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National Programmes, Technical Projects An The London School of Economics and Political Science National Programmes, Technical Projects An ethnography of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) programme in Uruguay Daiana Beitler A thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, October 2013 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99,686 words. I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Carole Pearce. 2 Abstract This thesis is an ethnographic study of the Uruguayan programme CEIBAL, which aims to promote social inclusion by providing children and teachers with laptop computers. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that it illustrates empirically the complicated work of conceiving, implementing and sustaining policy in practice, both at the macro level and through local instantiations. This was achieved in three inter-related ways. First, by looking at how the national project of development was conceptualised around themes of techno- modernity and consolidated the promise of inclusiveness through claims on the universality of ‘technical needs’. Technology provided the conceptual space in which to resolve a presumed dichotomy between themes of equality, education and paternalistic state and those of economic development, modernisation and innovation. Second, it was analysed by exploring the way in which heterogeneous assemblages of people, values, laptops, and interests, were mobilized to stabilize the programme’s material and conceptual order across a wide range of sites and actors. This was based on the recognition of a ‘natural affinity’ between CEIBAL and Uruguay, which concealed differences, provided coherence and built a strong sense of ‘national consensus’. And finally, as a result of the other two, it was analysed by examining the relationship between ‘the technical’ and ‘the social’ as inscriptions and ‘fudged’ values objectified in the device faced users and their expectations. This implied looking at how CEIBAL officials attempted to make the laptop embody a political and moral project of inclusion, and its infinite promises, so that it could perform them. People in the three localities studied in this thesis (Montevideo, Paysandú and Queguayar) created very tangible strategies for dealing with notions of ‘social inclusion’, expressed different understandings of how technologies created possibilities for them and enacted these beliefs through a wide range of practices. This included the creation of new metaphors of ‘social inclusion’ through the notion of ‘connectivity,’ reconfiguring both social values and definitions of what constitute ‘connections’ as a result: the laptop’s ability to connect children with each ‘wired up the social fabric.’ These negotiations over the possibility of making connections are explored through a new concept that I refer to as ‘geographies of possibilities,’ which describes topographies of power that influence people’s ability to make technology perform. The key to this notion lies in the recognition of several forms of agency that are enacted in strategies to navigate through different geographies: people are not mere recipients of policy but active constituents of its various forms and instantiations in practice. 3 Acknowledgements This thesis was inspired by the people I met in different parts of my country. I had the privilege of getting to know teachers and public officials who tackle their sometimes difficult jobs with incredible joy, resolve and enthusiasm. I am thankful for the time they spent with me and for the work that they do, every day, to make a difference in the lives of others. I am also profoundly grateful to the many families that invited me into their homes, shared long afternoons and washed up mates with me, and so openly talked about their lives and those of their children. I am indebted to so many of them that trying to acknowledge everyone is virtually impossible. But I would like them to know that their contributions have been treasured and valued, that they made this thesis what it is, and that I will always remember them fondly and with enormous gratitude. I can only hope that the love and respect I feel for them is reflected in these pages. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Don Slater, for sharing my enthusiasm for the project and for his insights and invaluable guidance over the years. Also at the London School of Economics, my warmest thanks to my friends Dr. Sandy Ross and Dr. Jill Timms for providing rigorous and constructive comments on these pages –they are infinitely better as a result. I have a special debt of gratitude to my family in Paysandú, the Kanovichs, the Fremds and the Curbelos, for welcoming me with open arms and hearts, showing me their city and the best it has to offer, participating in endless conversations about education and technology, sharing advice and information, and even collecting newspaper articles and children’s magazines for this project. They made the experience much more special than I anticipated. My deepest thanks, as always, to my family for their unconditional love and support on this long journey. Ady, Maria y Julia, Baba y Zeide, Talma, Denny y Steve, Miguel y Zoides, Etel, Egon y Ruth, Monica y Martina: de corazón, gracias. I am thankful, most of all, to my parents, Roberto and Vivian, who are the kindest and most tenacious people I know –the best in me, I owe to them. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my partner, husband and best friend, Alan, who has been part of this adventure from the very beginning. He is clever and generous, encouraging and optimistic, funny and unfailingly wise –and I simply would not have been able to complete this thesis without him. To Alan, “mi amor, mi cómplice y todo...” 4 Contents Chapter I: Introduction ....................................................................................................8 Conceptual framework ...........................................................................................................12 The ‘Switzerland of Latin America’ .........................................................................................22 Plan CEIBAL .............................................................................................................................25 Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................29 Chapter II: Methodology ............................................................................................... 38 Grasping CEIBAL ......................................................................................................................38 Conducting an ethnographically informed study ...................................................................40 Reflecting on the experience ..................................................................................................66 Chapter III: Political Compositions ................................................................................. 70 ‘No one is better than anyone else’ ........................................................................................70 The materiality of political compositions ...............................................................................91 The organization of the programme .......................................................................................98 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................102 Chapter IV: Material delegations ................................................................................. 104 Conceptual framework: a chapter on ‘the object’ ................................................................105 Part A: Inscribing normative use ...........................................................................................108 Part B: Interpreting delegations ............................................................................................129 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................152 Chapter V: Local negotiations ...................................................................................... 153 Conceptual framework: towards geographies of opportunities ..........................................154 Part A: Encountering CEIBAL’s self-defining values ..............................................................158 Part B: Negotiating social values through the XO .................................................................176 Conclusions ...........................................................................................................................203 Chapter VI: Conclusions ..............................................................................................
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