Postgraduate Course: South Asia: Roots of Poverty and Development (SAST11002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | South Asian Studies |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | A vast proportion of the world's poorest people live in South Asia; yet, it is a sub-continent that has seen massive inflows of international development assistance in its various forms. This course explores how South Asia became a 'development problem' and the various strategies employed over the decades since colonial times to bring about social, political and economic transformation in South Asia. It considers the theories underpinning specific development strategies and initiatives, the social and political contexts in which they were undertaken, and the reasons for success and failure. The course will focus on specific examples of development initiatives in South Asia, considering the interaction amongst the range of actors involved (states, elites, peasants, civil society, multinational corporations, multilateral institutions, donors, NGOs, etc.).
This course one of two core courses for the MSc programme in South Asia and International Development and it complements Politics and Theories of Development by providing South Asia-specific examples. It is also a stand-alone option for other MSc programmes. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | Seminar Room 5, Chrystal Macmillan Building | 1-11 | 11:10 - 13:00 | | | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| At the end of the course students will have gained familiarity with the major historical factors affecting development in South Asia. They will gain an understanding of how major development theories have been applied in practice in different South Asian countries. The course will enable students to examine critically the social, political and economic factors affecting development strategies. |
Assessment Information
| The course will be assessed by one long essay (4000 words). |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
1. Introduction:
- How can South Asia be home to India, both one of the BRIC countries that are supposedly emerging as dominant economic global players, and also to 400 million people living in poverty?
- Contextualising the way in which development and underdevelopment are defined, and their application in South Asia.
2. Development and underdevelopment during the colonial period
3. South Asian post-independence development strategies
4. Green revolution? Agricultural transformation and rural development
5. Uneven development: inequality, poverty and development strategies in South Asia
6. Environment, climate change and sustainable development
7. Human Development: Education and health in South Asia
8. ICT, pharmaceuticals and other 'new' industries
9. Development Models in South Asia (1): NGOs, Bangladesh and the micro-credit revolution
10. Development Models in South Asia (2): The Kerala/Sri Lanka model revisited
11. Challenging 'development' in South Asia? |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Collier, P. 2007. The Bottom Billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it
Gupta, A. & K. Sivaramakrishnan (eds) 2010. The State in India After Liberalization: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Narayan, D. & E. Glinskaya (eds) (2006) Ending Poverty in South Asia: Ideas That Work
Mosse, D. 2004.Cultivating Development: An Ethnography of Aid Policy and Practice
Shah, A. & J. Pettigrew (eds) 2010. Windows into a Revolution: Ethnographies of Maoism in South Asia
Spencer, J. 2007. Anthropology, politics and the state: democracy and violence in South Asia
World Bank (2009) South Asia: The End of Poverty http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20969099~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:223547,00.html |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
The course is based on a weekly two-hour seminar, including whole class lectures, small group work and student presentations. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Patricia Jeffery
Tel: (0131 6)50 3984
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Madina Howard
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: |
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