Abstract
Communication for and about development, engaging intervention toward social change, integrates critical research with thoughtful practice towards social justice. Communicating about development builds on critical analyses of discourse in historical, structural, and social contexts. Key to current emerging themes in the field is attention to global conditions, including political as well as economic characteristics of structures. In this chapter, communicative discourse is positioned as critical rhetorical engagement situated within political‐economic structures in historical and global contexts. Recognizing the contexts of the development industry and global conditions offers us a valuable first step in understanding these processes and their potentials. One key theme in emerging discourse on development highlights attention to sustainability. Social justice represents another emerging trend, building on attention to equity in distribution of resources, capitals, and rights.