A Political Epistemology of International Development
| Dates: | 20 November 2024 |
|---|
| Times: | 16:30 - 18:00 |
|---|
| What is it: | Lecture |
|---|
| Organiser: | Global Development Institute |
|---|
| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
|---|
|
|
Speaker: David Ludwig (Wageningen)
The colonial myth of a “civilizing mission” is built on imagining the colonized as ignorant and in need of education by colonial knowledge holders. Even after the collapse of European empires, international development maintained many of these epistemic hierarchies, treating local communities as passive beneficiaries of externally produced scientific knowledge. “Participatory,” “community-driven,” “co-creation,” “transdisciplinary,” and “multi-stakeholder” approaches have aimed to overcome these hierarchies in international development by embracing epistemic diversity. While these approaches promise more equal forms of dialogue and knowledge co-production, they often fail to deliver on these promises in development practice. Aiming to understand the complex dynamics of knowledge production in international development, this talk outlines a program of political epistemology.
David Ludwig is an associate professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands where he is also the PI of the “Global Epistemologies and Ontologies” (GEOS) project. As a philosopher of science and transdisciplinary researcher, his work focuses on knowledge co-production between scientists and local communities in Latin America and West Africa.
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
G33
Humanities Bridgeford Street
Manchester
