During the 2016/17 academic year we are delighted to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the MPhil in Development Studies at ODID.

For two decades, the MPhil has provided a rigorous and critical introduction to development as a process of managed and unmanaged change in societies in the global South. We have interrogated when and how ‘development’ was invented, why the tides of theory and policy ebb and flow as they do, what gives rise to resistance and by whom, where the global economy is headed, and where we may stand in these processes.

Over 400 students have studied on the course, participating in these debates and going on to stellar careers in development research, policy and practice – and well beyond that – all over the globe.

To celebrate the course’s intellectual success and the accomplishments of alumni, we held a one-day event on Friday 2 June 2017 bringing former classmates together with current students to discuss changes in the ideas of development in the last 20 years – as well as to catch up and socialise. 

Read an article by Professor Frances Stewart from our alumni magazine, Oxford Development Matters, about the origins of the course:

Read a blog post by Associate Professor Diego Sanchez-Ancochea drawing on discussions at the event to reflect on the meaning of development studies.

Programme

Download the programme here.

Podcasts, Video and Photographs

You can listen to podcasts of the presentations, watch a video interview with four alumni, and see some photographs from the event below.

Note: The views expressed in Christopher Bredholt's presentation are solely his own and do not reflect the views of Moody’s Corporation or its affiliates.