The Sounds of Development: Musical Representation as (An)other Source of Development Knowledge

o our knowledge there has been little research to date on the relationship between international development and popular music—for example, on the ways in which familiar development themes are rendered in popular music, or how music might constitute part of development interventions. As with our earlier explorations of popular representations of development in the contexts of novels and films, in this chapter we aim to make the case that music is a useful but largely unexplored repository of knowledge about development that also critically helps to shape ideas, perceptions, and practices. We are particularly interested in how music may offer distinctive insights into the way development issues—broadly defined as both aid and projects, as well as wider ideas about international poverty, inequality, and societal change—take on public significance in social, cultural, and political terms, as well as the ways they are sustained in everyday life.