Author : Larry Krotz
Publisher : Univ. of Manitoba Press
ISBN 13 : 0887554148
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (875 download)
Book Synopsis The Uncertain Business of Doing Good by : Larry Krotz
Download or read book The Uncertain Business of Doing Good written by Larry Krotz and published by Univ. of Manitoba Press. This book was released on 2012-09-02 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relationship between Westerners and Africa has long been conflicted and complicated. Frequently exploitative, it is also just as often propelled by an almost irresistible urge to "do good." The persistence of this impulse is intriguing. From Doctor Livingstone 150 years ago to rock star Bono today, outsiders have championed foreign intervention in Africa in political, social, economic, and health care reforms. But underlying all these good intentions, isn’t there a hierarchical belief that we, as outsiders, somehow know what’s best for Africa? As a journalist and documentary filmmaker, Larry Krotz follows the projects of Canadian, American, British and European scientists, NGOs, lawyers, and peacekeepers, all motivated in some manner by the desire to "do good" in Africa. In The Uncertain Business of Doing Good: Outsiders in Africa, he focuses specifically on people involved in trying to end the Angolan civil war, AIDS research in Kenya, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the UNIM circumcision research project in Kenya. Along with telling their stories, he examines the ethical and social implications of humanitarian and research projects in Africa, raising many difficult, yet critically important, questions. How have we come to think the way we do about Africa and its people? What has motivated us to action, for good or ill? And, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, is there a choice between doing nothing and doing the well-intended, but, perhaps, wrong thing?