Thayer Scudder
Encyclopedia
Thayer Scudder an American
social anthropologist
, is an Anthropology
Professor Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology
. Educated at Harvard University
(AB 1952, PhD 1960), he did a postdoctorate in African Studies
, Anthropology and Ecology
at the London School of Economics
, followed by positions with the Rhodes-Livingston Institute for Social Research in Northern Rhodesia
1956-1957 and again in 1962-1963, and a post at the American University in Cairo
in 1961-1962. He joined the Caltech faculty in that year. His work on socioeconomic issues and infrastructure development associated with river basin development, forced relocation, and refugee
reintegration has made him a world leader in these fields. Large dams are one of the world’s most controversial, divisive and expensive development issues, and Scudder is the world's leading expert on dams and relocation effects. His 2005 book "The Future of Large Dams" covers aspects of large dams and development including economics, politics, environmental risk, energy, agriculture, and human displacement and resettlement. He has undertaken studies on sustainable resource use in Africa
, India
, Nepal
, Jordan
, Indonesia
, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka
, and the United States
, and served on a number of independent review panels for dam projects in Africa and Asia. He is a former commissioner on the World Commission on Dams
.
In addition to expertise and special interest in regional development, irrigated
and rainfed agriculture, pioneer settlement, community-based natural resource management, and impacts of large-scale river basin development projects on low income populations, Scudder has focused on systematic long-term studies of low income human communities. The most classic of his long-term studies has been carried out with anthropologist Elizabeth Colson among the Gwembe Tonga of Zambia
.
Author Jacques Leslie devotes a third of his narrative nonfiction book Deep Water: The Epic Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People, and the Environment (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005) to a portrait of Scudder. The section includes a visit to the Zambian resettlement village where many Gwembe Tonga now live and follows Scudder as he inspects dam projects in Lesotho and Botswana.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
social anthropologist
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
, is an Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
Professor Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
. Educated at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(AB 1952, PhD 1960), he did a postdoctorate in African Studies
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...
, Anthropology and Ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, followed by positions with the Rhodes-Livingston Institute for Social Research in Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
1956-1957 and again in 1962-1963, and a post at the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
in 1961-1962. He joined the Caltech faculty in that year. His work on socioeconomic issues and infrastructure development associated with river basin development, forced relocation, and refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
reintegration has made him a world leader in these fields. Large dams are one of the world’s most controversial, divisive and expensive development issues, and Scudder is the world's leading expert on dams and relocation effects. His 2005 book "The Future of Large Dams" covers aspects of large dams and development including economics, politics, environmental risk, energy, agriculture, and human displacement and resettlement. He has undertaken studies on sustainable resource use in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and served on a number of independent review panels for dam projects in Africa and Asia. He is a former commissioner on the World Commission on Dams
World Commission on Dams
The World Commission on Dams was formed in April 1997, to research the environmental, social and economic impacts of the development of large dams globally...
.
In addition to expertise and special interest in regional development, irrigated
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
and rainfed agriculture, pioneer settlement, community-based natural resource management, and impacts of large-scale river basin development projects on low income populations, Scudder has focused on systematic long-term studies of low income human communities. The most classic of his long-term studies has been carried out with anthropologist Elizabeth Colson among the Gwembe Tonga of Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
.
Author Jacques Leslie devotes a third of his narrative nonfiction book Deep Water: The Epic Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People, and the Environment (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005) to a portrait of Scudder. The section includes a visit to the Zambian resettlement village where many Gwembe Tonga now live and follows Scudder as he inspects dam projects in Lesotho and Botswana.
Recent publications
- “Development-induced Relocation and Refugee Studies: 37 years of change and continuity among Zambia’s Gwembe Tonga,” Journal of Refugees Studies, Vol 6 (2): 123-152 (1993)
- “Recent experiences with river basin development in the tropics and subtropics,” Natural Resources Forum 18(2): 101-113 (1994)
- Chapters on “Social Impacts” and “Resettlement” in Water Resources: Environmental Planning, Management and Development, edited by Asit K. Biswas, New York: McGraw Hill. (1997)
- “The World Commission on Dams and the Need for a New Development Paradigm,” International Journal of Water Resources Development Vol 17, No.3:329-341. (2000)
- The Future of Large Dams: Dealing with social, environmental, institutional and political costs. London: Earthscan. (2005)
- Global Threats, Global Futures: Living With Declining Living Standards. Cheltenham, Gloucter: Edward Elgar Publishing. (2010)
External links
- Scudder's homepage at Caltech
- Large Dams: Learning from the Past, Looking at the Future Workshop Proceedings, Gland, Switzerland, April 11–12, 1997, Edited by Tony Dorcey, with a chapter by Thayer Scudder, Social Impacts of Large Dams, pp. 41–68.