Gender & Development Communication: Theory & Practice

This Course overviews the different influential theoretical approaches within the field of Development Communication, paying attention to origin, application and strengths and weaknesses of various strategies & development campaigns in different parts of the world and current theoretical debates. Throughout the semester we will be considering how gender is linked to notions of power, identity visibility, voice, participation and other important elements of identity formation and how these are reflected in different kinds of development communication campaigns. Students will gain gain insights on how “development communication” both influence and are influenced by gender/ class/ race/ ethnicity/ nationality and other social categories and impact norms, cultural formations and development agendas.. Concurrently we will also be examining how having a gendered lens helps address or orient issues in media and development praxis. The purpose is to provide a foundational understanding of the field that students can apply to critiquing, analyzing and designing social change and development programs in their own capacities as professionals, development planners, community activists, advocates, etc.