Submitted by D.M. Bradley on Mon, 22/02/2021 - 13:49
Our MPhils in the student-run society CAMSED have released their very first episode of CAMSED’s podcast, the Cambridge Development Podcast, which is available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
What is the process of post-conflict reconstruction in Mogadishu, Somalia? How does a development researcher navigate the intricacies of their positionality within the spaces of their research? How can development researchers approach the various politicized systems of contextual production of knowledge and contribute to more equitable epistemological production?
In their pilot episode, Pascual Gonzalez interviews Surer Mohamed, a final year PhD student at the University of Cambridge, and co-host of the award-winning podcast, On Things We Left Behind. Surer illuminates her perspectives on our questions from her research and personal experiences in the post-war reconstruction in Somalia.
In the episode, they cover:
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The ownership, not only legally but also emotionally, of urban space and life post-conflict
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The need to emphasize the co-constructed rather than extractive nature of knowledge in field research
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The importance of providing a space for narrative and valuing individual accounts in pursuit of deeper understandings in academic work
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The role of nostalgia and political memory in imaginings of what a reconstructed state or city should look like post-conflict