher has engaged in preliminary fieldwork in the region, has gained familiarity with national legislation and development bureaucracy, and has acquired significant contacts with local informants since 2008. The researcher will conduct prolonged visits in each community, during which she will collect information through interviews, surveys, and personal narratives, in order to empirically explore and identify how indigenous women and their communities respond to and negotiate their participation in development interventions. Findings from this research will ascertain the importance of public policy on heritage and culture as driving forces in local development, which is sometimes the only means of survival for poor communities. They will also provide insight into how the political and economic agendas of contemporary national governments and transnational organizations influence the degree of attention paid to ethnic/minority peoples, their livelihoods, and their development.