Hunger and Shame

by Mary Theresa Howard, Ann V. Millard

Hunger and Shame is a passionate account of child malnutrition in a relatively wealthy populace, the Chagga in Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Views of family members, health workers and government officials provide insights into the complex of ideas, institutions and human fallibility that sustain the shame of malnutrition in the mountains.

Discussing the moral and practical dilemmas posed by the presence of malnourished children in the community, the authors explore the shame associated with child hunger in relation to social organization, colonial history and the global economy. Their discussions challenge the reader to ask fundamental questions concerning ethics, the politics of poverty and shame and social relations.

Genres: Anthropology

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Nathan]

A solid read that puts childhood malnutrition in a new perspective, from switching the focus from blaming mothers and families to looking at the sociocultural causes of poverty and hunger.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as required reading for a Poverty course. We had a lot of great discussions based on this book.

[Abby]

I anticipate having Mary Howard as a professor in the near future, and this was an interesting way to meet her. Some parts are written like an anthropological paper, and those are well-written--she knows how to do that, she's been trained, and she's good at it. These bits are integrated somewhat awkwardly with personal retrospection about her experience in the field and what it meant. While these bits are not as well done, they are more helpful to me than anything to understand field work. It's your job, but it's your life. You have strong personal ties, but you want to be objective. It's a strange place to be, not to mention culture shock and having to face the reality of starving children every day. The lines from broad societal trends to a single malnourished child are very tangled, and tracing them is a remarkable task.