The DART Program was launched by Dean Spear in April of 2001 as he introduced Professor Stuart Corbridge, formerly of Cambridge University and now at the London School of Economics who gave a presentation on “Amartya Sen: Development as Freedom” (Professor Sen had recently won the Nobel Prize in Economics). Professor Corbridge wrote an original paper for the DART launch which is available on the DART website. Approximately one hundred faculty and graduate students attended the initial launch, which was followed by an equally successful follow-up lecture by anthropologist Arturo Escobar on the theme of “Encountering Development.” Both Professors Corbridge and Escobar held open-invitation seminars with graduate students in addition to the colloquium presentations. These seminars attracted about 20-30 graduate students and assorted faculty from various disciplines to each seminar.

II. A Brief History

Origins and rationale

Development Studies constitutes an interdisciplinary field of research and teaching. Its general concern is to understand the social, economic and political processes through which societies and environments have been transformed - above all in the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century- makes its scope of study as broad as the social and environmental sciences themselves. In practice, though, Development Studies takes and elaborates theory from these broad disciplinary realms to ask more specific questions focusing particularly on themes such as poverty, social inclusion, gender relationships and sustainability. Its questions tend to have a normative and applied dimension to them, often asking - for instance - how is it that poverty has been created, and under what conditions might peoples’ livelihoods improve. Some work is directly concerned with how to design and administer policies and programs. Whether its concern is substantive or applied, however, the best of development studies asks its questions in a theoretically rigorous way that ultimately feeds back into wider theory-building while also having something to say to actors and organizations who work to enhance human welfare. While traditionally development studies tended to be conducted in the “Third World” (typically viewed as Asia, Africa and Latin America), it is increasingly the case that work on development also addresses issues of poverty, social exclusion and environment in Europe, the former Soviet Union and North America, and the global processes that link quite distinct and distant regions of the world.

The proposal for a Developing Areas Research and Teaching (DART) Program at CU-Boulder emerged after core faculty members in the Geography Department recognized that the Department had a very strong competitive advantage nationwide among geography departments in research and teaching in the field of “development studies.” Their research interests covered themes such as food security and hunger in Africa, gender, migration and livelihoods in Indonesia, environment and social change in China, natural resource management and poverty in South Asia and the US, and indigenous movements, civil society and political economy in Latin America. This core of expertise, coupled with campus-wide faculty skills in international development, suggested that CU-Boulder could be a nationally competitive university specializing in the broad field of development studies. From this base, a broader coalition has been built with 25 faculty members from other departments and colleges who have expressed interest in DART and its activities, and agreed to link their teaching to core training in development studies at CU.

The existence of a more formal, interdisciplinary and cross-college center also offers a range of outreach possibilities in Colorado. There exists a strong core of non-faculty development professionals in the area who can contribute strongly to the program’s research and teaching mission. The program also has outreach to non-profits and schools in the area.

Early activities

Early program activities focused on teaching. The Geography Department has subsequently ordered and expanded its graduate instruction so as to offer a three course sequence in “Sustainable Development” (GEOG 5762, 5772, and 5782). These courses have demonstrated the broad interdisciplinary interest in development studies among students at Boulder. Usually only one-third of students in these heavily-enrolled classes are geography graduate students: other students in the sequence have come from anthropology, sociology, journalism, law, history, civil engineering, physics, political science, education, communications, environmental design, EPOB, business, and philosophy. The student-faculty connections that developed from teaching this course sequence have led to broad-based participation in thesis and dissertation committees and have further convinced us that the many students and faculty across campus who are engaged in research and teaching in development studies would benefit from a formal program. Based on this widespread expressed interest, we anticipate that the university’s ability to attract top graduate students will be enhanced by the program’s activities and existence. It is already the case that the courses and core of professors are attracting higher quality graduate applicants interested in development to the Geography Department. DART has an interdisciplinary Development Studies Certificate Program approved by the Graduate School involving courses taught in ten departments and three colleges on the Boulder campus.

An expanded concern for teaching recently led to a joint proposal from Geography and Anthropology for an outreach program with a Boulder non-profit organization. This was funded by the University, and will now begin two activities. The first has led to the development of a web site bringing together on-campus teaching and research, and statewide organizational resources on issues of international development. The second will involve outreach into schools in the Denver Metropolitan Area to develop resources and activities for a Program of Education and Outreach on Global Issues.

Other activities involved co-operation among the departments of Geography, Anthropology (in A&S) and Environmental Design (in the College of Architecture and Planning) to bring in a series of respected scholars in development studies under the auspices of departmental colloquia series and special talks. The graduate student bodies in Geography and Anthropology have also been active in coordinating these events and raising additional resources. A DART-sponsored colloquium by Distinguished Professor Neil Smith from CUNY on “Geographies of Terror” dealt with 9/11 and our response to the developing world. This even was attended by over 100 people. DART has also joined forces with local non-profits to arrange a weekend workshop on “Extractive Industries, environment and development in the America” which brought together speakers from Latin America and Colorado and was attended by over one hundred people including faculty, student, community and other professionals. A brownbag series features scholars from on campus and professionals from the community. Speakers have included faculty from philosophy and engineering, the director of social development at Newmont Mining Corporation (Denver), and the director of a Boulder-based environmental non-profit..

DART has been able to co-sponsor events with a range of units on campus: the Departments of Anthropology and Geography, the Environmental Center, the Boulder Rainforest Action Group, UCSU, IMPART and the Center for Arts and Humanities. This indicates the breadth of interest on campus in Dart’s core concerns.

III. Statement of Purpose

The Program in Developing Areas Research and Teaching (DART) is an interdisciplinary organization at the University of Colorado located on the Boulder Campus. The Program supports research and teaching initiatives in “development studies.” It is defined by its interdisciplinarity and inclusivity, and draws its membership from a wide array of faculty in Arts & Sciences, as well as other units such as Business and Engineering. The program welcomes members from all campuses of the University and also from the community at large. It serves as a locus for students and scholars throughout the State of Colorado and the broader region who will take part in our activities and utilize our research facilities. Indeed, DART has attracted interest and participation from faculty at Colorado State University, Denver University, and the Colorado School of Mines.

The Program in Development Studies Research and Teaching (DART) exists principally to:

A. Facilitate and promote research by supporting faculty and student initiatives through:
_ identifying funding sources, both general and specific to development research;
_ providing research and technical staff assistance;
_ facilitating interdisciplinary faculty/professional dialogue about potential research and programmatic cooperation and research grant writing;
_ providing an administrative “base” for joint research and programmatic initiatives;
_ providing evidence of the University’s recognition of its strength in developing areas studies, as required by granting authorities;
_ administering grant activities (in teaching, research and outreach, etc.).

B. Enhance our teaching mission by:
_ building on our existing strong program of graduate offerings;
_ help identify areas where new undergraduate and graduate courses would be beneficial
_ working towards the elaboration and coordination of interdisciplinary certificate programs in development studies at both the graduate and undergraduate level;
_ establishing a methodology course sequence as related to development evaluation;
_ facilitating interdisciplinary courses in development studies at the undergraduate level targeted to majors in a range of disciplines and also International Affairs and Environmental Studies students;
_ developing summer internships for both undergraduates and graduate students with a range of multilateral, non-governmental and other development organizations; and working with local development professionals in Colorado to enhance the learning experience of our students, and linking with local international development groups (including the development of internships);
_ working with the public and private sector to develop in-service training options for our students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels;
_ formalizing already existing and potential affiliations abroad to facilitate international fieldwork research by CU faculty members and students

C. Establish a visible focus for development studies at CU through:
_ publicizing our strength and establish an identity for CU as a major source of teaching and research in this field;
_ developing a national reputation as a leader in this field;
_ establishing a “directory” of faculty expertise in this area
_ focusing on a public relations campaign to promote CU’s capacities in international development to diverse audiences in academia, the professional development arena, the state and the Boulder community.
_ developing the necessary information on DART for various audiences, including a web-page, modified mission statements, graduate brochures, and outreach statements.
_ establishing a link with the International Affairs Program and Study Abroad for DART initiatives at the undergraduate level;
_ establishing DART as a clearing house for development studies information to serve the state, and especially the Front Range.

D. Promote outreach by:
_ developing links with Boulder and state level agencies concerned with education in and other dimensions of international development;
_ developing links with state and local school teachers and organizations working with them on development education;
_ organizing student-faculty teams to present colloquia on development studies to local organizations, teacher groups and the campus community;
_ formalizing a public and widely advertised lecture series to feature leading scholars in the field;
_ facilitating links between CU faculty and other development related organizations in Boulder and Colorado
_ facilitating research and academic partnerships between CU and development studies groups in other universities in other countries

E: Assist in fund raising by:
_ coordinating efforts by faculty to seek external funding from governmental and foundation sources for research projects, curricular and programmatic development and infrastructure.
_ establishing connections with development specialists in the community, including alumni, who may wish to support university activities, sponsor research, or engage in joint projects.
_ enhancing graduate student competitiveness in seeking external funding by providing them with information on fellowships relevant to development studies

F: Attract and retain faculty and graduate students by:
_ providing an inter-disciplinary and collegial environment in which to conduct research and teaching
_ providing an institutional structure that can enhance on campus resources to support this research and teaching (speaker series, programmatic grants etc.)
_ providing greater visibility to development related work conducted on campus