• Research Student Profiles
• Crystal Courtney

Section: Research Student Profiles

Navigation

• Home
• News
• Contact Information

Degree Programmes

• Taught Masters Programmes
• Research Masters Programmes
• PhD Programmes
• Distance Learning

In This Section

• African Studies
  • Alli Coyle
  • Kevin Louis Bardosh
  • Ismaila Ceesay
  • Emanuele Cerroni
  • Peter Chonka
  • Clare Coughlan
  • Crystal Courtney
  • Crystal Heidi Anne Courtney
  • Gill Davies
  • Maggie Dwyer
  • Setri Dzivenu
  • Tom Fisher
  • Marc Fletcher
  • Gianluca Iazzolino
  • Gareth James
  • Sixta Kilambo
  • Alanna Malik
  • Laura Mann
  • Namhla Matshanda
  • Grasian Mkodzongi
  • James Pattison
  • Catherine Ratcliff
  • Shaun Ruysenaar
  • Jon Schubert
  • Elisabetta Spano
  • Aya Tsuruta
  • Annalisa Urbano
  • Caroline Valois
• Canadian Studies
• Politics and IR
• Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
• Social Anthropology
• Social Policy
• Sociology
• South Asian Studies
• Social Work

Crystal Courtney

PhD Title

Grassroots interpretations of development in Koiyaki, Maasai Mara, Kenya, and its perceived relationship with the Koiyaki Conservancies.

No current office address in Edinburgh as in the field until early 2013.

Keywords: Perceptions of development, Maasai, Maasai Mara, Kenya, Ecotourism, Sustainable tourism, Sustainable development

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

My current research interests lie in the analysis of the notion ‘development’, specifically investigating grassroots interpretations of ‘development’ in the former Koiyaki Group Ranch, which borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Perceptions of the following questions will be explored via predominantly ethnographic methodologies, having undertaken nine months of language training in Swahili and Maa:
•    How is development interpreted?
•    Which development paths are desired?
•    Where do power and decision making abilities lie;
•    Is there any relationship between interpretations of development and the Koiyaki conservancies;
Any societal differences in perceptions will then be examined, and I will try to analyse how my findings on the ground relate to development theory.

This research is a continuation of two prior research projects undertaken in the Maasai Mara area, at Undergraduate and Masters level.

Supervisors: Dr Thomas Molony and Dr Joost Fontein

QUALIFICATIONS:

2010-2014 PhD in African Studies, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh – ongoing.
2009-2010 MSc by Research in African Studies, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh.
2008-2009 MSc in Environment and Development, Department of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh – Awarded Distinction.
2005-2009 BSc (hons) in Geography, Newcastle University – Awarded First Class Honours.

DISSERTATION TITLES:
2010 MSc by Research: The Skeptical Tourist: Implications of Ecotourism in Maasailand.
2009 MSc: An Investigation into the Extent to which Activities in Olare Orok Conservancy, Narok District, Kenya, Conform to ‘Ecotourism’.
2008 BSc (hons): A Study into the Environmental Impact of Safari Tourism in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

AWARDS:
2009-2014 ESRC Quota Award Scholarship to fully fund MSc by Research and PhD.
2009 University of Edinburgh Small Projects Grant to fully fund MSc fieldwork expedition.

LANGUAGE TRAINING:
Swahili – KIU beginner, advanced beginner and intermediate courses completed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, over a six month period (2010-2011).
Maa – Grammar course completed at Oltopesi Cultural Centre in Kajiado District, Kenya over a three month period (2011).
French – GCSE A* (2001)
German – GCSE A (2001)

 

This page was published on 22 September 2011