Welcome to IPID's internal work site

Group background and founding

The Interdisciplinary Perspectives on International Development (IPID) Project is a newly formed student initiative linking graduate students, scholars, and practitioners with interests in development. The student group originated in 2008 around the writing and execution of a University grant proposal for the Office of Interdisciplinary Initiatives (OII). The IPID stuCoursedent group will initiate and sustain an online student-edited journal and speaker series. These activities constitute an ongoing cross-department and cross-sector endeavor meant to grow and evolve. The OII grant, however, constitutes much of the seed funding necessary for the 2009-2010 inaugural year. The working theme for this first year is “Development Reconsidered,” and it will examine the field of international development, explore cutting-edge issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, and consider the future of development projects in the global South. Three faculty members have been secured as project advisors to the twelve founding members of the group.

Rationale

International development is inherently an interdisciplinary and cross-sector endeavor explored by many institutes, departments, and initiatives across the University of Minnesota. Nevertheless, much of the scholarship and discourse remains siloed for lack of a common venue and common purpose. IPID will offer such a forum and focus for student exploration, networking, and scholarship. The group, speaker series, and online journal will provide graduate students with opportunities to develop skills in leadership and to promote their scholarship around the theme of “Development Reconsidered.” The IPID project will set out to explore three initial research questions: 1) “How does an interdisciplinary perspective shift our conceptualization of international development?”, 2) “What are the trends and issues affecting current approaches to international development?”, and 3) “What is the future of this interdisciplinary field (including the role of the international community)?” It is fitting that the founding charter IPID members and advisors come from departments with a tradition of cross-disciplinary and cross-sector scholarship and practice. Beyond the University, there is a niche for a student-edited journal concentrating in international development and an online scholarly dialog between students and faculty around the aforementioned research questions.

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