Coming from a developing country, I embarked on my academic journey at the University of Cambridge in the Development Studies program to understand the underlying reasons for poverty and deprivation in large parts of my home country, Pakistan. This intellectual curiosity informs my research and teaching to understand what it means to be developed and the meanings of underdevelopment. In my research, I explore these themes further in the context of China's emergence as a global power and Chinese views on helping underdeveloped countries become developed. The Chinese effort to bring development to those considered underdeveloped is the latest in a long list of global development initiatives, some of which have done more harm than good. Through the course, my goal as an instructor is to help students understand the ideas behind global development and some of the underlying power dynamics behind these ideas.