Week 7

One thing that was covered this week that I feel has better prepared me for a vocation in international development was the discussion on culture. As mentioned by Mannathukkaren (2012), cultural relativism (viewing all cultural practices as neither right nor wrong) can be dangerous because it makes it easy for human rights violations to be veiled under the cloak of national and/or religious practice (p. 508). I have often thought about how some aspects of culture are seen as being important to preserve, while others are viewed as unacceptable, and where the line between the two is drawn. The discussion this week helped me to differentiate that, and furthermore, to be aware of where certain practices are being threatened unnecessarily. Specifically, my classmate's post regarding Facebook's refusal to allow pictures of the Indoni festival on the social media site drove this point home (Phaladi, 2016).

Additionally, the research on technology being a way to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals brought to my attention the possibility that technology has to create further inequalities. This was not something that I had considered previously, but it will be very important in my career as a development professional. Prior to this week, I had seen any technology initiatives that improved production as being positive for development, since they generated more income for the country. However, as learned in previous weeks, higher GDP does not mean greater development. Additionally, creating access to technology (the internet, for example) can actually serve to create a greater income gap instead of improving development. This knowledge will help me to avoid this pitfall and be more aware of inequalities in the future.

References

Mannathukkaren, N. (2012). Culture and development. In Haslam, P.A., Schafer, J., & Beaudet, P. (Eds.), Introduction to international development: Approaches, actors, and issues (2nd ed.) (493-512). Ontario: Oxford University Press.

Phaladi, B. (2016, October 11). Retrieved from: http://www.sundayworld.co.za/news/2016/10/11/indoni-festival-promotes-nudity---facebook