Development and Dispossession

Catalog description

Where do ideas about human development and progress come from? How do ideas about human progress intersect with the development of nonhuman landscapes, built environments and infrastructure? What are the intended and unintended consequences of the projects these ideas inspire? This class asks you to consider this goal from a global historical perspective, including but not limited to the Middle East. In particular, we will examine how projects aimed at improvement have legitimated and shaped colonial expansion, large-scale infrastructure schemes, and population exchanges, alongside human experiences of dispossession, loss, and exile.