This research examines the representation of colonial and decolonial histories within Canadian International Development Studies (IDS) curricula. Through a review of 59 first and second year Canadian IDS syllabi, this chapter argues that while colonial history receives substantial attention, decolonial history often remains marginal or is introduced only in advanced courses. This approach risks reinforcing colonial epistemologies and can limit students’ critical engagement with alternative historical narratives and perspectives from the Global South. The analysis reveals that decolonial history, when included, tends to be compartmentalized, missing opportunities for integration into foundational courses. This selective inclusion shapes students’ understanding of global power structures, often leaving them with a predominantly colonial framing. The chapter advocates for a more balanced and integrated approach, positioning decolonial history alongside colonial history in early courses to facilitate a comprehensive view of the complexities and legacies of colonialism. By integrating both histories across the curriculum, Canadian IDS programs can better equip students to engage critically with global issues, acknowledging not only the historical roots of development but also alternative, decolonial paths forward.

This chapter investigates the epistemic landscape of introductory International Development Studies (IDS) reading lists in Canadian undergraduate programs, focusing on the representation of Global North and Global South knowledge sources. Drawing on a review of 59 syllabi and 2,055 assigned readings from 2018–2023, the analysis reveals a pronounced dominance of Global North sources, accounting for 92.4% of all assigned materials, with the UK and US leading. This geographical imbalance persists across all source categories, including academic publications, multimedia, and creative works. Despite the field's focus on the Global South, materials from Southern publishers constitute a mere 2.7% of the total. These findings raise critical questions about the implications of epistemic dominance for students' understanding of expertise, potentially reinforcing biases that marginalize Southern voices and perspectives. To address this disparity, the chapter advocates for the integration of diverse Global South sources and media types, alongside curricular reforms aimed at fostering epistemic inclusivity. By critically engaging with the politics of knowledge production, this study contributes to ongoing discussions on decolonizing academic curricula and diversifying global development education.

The world is facing a myriad of global challenges, including threats to multilateralism and a rule-based international order, global conflicts, pandemics, socioeconomic crises, climate change, regional conflicts, etc. This has significantly impacted the global compact around international development. There is a dwindling appetite among citizens of Global North for overseas development assistance and a loss of faith in grand narratives like liberal capitalism or communism. At the same time, post-colonial critics (including feminist scholars) have undermined faith in international development, arguing that they are instruments of neocolonialism or, at best, the misguided modernized notion of ‘white men’s burden’ where knowledge production has been restricted and defined to privileged Western ideologies. Unfortunately, given the global crisis that we face, with impending climate disasters and billions of people still under the poverty line, we are in dire need of an effective global compact. We need to reimagine Development as Hope, characterized by "informed naivety" or "pragmatic idealism," embodying the hopefulness of modernist thinking while acknowledging complexity and uncertainty. A return to the grand narrative that we can solve these global issues without the naivety of modernism nor the cynicism or skepticism of post-modernism. The main task of this paper is to explore how philosophical principles of Metamodernism, such as Metaxis, Pragmatic Idealism, Epistemological Flexibility, Oscillations, etc., could reimagine and reinvigorate modern development discourse. The paper will mainly focus on gender, evaluation theories, and climate issues as primary case examples of where Metamodernist thinking could positively contribute to International Development discourse, contrasting it with modernist thinking and postmodernist criticism.

Contributing to ongoing conversations about the decolonization of International Development Studies programs, this study examines student perceptions on the integration of Indigenous content in the undergraduate curriculum in the School of International Development and Global Studies (SIDGS) at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa). The University of Ottawa is the largest bilingual (English/French) university in the world, located on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Nation and is home to Canada’s largest department of international development studies. Understanding student experiences and perspectives is vital for the creation of a curriculum with meaningful integration of Indigenous content. This conference paper will (1) describe students’ experiences engaging with Indigenous content within the International Development and Global Studies undergraduate program (DVM); (2) identify perceived gaps in SIDGS undergraduate course offerings and; (3) analyze student-driven ideas for addressing these gaps. This study draws on surveys with DVM undergraduate students; academic roundtables (focus groups); and a collaborative workshop at uOttawa’s 2025 International Development Week. By highlighting student voices and opinions, the study offers important insights on creating a more inclusive and well-rounded approach to the Indigenization of International Development Studies in Canadian higher education. The study methodology also demonstrates an innovative approach to undergraduate student-led research on evaluating student perspectives on their university programs, and the ways in which they seek to shape their education.