Entry requirements

Development Studies basic level or equivalent education.

Learning outcomes

After completion of Development Studies A the students are expected to:

• have deepened their empirical, theoretical, and methodological knowledge and skill within the field, especially regarding:
• understanding of development and the historical contexts in the "old" and the "new" world and how this relates to discussions about preconditions for development today.
• some central theoretical discussions concerning arguments for and against globalisation and free trade, the development state, and the crucial role of institutions
• through practical assignments get first hand experience of all different methods and types of information used in development research
• independently formulate a researchable hypothesis or theory built on previous research in development

Content

1. Development in the Old World 7.5 credits

Goal After completion of the course he students are expected to:

- have knowledge about a number of countries in the West where development has proceeded more rapidly than elsewhere in the world and how this often took place at the expense of other countries

- to gain a good understanding of the basic preconditions for development from a historical perspective and an understanding why development has accelerated in some parts of the world and been held back in others

Content of the course

The course should be seen as a continuation of the "A" Course, "Development Theory and the Colonial Inheritance". The empirical focus is on a number of countries in the West where development has proceeded more rapidly than elsewhere in the world. However the course also emphasises those at whose expense this development has taken place. War is seen as the main engine of technological development and growth and possibly the most important factor underlying the global hierarchies that have been created throughout history. The idea is that a historical perspective will help the students to gain a good understanding of the basic preconditions for development, and of why development has accelerated in some parts of the world and been held back in others.

In the first part of the course the students will be introduced to the ideas of McNeill and Diamond, who show how technological development, in combination with epidemics, transformed the world in a way that was decisive in creating the divide between developed and underdeveloped nations. In the second part we analyse how economic and political development have been connected to the suppression of ethnic groups and nations in general and women in particular.

Teaching

The course consists of lectures, seminars, and study visits.

Examination

The students are examined by means of seminars, written assignments (especially book reports) and a final written exam.

2. Development in the Modern World 7.5 credits

Goal

After completion of the course he students are expected to:

- have a deepened understanding of processes that have created economic growth, welfare, poverty and human suffering in the 20th century

Content of the course

The students begin the course by reading Rist, who gives an overview of perspectives on development and how these have been connected to tidal waves in academia as well as in politics. The students next read Easterly and Kohli, who give insights into the preconditions for aid and perspectives on the roles that can be played by aid organisations and by political and commercial actors in the development process. North discusses the importance of institutions – formal and informal rules of the game – for (economic) development. Via Ferguson the students will develop an understanding of how wars have continuously shaped global development and the hierarchies that govern the world today.

Teaching

The course consists of lectures, seminars, and study visits.

Examination

The course examination takes the form of seminars, written assignments and a final written exam.

3. Methods 15 credits

Contents

The purpose of this course is to give students an understanding of how studies are designed and conducted within the social sciences in general and development studies in particular. Particular attention is given to one of the most essential parts of the research process: the formulation of a research question on the basis of prior research on the topic. Students are systematically trained to formulate a scientifically relevant and researchable question. In addition, they are given the opportunity to try different techniques of analysis as well as different methods of data collection. The course covers the research process as well as the ideals of social science. It offers lectures and practical exercises in qualitative as well as quantitative analysis and in different kinds of data collection (such as surveys, interviews, observations and experiments). The advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of analytical techniques and of different methods of data collection are discussed. The course also trains students how to read, assess and comment on professional research reports as well as on the assignments of other students.

Objectives

After having completed the course students are expected to:

- be able to formulate a researchable question in an independent fashion on the basis of social science literature

- be able to conduct basic empirical research in an independent fashion, using quantitative as well as qualitative techniques

- possess basic knowledge of the research process, of the evidence required to establish a causal relationship, and of different criteria of good research such as validity, reliability, and generalizability

- possess satisfactory knowledge of different data collection methods within the social sciences, such as interviews, questionnaires, and observations

- possess satisfactory knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of data collection

- possess basic knowledge of the relative advantages and disadvantages of quantitative and qualitative techniques

- be able to critically examine basic empirical research from a methodological perspective

Teaching

The course begins with a number of comprehensive lectures on the research process, on the criteria of good research, and on how to formulate a research question. In the seminars that follow, students train their ability to formulate and improve their own research questions. After this central introductory part, the course deals with different analytical techniques and different methods of data collection. Each part is introduced by a lecture where the instructions for the following seminar are distributed. During the seminars, students comment on the written assignments of fellow students. The assignments consist, among other things, in conducting a textual analysis, interpreting statistical analyses (performed by the students themselves by means of computers) and conducting interviews and observations.

Examination:

The main part of the course consists of a number of written seminar assignments. Examination is based on how well these assignments have been solved as well as the participation in the seminars in which the solutions are discussed.

Grades are awarded on a scale comprising the grades VG (pass with distinction), G (pass), or U(fail), or, alternatively on the ECTS scale.

To receive the grade G (pass), a student must solve all seminar assignments in a satisfactory fashion and participate in all mandatory seminars.

Progress in Relation to the Requirements for the Degree

After completing the course, students are expected to have sufficient knowledge and skills to formulate research questions and to conduct and assess basic empirical research of a quantitative as well as qualitative kind in an independent fashion.

Instruction

The teaching consists of lectures, seminars, video films, and study visits.

Assessment

The first two parts of the course are examined by means of a written test and assignments. The third part is examined by means of assignment and active participation in the seminars. An opportunity for a re-test is given ca 3-4 weeks after the first exam. The time and place for the written tests is announced in the schedule on the net. Grades are awarded according the scale "failed", "pass" or "pass with distinction". To get the grade "pass with distinction" for the whole A course that grade is needed for at least 15 points of the totally 30 points.

Course level in relation to degree requirements

The students will develop their ability to critically analyse, understand and deal with, both orally and in writing, some relatively advanced texts from the central research fields of political science. The course gives the students an opportunity to reflect upon the requirements of a scientific discussion. Special attention is thereby given to the art of conveying the thoughts of others in an analytically meaningful way; the need for a concept formation of one's own – an instrument of analysis – for the characterisation and comparison of different ideas, and the importance of dealing with relevant critique in order to support one's own thesis. The student is expected to contribute actively with his own views, and there will be practice in oral presentations of the acquired knowledge.

On completion of the course the student is expected to have obtained the necessary knowledge and competence to define research problems as well as carrying out and assessing empirical studies of a simple but yet qualitative kind. The course thereby provides the student with the knowledge and understanding of some basic methodological questions in the field of social science. The skills practiced include the competence to identify, formulate and seek answers to political science problems; the ability to define and carry out an assignment within given time limits; the ability to present and discuss information, problems and solutions, orally as well as in the written form; the ability to work independently with research problems and various project assignments.