40 Critical Thinkers in Community Development

Who are the great activists, thinkers and writers who can inspire us in our community development work? Environmentalists, poets, philosophers, civil rights activists, trade unionists – all can help us question the assumptions that underlie our international development practice. This book invites students and professionals of community development and citizen activists to reflect on the roots of their practice and discover the wisdom of writers they may not have heard of before. The book highlights 40 personal and rigorous reflections, distilling several wisdoms and 40 ‘gems’ of ideas for community development, from thought-leaders including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ela Bhatt, Jacques Derrida, Frantz Fanon, Paulo Freire, bell hooks, John Keats, Rosa Luxemburg, Wangari Maathai, Manfred Max-Neef, Arundhati Roy, E.F. Schumacher, Vandana Shiva, Rabindranath Tagore and Greta Thunberg. The book’s introduction will support readers in creating a personal practice framework, and a Coda/Map of Practice offers a vibrant visual representation of practice wisdoms in watercolour. 40 Critical Thinkers in Community Development is an important resource for daily or weekly readings and reflections, study groups, working or project teams, and as a resource for teachers of community development.

Peter Westoby has been involved in development practice for over thirty years, working as a grassroots practitioner, facilitator and scholar in diverse contexts such as Australia, PNG, the Philippines, Vanuatu, India, South Africa and Uganda. He is currently Associate Professor of Social Science and Community Development at Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Development Support, University of the Free State, South Africa.

David Palmer currently teaches community development at Murdoch University. Much of his work takes him to remote parts of Central and Northern Australia supporting community-controlled projects carried out by Indigenous groups. Often this means he gets to see first-hand both the challenges facing communities, some of whom had their first contact with non-Indigenous people as recently as the 1970s, and a range of creative and culturally grounded projects.

Athena Lathouras, known as 'Tina', had 30 years practice experience in the areas of community development, disability support, and with peak bodies. She is a senior lecturer in the social work programme at the University of the Sunshine Coast; a member of Community Praxis Co-operative and volunteer liaison with Community Development Queensland.