Description
Please design the essay as a critical reflection essay on the purpose of development as an academic discipline, as a network of programmatic interventions, and as a normative paradigm for organising society.
So, imagine yourself as a student in development studies. The student is expected to position themsleves within the understanding of development, as it has been cultivated in the classroom (I know you have never been in the classroom). For example, what does it mean that we are able to study development from the confines of our offices and learning spaces at the university; what kind of assumptions and expectations do we (as now Western-educated development practitioners) carry into the field of development-in-practice; and what issues arise when those assumptions intersect with endogenous, often-competing conceptions of development and well-being?
Questions to consider answering (these are not mandatory, but would be nice to include):
- How have your expectations of the development sector changed since the beginning of semester? Why/why not?
- Do you look at development differently from when you began the Unit? Why/why not?
- What “alternatives” to development do you now consider and why do you think they might be effective?
- Reflecting on the evolution of your group Manifesto, how has the form of development that you advocate changed over time?
- How do you understand your own role in development (as a scholar or practitioner), and has this changed over the course of the semester? Why/why not?
- Is there value or utility in a Manifesto, and does it depend on the kind of Manifesto? Why/why not? (for this, please refer to Manifesto 2 – 6 I will upload later)
- How might you go about implementing the Manifesto in practice?
Sample Solution
