Knowledge – Debating Development Research

12/07/2024

Power Dynamics are Everywhere, and Language is no Exception

We can talk in English, but can we talk about English?

By Basile Boulay (part 3 of 3)

Facilitating publication in English for non-native speakers is important: as we saw in the previous post (1st post here), they face numerous entry barriers that prevent them for having the same chances as their native peers on the ‘research market’. It’s not the full story, however, and far from it. In this third article, I would like to stress how far this linguistic divide takes us on the terrain of structural inequalities, power dynamics, and, yes, intellectual reductionism. Although we cannot ignore the practical gains that English as a lingua franca brings for research, we can’t turn a blind eye to the fact that this hegemony creates serious problems for everyone, native speakers included.

18/06/202423/07/2024

We Can Talk in English, but Can We Talk about English?

Social science Research and Linguistic Predominance

By Basile Boulay (part 1 of 3)

The 50^th anniversary of EADI is a good opportunity to reflect on the multiple evolutions of Development Studies, and social sciences more generally, over the past decades. Through this series of three blogposts (second post here, third post here), I would like to open a space for discussion and reflection on the issue of languages and epistemic communities. The growing predominance of English has imposed a radical change on the academic landscape; a change so profound that many non-native English speakers in academia barely question this linguistic hegemony, while native speakers themselves are often unaware of its effects.

20/02/202429/04/2024

Reflections on Decolonising Knowledge for Development: An invitation to a conversation

By Peter Taylor

A moment to reflect

Anniversaries are times to celebrate, and also opportunities to reflect on the past, the present, and the future. As we enter 2024 and see EADI’s 50th anniversary coming into view, we are taking a moment for reflection amidst what is increasingly viewed as a time of crisis in development and in Development Studies itself, particularly in regard to coloniality and how it manifests today in multiple ways. These are not new reflections, and they have featured in many other conversations and blogs, including within EADI.

12/12/202312/12/2023

The Normative Dimension of Transdisciplinary Cooperation

By Johanna Vogel, Francisco Porras, Michael P. Schlaile, Veronica Hector, Christina Plesner Volkdal, Zhiqi Xu / New Rhythms of Development blog series

In times of rising inequalities, geopolitical shifts, and complex crises, transdisciplinary cooperation is needed more than ever to support the path of just transformations.

Although most people would agree that any deep structural transformation should take place in a just and equitable manner, the idea of “justice“ in transformations is deeply normative and involves conflicting worldviews, contested pathways, and different interests. Transformation for its part means changing structures, changing cultures, and changing practices. A culture of transformation is, among others, also constituted by values, which are supposed to give meaning to action.

14/11/2023

Rethinking Development Studies

By Kees Biekart, Laura Camfield, Uma Kothari, Henning Melber

Our world is in shambles. And what is widely understood as Development has been a contributing factor. While ‘fixers’ are quick to offer new recipes for Development, re-building or re-constructing societies destroyed, they often offer more of the same. This provokes the question, as to whether life on earth might have been much better off without Development.