Geographies of development

Описание мероприятия

Описание программы

This course examines the nature of development in the so-called ‘Third World’, now more commonly referred to as the ‘developing world’ or the ‘Global South’. The key aim is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the main economic, social, political and spatial processes of development in this part of the world.

The course specifically aims to:

• provide a theoretical foundation for understanding development in the Global South in the last 60 years
• develop comparative knowledge on the main themes in the development of Southern nations in relation to empirical examples
• critically explore solutions to development problems through an analysis of the policy infrastructure and interventions of governments, international development agencies and civil society.

Assessment

This course is assessed by a three-hour unseen written examination.

Учебный план:

Section 1: Introduction and theoretical approaches

• Defining and conceptualising development: Categorisations and definitions of the ‘Third World’ and development in the context of globalisation; the Millennium Development Goals.
• Changing theoretical perspectives and new issues: Modernisation theory; dependency theory and uneven development; Neoliberalism, post-development and postneoliberalism; sustainable development; violence and conflict.

Section 2: Population change and urbanisation

• Transforming populations: Population growth and control; rural development; rural-urban migration and rural-urban linkages.
• Urbanising for the future: History, characteristics, and processes of urbanisation; access to shelter – housing, infrastructure and services.

Section 3: Economies and development

• Industrialisation for development: Patterns, trends and models of industrialisation; globalisation and industrialisation; gender and export-led industrialisation; fair trade.
• Making a living in cities: Urban labour markets - an overview; the informal sectoran engine of growth? Household survival strategies and women’s work.

Section 4: Poverty, gender inequalities and households

• Poverty, vulnerability and exclusion: Defining, measuring and conceptualising poverty; paradigms and theories of urban poverty; contemporary approaches to poverty – vulnerability, capabilities and assets; the ‘feminisation of poverty’.
• Gender inequalities: Changing nature of gender roles and relations. measuring gender inequality; approaches to gender and development policy; men and masculinities Families and households in transition: urbanisation and changing household structures; women-headed households.

Section 5: Development policies: from macro-level to grassroots Healthcare and health policy;; agencies of development; civil society and NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs), distribution of foreign aid.

Результат обучения:

At the end of the course and having completed the essential reading and activities students should be able to:

• critically evaluate the evolution of development theories
• summarise and explain the diversity and inequalities of development experiences both within countries as well as among nations
• describe and critically evaluate the main contemporary components of development in the Global South with particular reference to economic, political and social processes and issues
• discuss different policy approaches from the macro-level of international development agencies to the micro-level of grassroots organisations
• describe and explain the reasons for the vast inequalities which exist in the world today, and demonstrate what efforts have been made over time to address these injustices.