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 | 
 
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) | 
Availability | Available to all students | 
 
| SCQF Credits | 20 | 
ECTS Credits | 10 | 
 
 
| Summary | Since the early 1990s, several countries in South Asia have experienced unprecedented levels of economic growth and rapid social change. Yet the region is still home to a vast proportion of the world¿s poorest people. This course explores how South Asia became a 'development problem' in the decades since decolonisation, and focuses on the persistence of poverty despite the massive inflows of international development assistance in its various forms. We explore different dimensions of inequality to highlight the differential access of diverse social groupings to economic and social resources, and examine the impact of such inequalities on people¿s ability to benefit from development inputs in various sectors, such as agriculture, health, and education. 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. 
 
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. | 
 
| Course description | 
    
    Not entered
    
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites | 
 | 
Co-requisites |  | 
 
| Prohibited Combinations |  | 
Other requirements |  None | 
 
 
Information for Visiting Students 
| Pre-requisites | None | 
 
		| High Demand Course? | 
		Yes | 
     
 
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) 
  
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Quota:  None | 
 
| Course Start | 
Semester 1 | 
 
Timetable  | 
	
Timetable | 
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) | 
 
 Total Hours:
200
(
 Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
 Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) | 
 
  Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) | 
The course will be assessed by one long essay (4000 words). | 
 
| Feedback | 
Not entered | 
 
| No Exam Information | 
 
Learning Outcomes 
    On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
    
        - show familiarity with the major historical factors affecting development in South Asia
 - comprehend the major dimensions of social, political and economic inequality in South Asia and why such inequalities are so resilient
 - show understanding of why poverty is so persistent in the region
 - show understanding of some of the obstacles to successful implementation of development programmes and economic and social policy more generally
 - understand how major development theories have been applied in practice in different social and economic sectors
 
     
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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 |   
 
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills | 
Not entered | 
 
| Additional 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 | 
 
| Keywords | Not entered | 
 
 
Contacts 
| Course organiser | Prof Patricia Jeffery 
Tel: (0131 6)50 3984 
Email: P.Jeffery@ed.ac.uk | 
Course secretary | Ms Jessica Barton 
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659 
Email: Jessica.Barton@ed.ac.uk | 
   
 
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© Copyright 2015 The University of Edinburgh -  2 September 2015 4:48 am 
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