Igoe, Jim 1964- (James Joseph Igoe)

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Igoe, Jim 1964- (James Joseph Igoe)

PERSONAL:

Born March 21, 1964. Education: Boston University, Ph.D., 1999.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Anthropology, Campus Box 103, University of Colorado-Denver, P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Colorado-Denver, department of anthropology, assistant professor and director of graduate program. Founder of Bridge for Indigenous Development and Grassroots Empowerment.

WRITINGS:

Conservation and Globalization: A Study of National Parks and Indigenous Communities from East Africa to South Dakota (nonfiction), Thomson/Wadsworth (Belmont, CA), 2004.

(Editor, with Tim Kelsall) Between a Rock and a Hard Place: African NGOs, Donors and the State (nonfiction), Carolina Academic Press (Durham, NC), 2005.

Also author of several working papers published by the African Studies Center, Boston University. Contributor to Conservation and Mobile Indigenous Peoples, edited by Dawn Chatty and Marcus Colchester, Berghahn Books (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jim Igoe, a professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado at Denver, has done much research on how conservation, especially in the form of national parkland, affects indigenous peoples around the world. He has done fieldwork in Tanzania and studied the work of nongovernmental organizations in rural areas. He is also the founder of a group called Bridge for Indigenous Development and Grassroots Empowerment, which seeks to promote interaction between indigenous peoples, academics, and policy makers.

In his first book, Conservation and Globalization: A Study of National Parks and Indigenous Communities from East Africa to South Dakota, Igoe makes the case that conservationists have paid insufficient attention to the interests of indigenous populations and that in some cases the establishment of national parks has been detrimental to native peoples, sometimes resulting in their displacement. Much of the book is based on his work with the Maasai people in Tanzania, and Igoe explores the impact of that country's Tarangire National Park. He also deals with a variety of other sites around the world, including the United States, Australia, Nepal, and Central and South America. In addition, he provides a historical perspective, discussing, among other things, pre-industrial England and U.S. wars against Native Americans.

Some critics deemed Igoe's book a much-needed treatment of its topic, and noted that it is scholarly yet ac- cessible and even entertaining. Roderick P. Neumann, writing in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, called the book "a tragic drama of lost opportunities to link local community interests to global conservation goals" that is leavened with the author's "wry, self-deprecating humour." Neumann praised Igoe's "particularly effective technique of illustrating abstract concepts with anecdotes from his own experiences." Likewise, Daniel Brockington, a reviewer for Tanzanian Affairs, remarked that Igoe uses "a down to earth uncomplicated style" to tell "a clear and challenging story of how conservation practices can disrupt local lives."

Neumann observed that while Igoe definitely "takes sides" and "is hardest on Western conservationists," he also finds indigenous leaders sometimes lacking. Igoe, Neumann added, utilizes "sound analysis" to back up his stances. Neumann recommended Conservation and Globalization to scholars in numerous disciplines, including anthropology, political science, geography, and environmental studies, and thought it would be especially useful for fostering discussion in undergraduate courses. Brockington voiced a similar opinion, seeing the volume as valuable to "students, conservationists and development workers," and he summed it up as "an excellent book."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

International Journal of African Historical Studies, Volume 36, number 3, summer, 2003, David M. Hughes, review of Conservation and Globalization: A Study of National Parks and Indigenous Communities from East Africa to South Dakota, p. 698; Volume 39, number 3, summer, 2006, Rune Flikke, review of Between a Rock and a Hard Place: African NGOs, Donors and the State, p. 555.

Journal of Development Studies, Volume 42, number 1, January, 2006, Ian Taylor, review of Between a Rock and a Hard Place, p. 159.

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Volume 12, number 1, March, 2006, Roderick P. Neumann, review of Conservation and Globalization, pp. 248-249.

Reference & Research Book News, November, 2003, review of Conservation and Globalization, p. 260.

Tanzanian Affairs, Issue 83, January 1, 2006, Daniel Brockington, review of Conservation and Globalization.