MPUNTUO: A KEYWORD APPROACH: EXPLORING INDIGENOUS DISCOURSES ON DEVELOPMENT IN AKROFUOM, GHANA

Sammanfattning: In Mpuntuo: A Keyword Approach, Malmö University Communication for Development Master’s Degree candidate, Benita Uttenthal presents research exploring indigenous knowledge of the term development using an extended case study method of the critical case of the Ghanaian Ashanti community of Akrofuom, from which her family originates. Inspired by Raymond Williams’ classic work, Keywords, which was uniquely applied in Andrew Kipnis’ Suzhi: A Keyword Approach, Uttenthal embarks on a keyword study of the Ashanti term Mpuntuo, which is commonly translated in English as Development. The primary purpose of this investigation is to determine a working definition of development from the indigenous perspective of the citizens of Akrofuom. The research is intended to ignite discourse on the stagnation and seeming regression of development processes in the Akrofuom society. The guiding questions for this research are:●What does Mpuntuo mean both denotatively and connotatively?●With what do the people of Akrofuom associate the concept of Mpuntuo?●Does Mpuntuo transport meanings that are implicit and that you have to be a native speaker to understand?● How is the word used in everyday speech and other contexts?●What wider conclusions about 'development' can be drawn from a social, cultural and political analysis of the Mpuntuo concept?This qualitative study, which employs semi-structured interviews, group discussions and discourse analysis, allows for in-depth and reflexive engagement with the research environment.Ultimately, the research revealed that lack of participation in change processes in the Akrofuom case are having an adverse and depressing impact on the society leading to regression or under development.