De-Colonizing the Boundary-Object

Abstract

What role does language play in disciplining subjects in the international development sector? Previous critiques of international development organizations have focused on the role of knowledge tools, such as reports, in reproducing dichotomies between developed and under-developed subjects. In this paper, I de-colonize NGO reporting through a reappraisal of the boundary-object concept. I utilize Ngugi’s (1986) problematization of language and translation to demonstrate how the boundary-object is experienced differentially across stakeholder groups and caste/class structures. Using findings garnered from a multi-sited ethnography of an international NGO in India, I examine the prominence of English language in NGO reports over indigenous languages. This paper therefore contributes to contemporary understandings of neo-colonial power relations as sustained by the English language within India.