This course explores different ways of thinking and acting through 10 connected sections. Its objective is to make visible what today’s dominant narratives normally hide: that there is a whole world of incredibly rich transformative processes going on in all regions of our planet, both regarding alternative paradigms as well as transformative practices. It starts by looking closely at what we mean by development and the serious problems we face today, like climate change, loss of nature, and social issues such as inequality and racism. Participants will learn how to spot and evaluate real alternatives, working with those who promote them. The course includes case studies, videos, and important readings to help explain each topic. Each section builds on the last, and a short quiz at the end checks your understanding before you move on. This approach helps you see the valuable alternatives already being created worldwide.
The course was designed by Professor Miriam Lang as part of the Beyond Development Working Group Collective.
Curriculum
- 11 Sections
- 58 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Section 1: Welcome and how the course worksThis course is structured around 10 sections covering different aspects of systemic alternatives. Its objective is to make visible what today´s dominant narratives normally hide: that there is a whole world of incredibly rich transformative processes going on in all regions of our planet, both regarding alternative paradigms as well as transformative practices. Only through a deliberate exercise of declaring them irrelevant, or only local, or primitive, or maybe not scalable, have we learned to look the other way. In order to challenge this, the course has the objective to highlight alternatives already underway.3
- Section 2: Debates on development6
- Section 3: Multidimensional, systemic alternativesMiriam Lang8
- 3.1Module 1: Introduction to section 3
- 3.2Module 2: A systemic, multidimensional and civilizational crisis
- 3.3Module 3: Possible Dimensions of Alternatives Beyond Development
- 3.4Module 4: Assessing alternative dimensions
- 3.5Module 5: Case Study 1
- 3.6Module 6: Case Study 2
- 3.7Quiz: Section 35 Questions
- 3.8Additional materials
- Section 4: Indigenous Ontologies of Buen Vivir or Sumak Kawsay - Miriam7
- 4.1Module 1 – Introduction and overview
- 4.2Module 2 – Latin American debates in the early 2000s
- 4.3Module 3 – Amazonian perspectives on the Living Forest
- 4.4Module 4 – Buen vivir and the State
- 4.5Module 5 – Buen vivir from the perspective of a guaraní woman (Bolivia)
- 4.6Quiz: Section 45 Questions
- 4.7Additional materials
- Section 5: Struggles for environmental justice and alternatives to development in Africa8
- 5.1Module 1 – Introduction
- 5.2Module 2 – Pan-African Alternatives to Development
- 5.3Module 3 – Women’s roles and visions in African ecosocial struggles
- 5.4Module 4 – Ecofeminist Perspectives from Africa
- 5.5Module 5 – Ubuntu: an alternative paradigm from Africa
- 5.6Module 6 – Ecosocialism and ecocentric perspectives from Africa
- 5.7Quiz: Section 55 Questions
- 5.8Additional materials
- Section 6: Grassroots and Gandhian perspectives on alternatives: Eco-Swaraj6
- 6.1Module 1: Introduction
- 6.2Module 2: Alternatives to development from an Indian perspective: Experiences
- 6.3Module 3: Alternatives to Development from an Indian Perspective: Alternative frameworks and principles
- 6.4Module 4: The Flower of Transformation
- 6.5Quiz: Section 65 Questions
- 6.6Additional materials
- Section 7: Feminist economics and care7
- Section 8: The Commons9
- 8.1Module 1 – Introduction
- 8.2Module 2 – Elinor Ostrom understanding of common pool resources
- 8.3Module 3 – Commoning as an anti-capitalist strategy
- 8.4Module 4 – Producing the Common and Reproducing Life
- 8.5Module 5 – State power and commoning: transcending a problematic relationship
- 8.6Module 6 – Cecosesola: an amazing example of commoning
- 8.7Module 7 – Urban commons
- 8.8Quiz: Section 85 Questions
- 8.9Additional materials
- Section 9: Degrowth6
- Section 10: From development to reparations. Towards a globally just world order5
- Reflections2
