Development studies beyond its colonial legacy : what lessons does history hold?

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the decolonisation debate has shed light on the legacy of colonialism in development studies, including challenging the tendency to favour Western knowledge in academia. The research for this bachelor thesis aimed to contribute to this debate and to the understanding of how development studies can address its colonial legacy. The research problem this study sought to address was: ‘What can development studies learn from the colonial period, and why should history be addressed?’ This problem was pursued by examining various perspectives and theories from colonial and post-colonial history with attention to key issues within contemporary development studies. The scholars reviewed for this study disagreed on when development studies began, but most saw the colonial heritage as central in the founding of the new academic field. Actors argued that there are aspects of history that one may build on rather than seeking to remove the whole historical legacy of development studies. The process of decolonisation in academia was found to cover several distinct themes, yet disagreement remained about what is a remnant of colonialism. The study concluded that increased attention to voices that have been previously forgotten in the establishment of development studies is needed. In addition, there is a need to acknowledge the remaining hierarchy between countries, and the lack of a balanced ‘global development’ through which all societies experience a form of development. Without aiming to find ‘closure’, the thesis contributes to the debate about decolonisation and the transformation of development studies by stressing how history may fill in gaps in the understanding of how to decolonise academia and minimise the potential negative effects of the process.