Last summer, it was a beard. This summer, it’s Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Almost exactly one year ago, I arrived in Uganda, expecting to see some elephants, learn a bit of Luganda, raft down the Nile, and maybe, in between visits to national parks, do a bit of economic research on agricultural cooperatives. It didn’t… Continue reading Africa Beards, Expat Guilt, and Mac’n’Cheese
Have you heard the news? Uganda is no longer a civilized nation! At least, that’s the take of the Washington Post, which (rightly) denounced a bill in front of Uganda’s parliament that would give a life sentence to “serial” homosexuals, imprison people who “aid and abet” homosexuality, and require citizens to report homosexual activity to… Continue reading Un-civilized, Un-democratic, Un-relativist
Make no mistake. We do not study development at Oxford in order to help people. The job of development studies scholars is to attack and dismantle the well-intentioned ideas of others who (naively) actually think they can help people. This week, in my history and politics course, we discussed Mahmood Mamdami’s Saviours and Survivors, which… Continue reading In Defense of Clowning (as a development strategy, that is)
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
“We could live off of dumpsters if we have to Sell our blood by the pint to make rent This kind of dignity doesn’t come easy But you’ll never find it for sale” – Against Me! One of the things that surprised me in Uganda was that there were no beggars. I expected Kampala, the… Continue reading Indulgences
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 (?)
For those of you who haven’t heard – and really, there’s no reason those of us who get Western media would have – Kampala, Uganda has erupted in rioting and violence. You can catch up with the action by reading the slightly-befuddled coverage of the New York Times here or the way-too-nuanced-for-us-Mzungu-to-understand Ugandan coverage here. … Continue reading Know Nothing
As I sit on the plane, I realize that my previous post (“Getting Used to It”) is borderline incoherent.* Since I’m saving up what little motivation to edit my own writing I have for graduate school; I figure I will just try to illustrate what I was getting at with an example. Hiring – and… Continue reading Paradoxes of Poverty
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 