The importance of culture in development programs
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Associate Professor Richie Howitt |
A group of award winning teachers across the fields of anthropology and human geography have joined forces to offer the new Master of Development Studies and Culture Change.
Commencing in Semester One 2007, the new masters program is designed to help students understand the importance of considering cultural issues when embarking on development programs.
"Many of the development crises we are dealing with across the world today are issues of localised resource availability, crop failures, drought, and famine related to political machinations," says course co-coordinator, Associate Professor Richie Howitt. "This new program aims to provide practitioners with a broad range of skills and understanding in order to make a positive contribution and support local people."
Development across the world
"The notion of development is often a neo-colonial project, an imposition from outside," explains Howitt. "Often we are expecting indigenous and small local cultures to participate in a global system on terms which are incredibly unfavourable to their populations."
One key area of post developmental practice has been the Chiapas region of southern Mexico. A group of indigenous farmers don't want to participate in the North American Free Trade Agreement on terms that are set by the powerful economies of the north. The new Master of Development Studies and Culture Change is designed to teach people to listen to responses such as this and take them seriously.
Subjects on offer
The program aims to stimulate students to reflect on their own experience and resituate that in the context of cultural issues.
Students will be required to undertake the subjects of Development theory and practice (Anthropology) and Social impact assessment and cross-cultural negotiation (Human Geography). They will also choose subjects around a core of units which include migration and transnationalism, urban anthropology, health and disease, human rights, globalisation and sustainable development. There are also a range of elective programs in international communication, economics, international law, language, psychology and sociology.
Award winning teachers
Lecturers in the Master of Development Studies and Culture Change will be drawing on personal experience in their teaching of the program. The Departments of Anthropology and Human Geography have a number of award winning teachers with in-depth field experience. Dr Chris Lyttleton has worked with the UN on HIV/AIDS programs in South-East Asia, Dr Kate Lloyd has been involved in eco tourism development in Vietnam, and Richie Howitt has conducted social impact assessments across Indigenous Australia.
A powerful experience
The new Master of Development Studies and Culture Change will offer participants more than just a piece of paper. "When you come into a university as an adult learner you want something that is worth the expenditure of your effort, something that changes your understanding of what you are doing and adds value," says Howitt. "This program will do that. It will still offer the piece of paper but will provide a powerful educational experience too."
For further information contact Richie Howitt rhowitt@els.mq.edu.au or Chris Lyttleton chris.lyttleton@mq.edu.au