GEOG516 (HAM)
Advanced Development Studies
30 points

Lecturers: Dr Colin McLeay and Elaine Bliss
Emails: c.mcleay@waikato.ac.nz and ebliss@waikato.ac.nz

Paper description

This paper is especially relevant to those wishing to follow careers or business interests in developing countries, foreign affairs, aid agencies, and multilateral organisations. It is also invaluable for those seeking to understand global issues such as war, famine, migration and trade. The paper deals with development theory and development practice. It first analyses the global context and perspectives on globalisation as well as definitions of the various concepts included within development and globalisation. It examines changing views of development and the evolution of the theorisation of development or its absence and explanations for underdevelopment. It surveys the possibility of resistance to development and the forms it can take. The paper also explores specific issues linked to development such as gender, population growth, culture, environment, food security and processes and practises of delivering assistance (aid). It concludes with current themes of sustainable development.

Paper objectives

This paper will enable students to identify the main theories about development while they will be exposed to major issues in the field; appreciate the factors that influence the extent to which development ideologies affect communities at different scales; discover tools used to measure the importance of these impacts; and realize how much development is embedded in First World global strategies and economic norms of behaviour, particularly through mechanisms of delivering assistance to developing countries.

Assessment

Internal assessment to examination ratio 3:1

Required Text

Desai, Vandana and Potters, Robert B (eds) 2002 The Companion to Development Studies. London: Arnold.

Timetable and Organisation:

Refer to the Online Timetable