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Gender and Development: Rethinking Modernization and Dependency Theory
This provocative critique of both theory and practice goes beyond the women in development approach to explore fundamental reconceptualisations of tradition, modernity, masculinity, femininity, revolution, and development.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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October 29, 2022
A decent read that seeks to investigate a gap in dependency theory that being early theorists failed to consider the gender, women or the household
In addition the author seeks to criticise dependency theory's account of women in periphery states because, as with modernisation theoy, it still rests on dichotomies that posit essentialised gender differences
However their critique is unfortunately limited by their shallow knowledge of the dependency literature and ignores the work of the only woman in the original dependency group: Vânia Bambirra
Furthermore, their critique of the ‘neo-Smithian’ character of dependency relies on Brenner’s (1977) very partial reading of Gunder Frank, which is taken to represent the whole dependency scholarship
As Antunes de Oliveira (2021) points out: a broader and deeper engagement with the dependency literature would have revealed an unexpected overlap between the revolutionary dependency tradition and contemporary radical feminist and anti-colonial perspectives
I did think the author did well in describing the neoliberal vision of development, which accepts the public/private distinction of liberal modernisation theory and excludes the traditional household from public politics in which men are entrepreneurs and women's roles within the household are conceived of as natural
In addition the author seeks to criticise dependency theory's account of women in periphery states because, as with modernisation theoy, it still rests on dichotomies that posit essentialised gender differences
However their critique is unfortunately limited by their shallow knowledge of the dependency literature and ignores the work of the only woman in the original dependency group: Vânia Bambirra
Furthermore, their critique of the ‘neo-Smithian’ character of dependency relies on Brenner’s (1977) very partial reading of Gunder Frank, which is taken to represent the whole dependency scholarship
As Antunes de Oliveira (2021) points out: a broader and deeper engagement with the dependency literature would have revealed an unexpected overlap between the revolutionary dependency tradition and contemporary radical feminist and anti-colonial perspectives
I did think the author did well in describing the neoliberal vision of development, which accepts the public/private distinction of liberal modernisation theory and excludes the traditional household from public politics in which men are entrepreneurs and women's roles within the household are conceived of as natural
Displaying 1 of 1 review