Written by: Sana Nafaji

In 2019 I left for Nairobi, Kenya, where I completed my academic co-op placement for 8 months. Prior to leaving for co-op, I wrestled with a lot of challenges surrounding the ethics of my presence in the Global South at an organization. I questioned my value, the potential impact of my role, and really tried to equip myself with the best preparation, in terms of both skills and mindset, to be of most benefit to my host organization. These questions became more pertinent as I began living and working in Nairobi. In the end, I could not shrug off the desire to dive into the ethics of international placements, and by virtue, the ethics of my experiences and behaviours while on placement. “Ethics” is understood to be moral dilemmas surrounding and implicated within Global North- South student placements. There are many examples of such dilemmas; for instance, Global North students being treated as experts in the field, being asked for money by colleagues or local friends, being treated better than co-workers by a supervisor etc. While there tends to be some broad patterned situations, each circumstance is further complicated by various positionalities and contexts, which require deep self-reflexivity in order to un-pack and respond accordingly. This is, in essence, what my thesis is about. Continue reading Just Keep Walking: Reflections on my Undergraduate Thesis →

Faithful development? Examining the (re)formative tension at the intersection of evangelicalism and international development

Written by: Alyssa Esparaz

An inquiry of personal positionality

My research question was formed out of tension I perceived within the institution of evangelicalism and its relationship with international development. Take, for example, current debates surrounding racial justice, gender equity and decolonization. These are contemporary debates that reflect classic tensions within evangelicalism and relate to some of evangelicalism’s most integral values: Love for one’s neighbour and compassion for ‘the poor’. They are debates that provide interesting points of investigation for a researcher like me.

However, beyond this, my research question was also formed out of personal tension. I am a young woman of colour who was raised in the evangelical church and now works for an evangelical international development organization. I am a feminist and anti-racist. I am a student, researcher, academic and practitioner. I am certainly not the white, Calvinist, middle-aged man who has traditionally held the centre of evangelical power, and yet I know I also hold some privileged identities within evangelicalism. Thus, my inquiry is as much about my position within evangelicalism as it is about anything else.

Research question and theoretical framework

My thesis examines the ways in which the evangelical Church and evangelical Christians in Canada approach the development interventions they are part of in the Global South. Through surveys and interviews, I focus on understanding the approaches and ideas of Canadian-based staff of evangelical international development organizations towards their work and the field of (evangelical) international development more broadly. Continue reading Faithful development? Examining the (re)formative tension at the intersection of evangelicalism and international development →