Paper short abstract:

The Amazon has a long history as an emblematic site of development theory and practice. This paper presents ethnographic material on the historical engagement of anthropology on development matters in Peru with a particular focus on the Peruvian Amazon.

Paper long abstract:

The Amazon has a long history as an emblematic site of development theory and practice. This paper presents ethnographic material on the historical engagement of anthropology on development matters in Peru with a particular focus on the Peruvian Amazon. On the one hand, the Amazon presents a distinct locus and constellation to think about development. On the other hand, the Amazon has for decades been a terrain of anthropological development engagement. The paper brings the two dimensions together suggesting how can learn about the variety of anthropological engagements not as disciplinary givens, but through locally anchored traditions and practices. Anthropologists in the Peruvian Amazon have for decades played central roles in shaping development discourse and practice. In the Amazon, this includes emblematic development concerns as the big vs. the small and the national vs. the local. The paper will seek to draw broader lessons learned for our disciplinary engagement with the development field based on the Peruvian material.