American philanthropy, the Carnegie Corporation and poverty in South Africa

This paper examines two inquiries into poverty in South Africa funded by th e Carnegie Corporation of New York, the first in the late 1920s to early 19 30s and the second during the 1980s. When analysed together the inquiries o ffer insights into the dynamic relations and tensions between this American foundation, normative science and interpretations of poverty in South Afri ca during the twentieth century. The paper highlights the common ground as well as the profound differences between the inquiries and the national and international, political and institutional contexts within which they were conducted. It suggests that far from being deployed with confidence and ce rtainty, underpinning both inquiries were contextual, institutional and int ellectual uncertainties which were associated with particular visions of So uth Africa and the United States held by the Corporation and their funding recipients. Reference is made to the strategies employed to overcome these anxieties including the shifting notions of co-operative science they sough t to promote, the contrasting meanings attached to the cultural technologie s employed and the complex associations which they endeavoured to encourage . In offering a more nuanced interpretation of North-South relations than m any contemporary analyses, the paper examines, through these strategies, th e attempts made to satisfy the objectives of both the Corporation and ifs f inding recipients in South Africa and the tensions which emerged over the l ocations of knowledge and institutional control.