White optimism and the erasures of racism in global development

Reflecting on the Sussex Development Lecture series theme of “the politics of hope”, this presentation will unpack the various uses of optimism in projects of global development. Focusing on the silencing and erasures of matters of racism in the field of education and international development, and drawing on Charles Mills’ political theories of ‘white ignorance’, we consider the extent to which industries of development turn on a ‘white optimism’ to keep systems of racial domination in place.

Speaker

Dr Arathi Sriprakash is a Reader in Sociology at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.