This cross-posted DSA Development Study Group launch event discussed the retrospects and prospects of decolonising development studies. It was interested in imagining what a decolonial agenda in Development Studies could look like and what interventions are needed in practice.
It was the first of the Centre of African Studies (CAS) Seminar series organised in partnership with the CAS Decolonising Working Group and the University of Edinburgh’s RACE.ED.
When 33% of UK, 32% of Japanese, 30% of French, 27% of Dutch respondents respectively report that they think the countries they formerly colonised are ‘better off’ for being colonised (YouGov Poll, 2020), there is a clear need for critical discussions on the ways in which history influences contemporary conceptions of power, nation, community and self.
Recent years have seen extensive discussion of the need to ‘decolonise’ universities, and to decolonise knowledge production, especially within Development Studies, which has direct historical roots in colonial intervention.
Indeed, campaigns such as #RhodesMustFall in South Africa and the UK, #FaidherbeMustFall in France and Senegal, #BlackLivesMatter globally and #WhyIsMyCurriculumWhite? in the UK (to name a few) have generated discussions far beyond the academy.
While the notion of ‘decolonising’ has gathered considerable momentum, its agenda is multifaceted and complex, with uncertainty over what progress should look like, and what the ultimate goals should be.
This DSA Development Study Group launch event discusses the retrospects and prospects of decolonising development studies.
It is interested in imagining with a carefully selected group of scholar-activists what a decolonial agenda in Development Studies could look like and what interventions are needed in practice (action plan). It is the first of the Centre of African Studies (CAS) Seminar series organised in partnership with the CAS Decolonising Working Group and the University of Edinburgh’s RACE.ED.
Image credit: Photo by Stacy Marie on Unsplash
