Decolonizing Development

Joel Wainwright is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the Ohio State University.

"Wainwright is to be applauded for marshalling his considerable intellectual skills to advancing our understanding of Maya colonial experiences (past and present) in the confines of Belize." (Social & Cultural Geography, February 2009)"Theoretically sophisticated.... It has some important things to say that are relevant to both scholars and practitioners concerned with development practices in the South today." (Geographical Journal, 2009)"Culture studies sometimes receive a hasty, often incoherent introduction.... Fortunately, this book is an exception. Wainwright provides a meticulous and actually readable explanation of the culture studies 'manifesto.' One of the interesting issues discussed was the Mayas' 'development' into settled farming, as opposed to their original milpa (i.e., slash and bum) agriculture. Recommended." (CHOICE, December 2008)

• List of figures. Acknowledgements.Abbreviations.Introduction.Part I: Colonizing the Maya.1. The territorialization of southern Belize.2. The matter of the Maya farm system.3. An archaeology of Mayanism.Part II: Aporias of development.4. From colonial to development knowledge.5. Settling: fieldwork in the ruins of development.6. Finishing the critique of cultural ecology.Conclusion.Bibliography.Index.