Maxwell African Scholars Union presents: Dr. Rebecca Warne Peters

Dr. Rebecca Warne Peters Local Cosmopolitans in Post-War Angolan Development Work The anthropological study of African professionals is a promising area of research to contribute to scholarly understandings of the contemporary era, particularly the connections between local and global scales of activity. Distinct from but complementary to studies of African ‘elites,’ the study of professionals gives sharp insight into social change on the continent. This lecture examines a group of Angolan development workers as African professionals, critiques institutional presumptions of ‘national’ workers as inherently ‘local,’ and contributes to the broader study of African professionals as such. The argument identifies local staff members as development cosmopolitans in their engagement with the highly internationalized professional sphere of development work. As critical studies of development have themselves often overlooked the backgrounds, intentions, and experiences of local field staff, the research also contributes to the ethnography of development in Africa by describing and analyzing the cosmopolitanism of contemporary African development work. Dr. Rebecca Peters is currently an Assistant Professor in Maxwell School’s Department of Public Administration and International Relations. Dr. Peters received a PhD and MA in Anthropology from Brown University and an MPH in International Health from Emory University. She has done extensive research in Angola, with research interests including cosmopolitanism, global public health, international development, and governmentality. Pizza Will Be Served