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Development Under Erasure: Deconstruction In Development Discourse, Micah Gill

Honors Theses

Jacques Derrida’s theory of deconstruction has been historically underappreciated in development. Yet Derrida’s critical theory realizes development as an inherently deconstructive field, one which advocates for the Other when disciplines such as economics and international relations overlook them. By examining the history of development through a Derridean lens, we can see how deconstruction was working within some of the development discourse’s prominent shifts leading up to its “impasse” in the 1980s. Heightened critical attention around this time catalyzed a flurry of deconstructive processes in the following years which have reshaped the landscape of development scholarship and practice. The story of …