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A Critical Analysis of Participation and Empowerment in Community Development: An Ethnographic Case Study from Chiapas, Mexico

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dc.contributor.authorMason, Garland Anneen
dc.contributor.committeechairNiewolny, Kimberly L.en
dc.contributor.committeememberStephenson, Max O. Jr.en
dc.contributor.committeememberArchibald, Thomas G.en
dc.contributor.departmentAgricultural and Extension Educationen
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-20T09:00:12Zen
dc.date.available2016-02-20T09:00:12Zen
dc.date.issued2016-02-19en
dc.description.abstractParticipatory approaches to international and community development have gained significant popularity, and are commonly held to be intrinsically empowering processes. In the context of development, both participation and empowerment were borne of radical claims and democratizing goals, but over time, both concepts have been confused and misappropriated. The popularity of the terms participation and empowerment, coupled with the ambiguity of their meanings, illustrates a symptom of their co-optation away from their radical and political roots. This ethnographic case study explored the mechanics of the participatory approach and claims of empowerment within the experience of a non-governmental organization based in Chiapas, Mexico. This study aimed to investigate the linkages between participation and empowerment, in their original radical and theoretical forms, as well as in practice—addressing questions of whether and how participation may lead to empowerment. The organization's endeavors to create space for participatory learning for critical consciousness and self-sufficiency, as understood through 30 semi-structured interviews and three months of participant observation, provided insight into these questions and their conceptual underpinnings. I analyzed data by drawing upon Freirean critical pedagogy, critical theory, and theories of participation and participatory learning. Findings examine the influence of clientelism, Catholic liberation theology, and the Zapatista uprising on the ways rural campesinos develop critical consciousness and organize to dismantle systems of oppression. Findings illustrate examples of interactive participation and self-mobilization. The study serves to demonstrate the importance of cultural and historical contexts, and of solidarity and downward accountability within the praxis of participation and empowerment.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Science in Life Sciencesen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:7187en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/64850en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectParticipationen
dc.subjectEmpowermenten
dc.subjectCommunity Developmenten
dc.subjectParticipatory Learningen
dc.subjectCritical Consciousnessen
dc.subjectCritical Ethnographyen
dc.titleA Critical Analysis of Participation and Empowerment in Community Development: An Ethnographic Case Study from Chiapas, Mexicoen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineAgricultural and Extension Educationen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science in Life Sciencesen

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