DSAA Pedagogies Blog

Kevin Hans Waitkuweit, Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago.  Connections across disciplines fortify methodological applications in real-world settings. International development presents a prime space at the nexus of the academic and real world. Through various forms of applied research, international development practitioners engage with many topics, from macro-level systems, such as agriculture and economics, to micro-level phenomena, such as refugee experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder and gendered social interactions. Unsurprisingly, the resulting breadth of potential research areas creates space for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary engagement among a contrasting group of scholars. As a former international development practitioner,

Jace Tor Bulger, University of Wollongong This blog provides a student perspective on volunteer tourism or global service learning (GSL) programs. These programs are ever increasingly catching the eye of white, privileged students. For many, they represent an appealing way for people to experience emotional growth through feeling like they have done something good for humanity. It is important to note that cross-cultural learning for young students is vitally important. Those experiences allow for the growth of understanding and cooperation between people globally, which is highly important in an increasingly globalised world. However, how these connections are formed is important

Bill Walker In the spirit of reinventing Paulo Freire, this blog explores one strand which strengthens Freire’s conscientisation capability set: community sensitisation [^1] . Pro-social development engenders the flourishing of persons and communities when it harnesses existing cultural institutions to foster a more peaceful and just rule of law. Too often, development programs assume a practiced rule of law for the good already exists. Community-level interventions need to engage constructively with local cultural institutions and their norms, harnessing these to promote pro-social learning and development, while challenging those cultural norms which violate human rights. Engagement begins with community sensitisation as

Elizabeth Lakey and Megan McIntosh Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne As the world opens up, global exchange programs are again in full swing and service learning placements are being facilitated in country rather than virtually. Once again, students from the Global North are travelling to the Global South in pursuit of intercultural experience, exposure to the development sector and with the intention of contributing to some wonderful not-for-profit organisations. Global Service Learning (GSL) placements are met with mixed views by development scholars. Some research points to increased intercultural competence as a result of such placements, others suggest that placements

Katarzyna Olcoń Senior Lecturer, Social Work, University of Wollongong kolcon@uow.edu.au White ignorance is the source of the ongoing strained race relations and the contributor to the disadvantage of the Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in settler colonial countries such as Australia or the United States (Taylor & Habibis, 2020). Indeed, education was the most common recommendation that Taylor and Habibis (2020) received from Aboriginal people interviewed on the topic of White Australian people, culture and race relations. So how do we educate White people about race, racism and Whiteness, and are they willing to learn? These were some of

Bill Walker This is the third post in a three-part series on the pedagogy and praxis of Paulo Freire. Reinventing Freire for the twenty-first century In our changing world, is Freire’s democratising approach to countering institutionalised oppression still relevant? My second blog outlined how Freire’s twentieth-century democratising praxis arose from large-scale experimentation in colonised, authoritarian and collectivist cultures, still common across ‘’the Global South.’ Despite changed historical settings since Freire’s experimentation, much contemporary evidence supports key aspects of his analysis and approach in a variety of oppressive contexts, when reinvented. In this blog, I outline the story of how communities

What’s your research area? [BJ] My PhD focuses on the two fields of development communication and public relations to explore how they can be used to refine communication research and practice in development. I aim to offer new methods, approaches, and categories for theorising and conceptualising communication in development. [VB] I conduct research on the application of Communication for Development in Peacebuilding with a focus on realities affected by violent conflict. I explore and evaluate new communication for development approaches that employ different media and communication channels to contribute to social change and sustainable peace in the aftermath of (or

Bill Walker This is the second post in a three-part series on the pedagogy and praxis of Paulo Freire. Part 1 https://www.developmentstudies.asn.au/2021/09/21/paulo-freire-marking-the-100th-anniversary-of-his-birth/ marked the 100th anniversary of his birth with a brief outline of his life and thinking. Lifelong learning is important not only in development studies but for people living in poverty and illiteracy. For the latter, who included Freire himself (see my blog Part 1), lifelong learning is essential. Freire’s own commitment to lifelong learning enabled him to escape poverty – as it has done for millions of other people. This commitment was evident in his continued quest

Tahmina Rashid In Australia many international students (particularly students from South East Asia) will introduce themselves with an English name instead of using their birth name; migrants are also often asked for their nicknames for ease of pronouncing; and many are given an English name by their employer for the same reason. Such stripping of identity by renaming an individual, though not unique to Australia, is not as banal as many would have us believe. Naming practices are reflective of prevailing power structures and hierarchies; creating new identities by erasing previous identities; creating new relationships and histories by maintaining colonial

Bill Walker One hundred years ago this week, Paulo Freire was born into a middle-class family in north-east Brazil. At the age of eight, global economic depression struck his family, forcing them to move into a marginalised rural community. Then at thirteen, his father died, plunging his family even deeper into poverty. Later, he suffered exile – not once, but twice. Freire’s own lived experience of multi-faceted impoverishment and marginalisation deeply influenced the remaining decades of his thinking, praxis, and faith. This piece offers a very brief overview of Paulo Freire’s legacy. Future pieces contain reflections on how and why