Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Methods and Goals of Development Organizations

博士论文研究：本研究的基本假设是：1）当地发展组织的方法和目标是由不同的道德、精神和宗教发展观塑造的; 2）世俗和宗教的发展项目都涉及发展实践者的有意努力，以促进个人的内在和主观转变。 这些假说挑战了“世俗化假说”的假设，后者塑造了上半个世纪的现代发展理论。 评估这里提出的假设需要两个阶段的研究。 第一阶段包括与拉丁美洲、非洲和亚洲的一系列发展组织的代表进行访谈，并对这些组织的书面材料进行内容分析。第二阶段涉及对几个特定的发展组织及其项目进行更有重点的审查。 这项研究是特别相关的政策辩论，目前正在美国发生的基于信仰的社会服务倡议。 此外，考虑到人类目前面临的全球极端贫困、环境退化和不平等加剧等危机，这项研究可能有助于确定、理论化和宣传各种发展方法，这些方法可能会提出解决这些危机的令人信服的方法。 最后，这项研究还可能有助于理解围绕着相互冲突的社会发展观而产生的全球冲突的某些方面和原因。

Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Methods and Goals of Development OrganizationsPrincipal Investigator: Peter EvansCo-Principal Investigator: Darren NoyUniversity of California-BerkeleyThe basic hypotheses of this research are that: 1) the methods and goals of development organizations on the ground are shaped by diverse ethical, spiritual, and religious visions of development; and 2) both secular and religious development projects crucially involve intentional efforts by development practitioners to catalyze internal and subjective transformations in individuals. These hypotheses challenge the "secularization hypothesis" assumptions that shaped modern development theory for the last half century. Assessing the hypotheses proposed here entails two phases of research. The first phase involves interviews with representatives of a range of development organizations across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and content analysis of written material from those organizations. The second phase involves more focused examination of a few particular development organizations and their projects. This research is particularly relevant to policy debates currently occurring in the United States about faith-based social service initiatives. Moreover, given the current crises facing humanity in terms of extreme global poverty, environmental degradation, and rising inequality, this research might help to identify, theorize, and publicize diverse approaches of development that may suggest compelling ways of resolving these crises. Finally, this research may also help in understanding some of the dimensions and causes of global conflicts that pivot around conflicting visions of social development.