This article draws on ethnographic research with a K’iche’ community development organisation in ... more This article draws on ethnographic research with a K’iche’ community development organisation in the rural department of Totonicapan to examine how neoliberal development policies in post-conflict Guatemala both enabled and problematised grassroots ethnic development strategies. Specifically, this study analyses efforts by the Cooperation for the Rural Development of the West (CDRO) to operationalise Maya culture as a tool for development through the pop (woven mat) methodology. This particular Maya development model was successful in its ability to appeal to both the international development industry and local community development goals. The article also examines, however, how the pop also became an important site of critique of neoliberal state reforms and class inequality within the community.
... All Faculty Scholarship. Title. Enterprising Ethnic Identity: Identity and Development Politi... more ... All Faculty Scholarship. Title. Enterprising Ethnic Identity: Identity and Development Politics in Latin America. Authors. Monica DeHart. Document Type. Presentation or Lecture. Publication Date. 2008. Conference or Event. American ...
What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identit... more What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identities and practices are mobilized to negotiate larger structures of inequality? Through innovative efforts to come to terms with the very contingent and situated nature of gender formation, four recent books reconfirm the important contributions of gender studies of Latin America to feminist studies in general. These texts apply unique methods of analysis to investigate gender's production in specific places and moments, thus producing new insights into how gender is articulated within particular translocal configurations of power. In particular, these texts ask: How does biography inform social activism against global neoliberal economic adjustments? How do discourses on sex provide the foundation for gendered forms of modern national culture and social control? How do local production strategies engender neoliberal labor in new ways? Through questions like these, the texts push us to consider gender not as a ubiquitous concept that can be taken for granted, but rather as a varied and relational process grounded in distinct material and historical conditions.
This chapter introduces the politics of China and the ‘Chineseness’ in Central America. Central A... more This chapter introduces the politics of China and the ‘Chineseness’ in Central America. Central America's development dynamics have geopolitical significance given the region's role as a political ally of the United States. An ethnographic approach is vital in illuminating the transpacific analysis referred to in the title. The rise of the People's Republic of China policy banks as the main source of financing in Latin America has added to the sense of disproportionate power and potential sovereignty threat. The chapter includes the ethnographic research and participant observation used to study the transpacific developments and landscape.
This chapter explores Chinese diasporic communities. It expounds on the implications and construc... more This chapter explores Chinese diasporic communities. It expounds on the implications and construction of Chinatown in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Chinatown initiative had been a collaborative effort between Beijing and San Jose. Overlapping political, economic, and cultural arrangements were at play in line with the history of Chinese migration to America. The Chinatown debates highlight the presence of early Chinese migrant workers in Central America and the generations after provided the forms, practices, and relationships on which local ideas of China and Chineseness in the region were crafted. Additionally, the chapter notes the Chinese population in the countries of Central America in 2016.
The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, 2017
ResumenAunque las comunidades chinas diaspóricas tengan raíces en Centro América desde el siglo d... more ResumenAunque las comunidades chinas diaspóricas tengan raíces en Centro América desde el siglo diecinueve, la creciente relación contemporánea entre China e América Latina ha asignado un nuevo valor a la cultura china dentro de esta relación. En este ensayo, analizo cómo una nueva generación de costarricenses de descendencia china concibe, practica, y proyecta su identidad étnica para cultivar una ventaja económica dentro de las nuevas iniciativas transpacíficas. Basado en un estudio etnográfico con un grupo de jóvenes ¨Chino Ticos¨ en San José, Costa Rica, trazo las trayectorias y experiencias transnacionales de este grupo con el fin de revelar los cambiantes rutas y repertorios de la identidad china de esta generación y sus implicaciones para las relaciones transpacíficas. En vez de entender la nueva generación de empresario diaspórico chino en Centro América como producto de un esencialismo étnico, enfatizo el papel de relaciones de clase y del estado en configurar las relacione...
Inaugurated in its capital city of San Jose in 2012, Costa Rica's Chinatown represents the ne... more Inaugurated in its capital city of San Jose in 2012, Costa Rica's Chinatown represents the newest addition to a list of over 100 Chinatowns worldwide. Through ethnographic research on the project's construction, public debates, and fall-out, this paper analyzes how municipal efforts to enact urban revitalization were tied to a changing global landscape increasingly defined by China. In particular, I examine how planners, urban citizens, and ethnic Chinese community members use Chinatown as a space in which to debate and deploy competing visions of “the art of being global” based on their diverse valuations of China's significance to national identity and future development. The project's ultimate failure highlights how “world conjuring” efforts of this kind can undermine the multicultural histories and cosmopolitan ties that cities claim as the very source of their global difference and value.
What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identit... more What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identities and practices are mobilized to negotiate larger structures of inequality? Through innovative efforts to come to terms with the very contingent and situated nature of gender formation, four recent books reconfirm the important contributions of gender studies of Latin America to feminist studies in general. These texts apply unique methods of analysis to investigate gender's production in specific places and moments, thus producing new insights into how gender is articulated within particular translocal configurations of power. In particular, these texts ask: How does biography inform social activism against global neoliberal economic adjustments? How do discourses on sex provide the foundation for gendered forms of modern national culture and social control? How do local production strategies engender neoliberal labor in new ways? Through questions like these, the texts push us to...
Abstract China's explosive growth and growing international influence have prompted policy ma... more Abstract China's explosive growth and growing international influence have prompted policy makers and scholars to question how that country will reshape the global development landscape. While Western observers have used the concept of the China Model to describe China's development strategies and the potential threat they pose to Western liberal traditions, Chinese policy makers have promoted South–South cooperation to emphasise China's goal of a harmonious world order based on nation-state sovereignty and mutual benefits. This article explores these two competing organising principles with a focus on how each concept frames global development politics and China's relations with its development partners. Drawing on ethnographic research on China's new relationship with Costa Rica, I examine the assumptions and effects of these concepts in terms of how they shape specific development encounters. These examples suggest the intransigence of historical development inequalities and identities, which both support and limit China's global impact in significant ways.
Drawing on ethnographic analysis of a Confucius Institute and two private schools, this article a... more Drawing on ethnographic analysis of a Confucius Institute and two private schools, this article analyzes how diverse Chinese language institutes in Costa Rica have sought to capitalize on a growing local interest in learning Mandarin Chinese. It argues that a shifting global geopolitics has increased the perceived value of Chinese language acquisition and, thus, the stakes for language institutes seeking to assert their cultural authority as legitimate purveyors of Chinese and Chineseness. Through analysis of these schools’ projected identities and pedagogical styles, I show how they distinguish themselves from one another on the basis of public versus private ownership, choice-based versus authoritarian instructional style, and Taiwanese versus Mainland or diasporic roots. Building on the concept of the “Sinophone,” I highlight both the diversity of the forms and locations of Chineseness these initiatives represent and their implications for who can legitimately speak for China in ...
This article draws on ethnographic research with a K’iche’ community development organisation in ... more This article draws on ethnographic research with a K’iche’ community development organisation in the rural department of Totonicapan to examine how neoliberal development policies in post-conflict Guatemala both enabled and problematised grassroots ethnic development strategies. Specifically, this study analyses efforts by the Cooperation for the Rural Development of the West (CDRO) to operationalise Maya culture as a tool for development through the pop (woven mat) methodology. This particular Maya development model was successful in its ability to appeal to both the international development industry and local community development goals. The article also examines, however, how the pop also became an important site of critique of neoliberal state reforms and class inequality within the community.
... All Faculty Scholarship. Title. Enterprising Ethnic Identity: Identity and Development Politi... more ... All Faculty Scholarship. Title. Enterprising Ethnic Identity: Identity and Development Politics in Latin America. Authors. Monica DeHart. Document Type. Presentation or Lecture. Publication Date. 2008. Conference or Event. American ...
What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identit... more What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identities and practices are mobilized to negotiate larger structures of inequality? Through innovative efforts to come to terms with the very contingent and situated nature of gender formation, four recent books reconfirm the important contributions of gender studies of Latin America to feminist studies in general. These texts apply unique methods of analysis to investigate gender's production in specific places and moments, thus producing new insights into how gender is articulated within particular translocal configurations of power. In particular, these texts ask: How does biography inform social activism against global neoliberal economic adjustments? How do discourses on sex provide the foundation for gendered forms of modern national culture and social control? How do local production strategies engender neoliberal labor in new ways? Through questions like these, the texts push us to consider gender not as a ubiquitous concept that can be taken for granted, but rather as a varied and relational process grounded in distinct material and historical conditions.
This chapter introduces the politics of China and the ‘Chineseness’ in Central America. Central A... more This chapter introduces the politics of China and the ‘Chineseness’ in Central America. Central America's development dynamics have geopolitical significance given the region's role as a political ally of the United States. An ethnographic approach is vital in illuminating the transpacific analysis referred to in the title. The rise of the People's Republic of China policy banks as the main source of financing in Latin America has added to the sense of disproportionate power and potential sovereignty threat. The chapter includes the ethnographic research and participant observation used to study the transpacific developments and landscape.
This chapter explores Chinese diasporic communities. It expounds on the implications and construc... more This chapter explores Chinese diasporic communities. It expounds on the implications and construction of Chinatown in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Chinatown initiative had been a collaborative effort between Beijing and San Jose. Overlapping political, economic, and cultural arrangements were at play in line with the history of Chinese migration to America. The Chinatown debates highlight the presence of early Chinese migrant workers in Central America and the generations after provided the forms, practices, and relationships on which local ideas of China and Chineseness in the region were crafted. Additionally, the chapter notes the Chinese population in the countries of Central America in 2016.
The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, 2017
ResumenAunque las comunidades chinas diaspóricas tengan raíces en Centro América desde el siglo d... more ResumenAunque las comunidades chinas diaspóricas tengan raíces en Centro América desde el siglo diecinueve, la creciente relación contemporánea entre China e América Latina ha asignado un nuevo valor a la cultura china dentro de esta relación. En este ensayo, analizo cómo una nueva generación de costarricenses de descendencia china concibe, practica, y proyecta su identidad étnica para cultivar una ventaja económica dentro de las nuevas iniciativas transpacíficas. Basado en un estudio etnográfico con un grupo de jóvenes ¨Chino Ticos¨ en San José, Costa Rica, trazo las trayectorias y experiencias transnacionales de este grupo con el fin de revelar los cambiantes rutas y repertorios de la identidad china de esta generación y sus implicaciones para las relaciones transpacíficas. En vez de entender la nueva generación de empresario diaspórico chino en Centro América como producto de un esencialismo étnico, enfatizo el papel de relaciones de clase y del estado en configurar las relacione...
Inaugurated in its capital city of San Jose in 2012, Costa Rica's Chinatown represents the ne... more Inaugurated in its capital city of San Jose in 2012, Costa Rica's Chinatown represents the newest addition to a list of over 100 Chinatowns worldwide. Through ethnographic research on the project's construction, public debates, and fall-out, this paper analyzes how municipal efforts to enact urban revitalization were tied to a changing global landscape increasingly defined by China. In particular, I examine how planners, urban citizens, and ethnic Chinese community members use Chinatown as a space in which to debate and deploy competing visions of “the art of being global” based on their diverse valuations of China's significance to national identity and future development. The project's ultimate failure highlights how “world conjuring” efforts of this kind can undermine the multicultural histories and cosmopolitan ties that cities claim as the very source of their global difference and value.
What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identit... more What role do specific geographic, political, and historical contexts play in how gendered identities and practices are mobilized to negotiate larger structures of inequality? Through innovative efforts to come to terms with the very contingent and situated nature of gender formation, four recent books reconfirm the important contributions of gender studies of Latin America to feminist studies in general. These texts apply unique methods of analysis to investigate gender's production in specific places and moments, thus producing new insights into how gender is articulated within particular translocal configurations of power. In particular, these texts ask: How does biography inform social activism against global neoliberal economic adjustments? How do discourses on sex provide the foundation for gendered forms of modern national culture and social control? How do local production strategies engender neoliberal labor in new ways? Through questions like these, the texts push us to...
Abstract China's explosive growth and growing international influence have prompted policy ma... more Abstract China's explosive growth and growing international influence have prompted policy makers and scholars to question how that country will reshape the global development landscape. While Western observers have used the concept of the China Model to describe China's development strategies and the potential threat they pose to Western liberal traditions, Chinese policy makers have promoted South–South cooperation to emphasise China's goal of a harmonious world order based on nation-state sovereignty and mutual benefits. This article explores these two competing organising principles with a focus on how each concept frames global development politics and China's relations with its development partners. Drawing on ethnographic research on China's new relationship with Costa Rica, I examine the assumptions and effects of these concepts in terms of how they shape specific development encounters. These examples suggest the intransigence of historical development inequalities and identities, which both support and limit China's global impact in significant ways.
Drawing on ethnographic analysis of a Confucius Institute and two private schools, this article a... more Drawing on ethnographic analysis of a Confucius Institute and two private schools, this article analyzes how diverse Chinese language institutes in Costa Rica have sought to capitalize on a growing local interest in learning Mandarin Chinese. It argues that a shifting global geopolitics has increased the perceived value of Chinese language acquisition and, thus, the stakes for language institutes seeking to assert their cultural authority as legitimate purveyors of Chinese and Chineseness. Through analysis of these schools’ projected identities and pedagogical styles, I show how they distinguish themselves from one another on the basis of public versus private ownership, choice-based versus authoritarian instructional style, and Taiwanese versus Mainland or diasporic roots. Building on the concept of the “Sinophone,” I highlight both the diversity of the forms and locations of Chineseness these initiatives represent and their implications for who can legitimately speak for China in ...
Indigenous groups are not often recognized as driving forces in the push for economic development... more Indigenous groups are not often recognized as driving forces in the push for economic development. However, in development efforts across Latin America, governments and corporations have begun to see ethnic cultural difference as an advantage. Ethnic Entrepreneurs explores how diverse groups historically seen as obstacles to development have become valuable to state and regional development initiatives.
From collaboration between a Maya organization and Walmart to a UN-sponsored program that recruits diasporic Latinos, states and corporations are pursuing strategies that complement regional neoliberal shifts. This book examines how ethnic difference is produced through development policy, breaking down the micropolitics of identity and development. It uncovers surprising convergences between ethnic community businesses and corporate social responsibility practices and illuminates how formulations of ethnic difference influence not only changing cultural identifications, but also the political and moral projects that shape Latin America.
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Papers by Monica DeHart
From collaboration between a Maya organization and Walmart to a UN-sponsored program that recruits diasporic Latinos, states and corporations are pursuing strategies that complement regional neoliberal shifts. This book examines how ethnic difference is produced through development policy, breaking down the micropolitics of identity and development. It uncovers surprising convergences between ethnic community businesses and corporate social responsibility practices and illuminates how formulations of ethnic difference influence not only changing cultural identifications, but also the political and moral projects that shape Latin America.