Jed Stevenson
Durham University, Anthropology, Faculty Member
- Emory University, Anthropology, AlumnusEmory University, Hubert Department of Global Health, AdjunctUniversity College London, Anthropology, Faculty Memberadd
- Public Health, Education, Anthropology, Child Development, Water, Food and Nutrition, and 12 moreHuman Evolution, Ethiopia, Republic of Congo, Mental Health, Global Health, Food Security and Insecurity, Anthropology of Children and Childhood, Political Ecology, Women's Studies, Gender Studies, African Studies, and Anthropology of Disasteredit
- Blogging at www.humanview.orgedit
Co-author: Lucie Buffavand Forthcoming (2018) in African Studies Review Full text available for download at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/do-our-bodies-know ABSTRACT This paper investigates food security and well-being in the... more
Co-author: Lucie Buffavand
Forthcoming (2018) in African Studies Review
Full text available for download at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/do-our-bodies-know
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates food security and well-being in the context of development-forced displacement in Ethiopia. In the Lower Omo, a large hydroelectric dam and plantation schemes have forced people to cede communal lands to the state and business speculators, and indigenous communities have been targeted for resettlement in new, consolidated villages. We carried out a food access survey in new villages and in communities not yet subjected to villagization; we complement this with ethnographic research carried out over a period of four years. Survey data suggest that household food access was poor in both places, but better in villagization sites than in communities not subjected to villagization. Ethnography paints a different picture. Settlers were unable to feed themselves from the irrigated plots they were allotted, and depended on food aid. They spoke of indignity and bodily discomfort; meaningful social relations were severed. We discuss the contrast between the information generated by the different research methods, and ask how this tension relates to two major narratives about development: development as a process through which the state actualizes a national dream, and development as a process that creates affluence for some by impoverishing others. The question asked by one of our informants, “Do our bodies know their ways?” is emblematic of the disruption his community experienced. It may also be read as an injunction to those of us who benefit from development projects like this one to pay more attention to the experiences of those who pay the costs.
Forthcoming (2018) in African Studies Review
Full text available for download at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/do-our-bodies-know
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates food security and well-being in the context of development-forced displacement in Ethiopia. In the Lower Omo, a large hydroelectric dam and plantation schemes have forced people to cede communal lands to the state and business speculators, and indigenous communities have been targeted for resettlement in new, consolidated villages. We carried out a food access survey in new villages and in communities not yet subjected to villagization; we complement this with ethnographic research carried out over a period of four years. Survey data suggest that household food access was poor in both places, but better in villagization sites than in communities not subjected to villagization. Ethnography paints a different picture. Settlers were unable to feed themselves from the irrigated plots they were allotted, and depended on food aid. They spoke of indignity and bodily discomfort; meaningful social relations were severed. We discuss the contrast between the information generated by the different research methods, and ask how this tension relates to two major narratives about development: development as a process through which the state actualizes a national dream, and development as a process that creates affluence for some by impoverishing others. The question asked by one of our informants, “Do our bodies know their ways?” is emblematic of the disruption his community experienced. It may also be read as an injunction to those of us who benefit from development projects like this one to pay more attention to the experiences of those who pay the costs.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
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The rise in food prices since 2007 is widely recognized as signaling a crisis of food insecurity among the world's poor. Scholars sought to chart the impacts of the crisis on food insecurity by conducting simulation studies, assessing... more
The rise in food prices since 2007 is widely recognized as signaling a crisis of food insecurity among the world's poor. Scholars sought to chart the impacts of the crisis on food insecurity by conducting simulation studies, assessing anthropometric outcomes, and evaluating shifts in experience-based measures of food security. Few studies, however, have investigated the broader impacts on those most vulnerable and how rapid rises in food prices play out in the everyday lives of those most impacted. We used qualitative methods to investigate the impact of the rise in food prices on the urban poor in Ethiopia. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted in August 2011, in the provincial town of Jimma. Themes identified in these interviews included coping strategies, consumption priorities, and impacts on institutional networks of sharing. Our results suggest that several important cultural practices, including funerals and coffee ceremonies, were undermined by the rise in prices, and that respondents linked food prices to increasing food insecurity, which they in turn linked to high levels of stress, poor mental health, and reduced physical health. Our results are consistent with several other studies that suggest that food insecurity has a range of non-nutritional consequences, and that these are due in part to the highly social nature of food. Recognizing the effects of food insecurity on dimensions of everyday life such as interaction with neighbors, and feelings of shame, draws attention to the potential for food price increases to have erosive effects on communal social capital, and to increase the vulnerability of affected peoples to future shocks.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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To be confirmed How can what we know as anthropologists be applied to saving lives, alleviating suffering, and promoting vitality? This class surveys some answers to this question from the perspectives of medical anthropology and sister... more
To be confirmed How can what we know as anthropologists be applied to saving lives, alleviating suffering, and promoting vitality? This class surveys some answers to this question from the perspectives of medical anthropology and sister disciplines such as social medicine and global health. We will read and interrogate classic and contemporary studies from the anthropology and medical literatures, and policy documents from the World Health Organisation and philanthropic foundations. Along the way, we will engage with key theoretical approaches including Critical Medical Anthropology, political ecology, and the social determinants of health. The goal of the class is to equip students to critically evaluate and apply anthropological ideas to current problems in medicine and global health.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Review of 'Before they pass away' by Jimmy Nelson (2013)
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Comment on Alexandra Brewis and Amber Wutich's paper, 'Food, water, and scarcity: Toward a broader anthropology of resource insecurity.'