Cultures of Doing Good

"Cultures of Doing Good aims to find a place for the anthropology of NGOs and, thus, to do justice to transforming global situations. It declares the anthropology of NGOs to be an academic field of its own. [ . . . ] With these perspectives and insights the book is highly recommended for researchers of different regional focuses and disciplines, like political science or religious studies—but also for activists and practitioners."
—Anthropos

"This valuable collection of 'second generation' studies of anthropological encounters with NGOs focuses on 'doing NGO' rather than reiterating previous emphases on the connections between NGOs, neoliberal ideology, and development policy. Case studies include examples of environmental conservation in Bangladesh and Tanzania; women’s activism in Tanzania, the Czech Republic, and India; community empowerment in Serbia and Egypt; Romani housing in the Czech Republic; voluntourism and children’s welfare in Peru; and Jewish philanthropy and reconstruction in New Orleans. While agreeing with Dorothea Hilhorst that 'NGO' is 'a slippery concept that resists categorization and homogenization,' the book also demonstrates the necessity for the study of NGOs for understanding contemporary international social and economic processes on the ground. Recommended."
—CHOICE

“Cultures of Doing Good marks a new era of NGO scholarship, one that goes beyond shock at the NGO boom in the wake of neoliberal state retrenchments. Using the contributors’ vast and diverse experiences, it tells complex stories of humanitarianism in the twenty-first century and the challenges facing scholars trying to navigate this important sector with engagement and rigor.”
—Heather Hindman, author of Mediating the Global: Expatria’s Forms and Consequences in Kathmandu and coeditor of Inside the Everyday Lives of Development Workers: The Challenges and Futures of Aidland

“This book is well written and easy to read. It is valuable for scholars in different fields, practitioners, researchers and students of social sciences. It will provide them with case studies that will help them better understand the roles and issues faced by NGOs and people working in the field. It can be used a foundation for the study of NGOs from an anthropological point of view and can add value to classroom discussion to show the opportunities and constraints that NGOs face when interacting with their environment.”
—Voluntas

“Cultures of Doing Good makes substantial contributions to anthropological works on development, humanitarianism and civil society, interdisciplinary literature on NGOs, and—given that the NGO phenomenon touches so many of us—to the discipline of anthropology as a whole.”
—Julie Hemment, author of Youth Politics in Putin’s Russia: Producing Patriots and Entrepreneurs and Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs