Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement

3 credits · Undergraduate

Development programs, large and small, frequently cause population resettlement, both voluntary and involuntary. This course focuses on the study of development-induced involuntary population displacement – physical, economic and cultural - and on post-displacement resettlement and reconstruction. Such population movements will be analyzed in the course not as idiosyncratic, accidental side-effects of particular projects, but as a category of complex social processes inherent to development. The course will place development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) within the broader categorisation of population displacements. It will compare development-displacees to other major categories of displaced populations, from conflict- generated refugees to environmentally displaced people, in order to identify common characteristics and substantive differences. This course is designed to introduce students, mainly through case studies, to the basic concepts, issues and problems which pertain to development induced displacement. It combines legal, theoretical and policy approaches. In the first part of the course we will explore key underlying questions: What are the main theories and concepts related to displacement? How well equipped are global governance structures and legal frameworks to cope with development induced displacement? The second part of the course incorporates a range of systematic themes including ethics, gender, indigenous communities, activism and resistance, etc., drawing upon affected people’s views, voices and responses whenever possible and a wide range of case studies from the global south and Canada. We will explore the rights and responsibilities of different actors including states, donors, corporations, NGOs, and displaced persons. FORMATS: Lecture