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H ave you ever heard of "development history"? I was recently on a flight from Beijing to Chicago, and when my seatmate asked about my work, he was completely unfamiliar with this relatively new field. It's a common reaction! So, let me shed some light on what development history is all about.
While the concept of "development" often brings to mind economic growth and statistics, development history delves deeper. It's true that social scientists have made significant contributions to our understanding of development, primarily focusing on economic factors and using quantitative methods. However, as a historian, I approach development from a different angle.
Development history views development as an intentional process shaped by the actions of states and other actors. We explore the historical context of development interventions: the motivations, the ideologies, the power dynamics, and the unintended consequences. Essentially, we seek to understand why and how certain development paths were chosen, and what we can learn from those choices.
Instead of just analyzing final reports and policy documents, development historians dig into the "sausage-making" of development. We examine the messy, complex processes behind those polished pronouncements. Think minutes from meetings, private correspondence, personal diaries – sources that reveal the human side of development, including the disagreements, compromises, and hidden agendas.
Of course, it's crucial to include the voices of those most affected by development interventions – the people often marginalized in official records. Oral histories, community archives, and even crowdsourced platforms help bring these perspectives to light.
Development history also examines the long-term impact of interventions, not just through statistics, but by exploring how projects have shaped people's lives and how communities have, in turn, shaped those projects.
