Intimate Colonialism: Head, Heart, and Body in West African Development Work

Writing Lives: Ethnographic Narratives

by Laurie L. Charles

Laurie Charlés finished her Ph.D., then took off to West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. Asked to create programs to help adolescent girls stay in school, she found herself enmeshed in the politics and cultural barriers that prevent these girls from creating a better life. But that was not all that was enmeshed. Charlés found love, sexual fulfillment, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination, all of which further complexified her stated mission. Her candid assessment of life and work in Africa, the intimate relationships that gave hope to the possibility of change, the emotional and physical highs and lows that affected her ability to function, all become factors affecting her success in improving the lives of African girls. This eloquent narrative should be of interest both to those doing development work and to those interested in autoethnographic exploration of the self.

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2007

Reviews

[Anna Ruth FL · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book awhile ago but was reminded of it when I was cleaning out my bookshelf. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I related to some of the aspects of the book. I struggle with the author presenting her memoir as ethnographic research after the experience. Usually consent is obtained before data is collected. Several of the people in her book did not want their experiences published. I feel she should have respected that. It bothered me that she treated a cross cultural event exchange as a research experience.

[Mills College Library]

361.6092 C4759 2007