The lecture will present central concepts and controversies of development research and discuss practices and politics of development cooperation. We will start by introducing key theoretical concepts of development and development cooperation. We will then discuss central controversies concerning ideas about developmental success/failure, and contemporary changes that characterise the developmental field. International practices of development will be analysed through specific case studies. We will also engage with critical perspectives on the system of development cooperation, especially based on post- and decolonial perspectives.
The lecture will deepen students’ knowledge about development concepts and strategies with often conflicting assumptions and strategies. Students will learn to critically reflect on the contemporary development discourse, its dominant theoretical assumptions and related practices of development cooperation with a view towards engagement in their own research projects.
- Lehrende(r): Christian Scheper