MEAGAN McLAUGHLIN

Thesis: Tostan: Impacts of an NGO Locally and Transnationally

Thesis Director:  Dr. Joseph Hellweg, Department of Anthropology

"As a Spring 2021 recipient of the Bess H. Ward Honors Thesis Award, I have been able to use the funding to further my research this summer, preparing me for my defense in the Fall. My research takes Tostan, a non-governmental organization (NGO), as a case study to analyze the impact of Western NGOs on West Africa, specifically Senegal. With the help of NVivo, a qualitative data analysis software program, I have effectively located Tostan’s terminology and logic related to the topic of female genital cutting (FGC). Having access to a higher quality of NVivo allows me to collate sources and identify specific rhetoric such as FGC, reproductive health, and human rights more easily. Using a language tool in NVivo, I have also been able to more accurately synthesize material that Tostan has used in French and Wolof, two of their working languages.

This study brings awareness and a more enriched understanding of the positive and negative perceptions of Tostan regarding FGC. The findings address the increasing skepticism towards Western NGOs by countries in the Global South and a declining reputation of U.S. foreign interests. This research has and will continue to serve as an essential part of my undergraduate career at FSU, as [I] continue to study development work conducted by Western NGOs. Ultimately, I am to get a master’s degree in non-profit management, in the hopes of positively influencing the non-profit sector to think holistically and take human-centered approaches."

-Meagan McLaughlin, Spring 2021 Bess H. Ward Thesis Award Winner