Introduction to Development Studies - ARTS1750
Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
School: School of Social Sciences
Course Outline: School of Social Sciences
Campus: Sydney
Career: Undergraduate
Units of Credit: 6
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3
CSS Contribution Charge: 1 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
Available for General Education: Yes (more info)
View course information for previous years.
Description
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: Asian Studies
What is development and why does it matter? International development has been under intense critique for failing to improve the conditions for people in recipient communities. Without doubt, many mistakes have been made and have left people and countries worse off than before. Also without doubt development has and is happening across the world.
This introductory course – designed to complement ARTS1752 - Development in a Global Context – explores these and other questions by examining the origins of development as an idea, goal and practice, the conceptual and theoretical aspects underpinning Development Studies as a discipline, debates about development in theory and practice as well as the role of these theories and debates in shaping the contemporary world.
You will learn why development thinking – and by extension development practices – has changed over time, and the extent to which its architects have learnt from past failure and successes.
Throughout this historical journey of development as a theory and practice, you will be exposed to a variety of geographic case studies to examine the role of key development actors as well as concepts and issues. You will leave this course with an appreciation about the complexities of development and with a solid foundation of what has been learned from past failures and successes of development assistance and what might be better approaches to change people’s lives.