Postgraduate Course: Society and Development (PGGE11050)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the relationships between development and society. It is intended to give a general, working knowledge of where 'development' has been, where it is going, and why it has encountered so many problems along the way. The overwhelming objective of this course is to think about what it means to do development, as opposed to learning how to do development. The importance of theory in shaping development is emphasised, as is an exploration of the intersection between social justice and economic growth.
The course begins with a brief introduction to the history of development thought, beginning in the 1970s. This background is vital for understanding how development thinking has been shaped over the past forty years and why people continue to try to formulate new understandings of the processes through which development proceeds. This provides us with a foundation for some of the core questions we will ask throughout the course, namely, what is development? Can we foster development, and if so, how?
Equipped with this foundation, we critically examine the following issues; the State and development, neo-liberalism and market approaches, privatisation and property rights, migration, urban development, participation, gender and development, and the so-called 'emerging' development powers. We also explore approaches to development such as fair-trade, micro-credit, indigenous knowledge and the sustainable livelihoods framework. Learning will occur through a mix of lectures and seminars.
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| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Acquire advanced skills for developing a reasoned arguments by evaluating, interpreting and providing a critique of complex evidence;
- Understand the relationship between theory and practice, both in a 'development' context and in the formulation and conduct of academic research;
- Begin to develop an appropriate academic writing style and method;
- Learn to critique and comment on development-and-society (and development-and-environment) scholarship, both in the written word and in conversation.
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Reading List
Recommended Texts
Crush, J. (ed.) (1995) Power of Development
Hansen, T. B. and F. Stepputat (2001). States of Imagination: ethnographic explorations of the postcolonial state. Durham and London, Duke University Press.
Hettne, B. (1995) Development theory and the three worlds : towards an international political economy of development, 2nd edition
Jessop, B. (2007). State power: A strategic-relational approach. Cambridge, Polity Press.
Li, Tania Murray (2007) The Will to Improve. Durham, Duke Univ Press.
Nederveen Pieterse J. (2001) Development Theory. Deconstructions/Reconstructions
Peet, R. and E. Hartwick (2009) Theories of Development. Contentions, Arguments, Alternatives
Tsing, Anna (2005) Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection. Princeton, Princeton Univ Press.
Useful 'Readers'on Development (short overviews of core topics, authors, thinkers)
Clark, D.A. (ed.) (2006) The Elgar Companion to Development Studies
Corbridge, S. (ed.) (1995) Development Studies. A Reader
Desai, V. and R.B. Potter (ed.) (2002) The Companion to Development Studies
Sachs, W. (ed.) (1992) The Development Dictionary. A Guide to Knowledge as Power
Simon, D. (2005) Fifty Key Thinkers on Development
Key Journals (all available electronically)
Agrarian Change
Development and Change
Development Policy Review
Journal of Development Studies
Journal of International Development
Journal of Peasant Studies
Oxford Development Studies
Economic and Political Weekly
Studies in Comparative International Development
Third World Quarterly
World Development
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Samantha Staddon
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Rachel Chisholm
Tel: (0131 6)50 2572
Email: |
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