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 the sub-continent 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 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 | 
 | 
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: 2014/15  Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1) 
  
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Learn enabled:  Yes | 
Quota:  None | 
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Web Timetable  | 
	
Web Timetable | 
	| Class Delivery Information | 
	Week 1: Introduction: course outline, South Asian poverty amidst economic growth  
 
Week 2: Historical background: colonial and post-independence development processes (Prof Crispin Bates) 
 
Week 3: The state, governance and corruption in South Asia 
 
Week 4: Population growth and demographic challenges 
 
Week 5: Fracture lines: caste, class, gender, community 
 
Week 6: Agricultural transformation, livelihoods and migration 
 
Week 7: Micro-finance and empowerment 
 
Week 8: Human development: health  
 
Week 9: Human development: education 
 
Week 10: Social movements: protest and violent conflict | 
 
 
| Course Start Date | 
15/09/2014 | 
 
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) | 
 
 Total Hours:
200
(
 Lecture Hours 10,
 Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
 Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
 | 
 
| Additional Notes | 
 | 
 
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) | 
 
  Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
 | 
 
| 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 | 
Not entered | 
 
| 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: P.Jeffery@ed.ac.uk | 
Course secretary | Mr Fraser Maxwell 
Tel: (0131 6)51 5066 
Email: Fraser.Maxwell@ed.ac.uk | 
   
 
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© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh -  29 August 2014 4:42 am 
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