Being There: Expanding Paradigms for Child Development Research

• In Event: 1-055 - TAD Talks on International Research

Integrative Statement

SRCD’s strategic goal to integrate manifold forms of diversity throughout the field draws from recognition that developmental science currently represents a very narrow slice of humanity. Yet realizing the full potential of this commitment requires transformations not only in where research is done and who does it, but also in what questions are asked, in how we think and work. Anthropology’s core method of ethnographic participant observation requires “being there” with the people and places we study and as such, provides a powerful basis for advancing the field through engagement, insight, and inclusive inquiry. This talk discusses three examples from my own work to illustrate the power of being there for yielding unexpected breakthroughs on hot topics in human development—breastfeeding and child survival, the first 1000 days, and child soldiers.

Authors

• Luisa Rivera, Emory University
  Introducer

• Carol M. Worthman, Emory University
  Speaker