Book Discussion
Reimagining Development: Bold Directions Towards a Thriving World
(Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2025).
Speakers:
Co-authors Dr Peter Sutoris, Associate Professor, University of Leeds, UK and Uma Pradhan, Associate Professor, University College London, UK (via online)
Moderator: Pramod Bhatta, Martin Chautari
Date, Time and Venue:
14 September 2025/२९ भदौ २०८२ (आइतबार, दिउँसो ३ बजे)
Martin Chautari Seminar Hall, Thapathali, Kathmandu
LIVE:
www.fb.com/martinchautari.f
www.youtube.com/mchautari
About the Book:
Imagining a better future is at the heart of development. But mainstream development models are driven by a very narrow, Western-centric set of ideas about what it means to be human. What could be possible if we let ourselves imagine differently?
As our world continues to evolve at breakneck speed and faces unprecedented crises—from the decaying environment to cascading inequality—the need for bold new directions for development has never been greater. Peter Sutoris and Uma Pradhan put a spotlight on the thought-provoking visions of leading theorists, activists and practitioners for rethinking development as a political project towards more equitable futures. Questioning top-down economic frameworks, they explore transformative ideas—from degrowth to indigenous knowledge—that may enable us to address the complexities of our rapidly changing global landscape. They consider how the world can chart a path towards reconciling the moral case for eradicating poverty with these critical perspectives to advance a more ethical approach, one that is sensitive to history, diversity, and the challenges and opportunities of this moment.
If development is to remain relevant today, it must reinvent itself—and finally listen to voices on the ground.
About the Speaker:
Peter Sutoris is an Associate Professor in Climate and Development at the University of Leeds, UK. He is the author of Visions of Development: Films Division of India and the Imagination of Progress, 1948-75 (Oxford University Press/Hurst, 2016), Educating for the Anthropocene: Schooling and Activism in the Face of Slow Violence (The MIT Press, 2022), and Reimagining Development: Bold Directions Towards a Thriving World [with Uma Pradhan] (Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2025). He is also a co-editor of the journal Compare, and member of editorial collectives of Degrowth Journal and Decolonial Subversions.
Uma Pradhan is an Associate Professor at IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, and Deputy Programme Leader for BA Education, Culture, and Society. She also serves as Inclusion Co-Lead for the Department of Education, Practice and Society (EPS). At UCL, she is part of the Centre for Education and International Development (CEID) and the Centre for the Study of South Asia and the Indian Ocean World. Before joining UCL, she was a Lecturer and Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Oxford.
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