My twelve-hour standing train ride to Den Chai afforded me the chance to read Martin Meredith’s most excellent “The State of Africa,” which provides an eminently readable and engaging account of the last fifty years in Africa. Aside from the overwhelming tragedy of it all, Martin’s account strikes me for the way it pins Africa’s… Continue reading No Heroes
Rural, northern Thailand looks a lot like rural, central Uganda. The vegetation in both places is lush and tropical but, thanks to an ongoing drought in each, also dry and dusty. A perpetual haze drifts around each place, which, while hard to explain given the lack of industry, seems fitting for the hot climate. Looking… Continue reading Ladder Theory
The book Dead Aid is totally hot right now. Now, I realize this statement isn’t actually true, and that most people have no idea what I’m talking about. While Dead Aid may have cracked twenty-ninth on the New York Times bestseller list, and its author Dambisa Moyo was labeled one of 2009’s most important figures,… Continue reading Killing Off “Dead Aid”
So, here are some research findings with interesting implications for contemporary policy debates in the U.S.: Kenyans—despite living in a country with nine times the infant mortality rate of the United States and living twenty-two fewer years—report being as satisfied with their health care system as Americans are. Afghanis, for their part, are part of… Continue reading Smile! At least you’re poor!
Before I arrived in Uganda, I expected that people in Africa would ask me for money or sponsorship all the time. I had heard my father’s stories from the Peace Corps in Peru, where people would simultaneously tell him “America kills babies!” and ask him to bring them back to the U.S. While I expected… Continue reading A Moral Quandary – Audience Participation (?)
I made it back. While I realize this isn’t a particularly surprising statement, the fact that I was able to walk – rather than be carried – off the plane was a bit in doubt by the time I left Kampala. All in all, it’s absolutely fantastic to be home, and amazing to think of… Continue reading Two Days, Two Worlds
My first day in Uganda, I met up with Delia – the professor who invited me into the project – at Kabira Country Club, an absurdly fancy fortified country club serving the white residents of Kampala. When we sat down to start working, I quickly realized that, for all the place’s luxury, there was one… Continue reading Getting Used to It
Alex V. Barnard - Sociology 