Social inequality and environmental degradation are fundamentally intertwined. This course will interrogate key concepts, ideas, and practices that enable the patterns of stark inequality and environmental destruction that we live with in the modern world. Through ethnographies of development practice, we will trace ideological and conceptual underpinnings of contemporary efforts to alleviate poverty and environmental degradation. We will consider how the concept of development is enmeshed in ideologies that imagine natural and social worlds as governable objects and productive resources. Lastly, we will explore intellectual, political, and activist movements – such as ‘South-South cooperation,’ ‘pluriverse politics,’ and ‘degrowth’ – that seek not only to undo development’s conceptual underpinning but also to imagine alternative responses to global inequality, marginalization, and the climate crisis.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- critically examine how key development concepts are entwined with racism, sexism, and anthropocentrism;
- articulate the conceptual and institutional connections between colonialism, international development, poverty and environmental destruction;
- conduct critical analyses of contemporary environmental and development initiatives; and
- evaluate the potentials of and barriers to radical alternatives to sustainable development.
Indicative Assessment
- Class preparation and participation for first half of class, including the completion of self-evaluations (5) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Class preparation and participation for second half of class, including the completion of self-evaluations (5) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Minor essay of 1,500 words due halfway through the course (35) [LO 1,2,3]
- Final essay of 2,500 words due 3 weeks after the conclusion of the course (55) [LO 1,2,3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up of:
(a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 3 hour sessions of short lectures and tutorial-style discussion
(b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Prescribed Texts
All texts will be distributed via Canvas.
Preliminary Reading
Escobar, Arturo. 1988. “Power and Visibility: Development and the Invention and Management of the Third World.”
Murphy, Michelle. 2017. The Economization of Life.
Merchant, Carolyn. 1995. “Reinventing Eden: Western Culture as a Recovery Narrative.”
Liebman, Adam. 2019. “Reconfiguring Chinese Natures"
Watanabe, Chika. 2014. “Muddy Labor: A Japanese Aid Ethic of Collective Intimacy in Myanmar.”
Scherz, China. 2013. “Let Us Make God Our Banker"
Chitra, V. 2024. Drawing Coastlines
Parreñas, Juno Salazar. 2018. Decolonizing Extinction
Nadasdy, Paul. 2007. “The Gift in the Animal"
Neale, Timothy. 2023. “What Tradition Affords: Articulations of Indigeneity in Contemporary Bushfire Management”
McLellan, Timothy. 2026. “The Time Politics of Agroforestry Science.”
Halpern, Orit, and Gökçe Günel. 2017. “Demoing unto Death"
Adams, Vincanne. 2013. “Evidence-Based Global Public Health: Subjects, Profits, Erasures.”
Biruk, Crystal. 2018. Cooking Data
Li, Tania Murray. 2011. “Rendering Society Technical"
Green, Maia. 2024. “Privileged Observers and Colonial Continuities.”
Flachs, Andrew. 2022. “Degrowing Alternative Agriculture"
Cadena, Marisol de la, and Arturo Escobar. 2023. “Notes on Excess: Towards Pluriversal Design.”
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $4620 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $6840 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.