Allmänt

GES HÖSTTERMINEN 2009

Behörighetskrav

U-landskunskap A/Utvecklingsstudier A eller motsvarande kunskap.

Mål

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

- To understand how contemporary development interventions are shaped by historical processes of imperialism and colonialism.

- To achieve a critical understanding of dominant paradigms of development theory, practice and implementation.

- To achieve an understanding of feminist interventions in development theory and practice.

- To understand how gender shapes development and how development practice shapes local gendered realities.

- To develop in-depth understanding on how structural processes impact on everyday lives of people.

LEARNING OUTCOMES FROM THE LECTURES

By the end of the course, students should have achieved the following (Efter genomgången föreläsningar studenten kunna)

- Develop a critical approach towards the theory and practice of development.

- Identify the tensions between gender and development.

- Ability to apply their conceptual knowledge to understand empirical case studies in historical and contemporary development contexts.

- Familiarity with different methodological tools and techniques for researching and appraising development issues.

- Gained good knowledge on how development processes, both, alleviate suffering and impoverish livelihoods.

LEARNING OUTCOMES AND TRANSFERABLE SKILLS FROM SEMINARS

- Synthesis and presentation of arguments from key texts.

- Development of critical thinking

- Management of time in a learning environment.

- Independence of thought in designing research activity and managing student-cohorts.

- Experience of working in a team

Innehåll

Kursen introducerar studenter i de teoretiska och konceptuella synsätt som finns inom utvecklingsteori och dess genomförande. Kursen kartlägger på ett kritiskt sätt hur genus påverkar utvecklingsteorier och hur utveckling i praktiken får för effekter på genusrelationer och genus i verkligheten. Med fokus i första hand på södra halvklotet, kommer kursen att hämta empiriska exempel från Afrika, Mellanöstern, Syd- och Sydost-Asien och Latin-Amerika. Kursen börjar med en översikt av institutionalisering av imperialismen globalt och hur den har format debatterna om utveckling i kolonial och efterkolonial kontext. Vi kommer att undersöka hur feministiska teoretiska modeller har förändrat konventionell (manlig) utvecklingsdebatt och den 'manliga dominansen' inneboende i dessa.

'Structural Adjustment programmes' var den huvudsakliga utvecklingsverktyg som de finansiella giganterna som IMF och World Bank använde sig av för att få utvecklingsländer på 'spåret' med den utvecklade världen. Men vad gick fel? Varför? Dessutom var ett av kraven i dessa program att ta kontrollen över "befolkningsexplosionen" i utvecklingsländerna till en oerhörd kostnad för individers liv och skapade obalanser mellan könen i samhällen.

Den nuvarande ökningen i etisk och inrikespolitiska stridigheter har en historisk bakgrund men som inte är förstådd i termer av avsaknad av utveckling men i termer medfött grymhet och underutveckling hos nationer. Är det hela sanningen?

Avslutningsvis kommer kursen att behandla utvecklingsprocesser, som trots deras inneboende svagheter, har skapat fickor med empowerment som är hållbara och har tillåtit många samhällen att återhämta sig från skulddriven (debt-led) utveckling.

Undervisning

Undervisningen består av föreläsningar och seminarier. Kursen ges på engelska.

SEMINARS: THE 'EXPERTS' MODEL

The seminar sessions will introduce the 'experts' model, which creates a learning environment with the following objectives.

- Seminars will be student-led.

- The seminars will create a learning structure where students actively learn, participate and lead discussions with fellow-scholars. Students will be responsible not just for presentation of key ideas and texts but for the smooth running of the seminar as a whole, including leading discussion and close reading of texts, encouraging participation, and providing intellectual closure at the end of the seminar.

At the start of the course, you will all be asked to sign up to facilitate a given week (in line with lectures). You facilitate as an 'expert' for a specific week/ topic of your choice. There can be two or three 'experts' facilitating each seminar, and you will need to set aside time to meet with your co-facilitators to prepare well in advance of the seminar itself. Attendance of seminars is mandatory, but will not be formally assessed.

Guidelines

1. All those who will facilitate the seminar should meet up with each other to discuss running the seminar at least a week before the seminar.

2. They should divide the tasks of conducting the seminar among themselves so that all get an opportunity to participate in the discussion.

3. The content and format of the seminar will be the responsibility of the team though you can approach the tutor and discuss your ideas before the seminar.

4. The success of the seminar depends on creativity, using different formats and engagement.

An example of the 'Expert' model.

1. You can choose an article (s) or a book chapter and present the central arguments in the piece through the author's voice. 2. Your team then evaluates this piece in relation to other existing literature. 3. You then critically present your own ideas; where you agree with the text and areas where you disagree. Your own critical insights can frame the research question for the class or you might want to critically assess a theoretical approach (through a video-clip, newspaper cutting or a documentary).

Examination

Kursen examineras genom en skriven tentamen samt aktivt deltagande i seminarier. Om deltagandet i seminarier inte är tillfredsställande får man besvara en extra fråga på tentan. Den tregradiga betygsskalan Underkänd, Godkänd, Väl godkänd tillämpas.

Students will be examined through a written exam. Each question carries 50 points and you have to attempt 2 questions only to make a total of 100 points. Each answer should not exceed 1000 words.

In order to pass the course, the students need to pass the written exam. The maximum number of points is 100. To pass you need 50. To get Väl godkänt you need 75.

For exchange students:

In addition, grades will be given according to European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), that is using a seven-step scale. For the ECTS grades you need: A:90-100, B:75-89, C:61-74, D:55-60, E:50-54 p.

Seminar attendance is mandatory. If seminar attendance is unsatisfactory, you will be expected to attempt an extra exam question.

Övriga föreskrifter

You are expected to use the core texts which are seminal for understanding the debates on gender and development and which will also be used throughout the course. The books marked with a * can be bought and those marked as ^ are available as an e-book. It is mandatory to do two readings per week from the selection of readings provided for each week. This will also enable you to follow the lectures and participate in the seminars.

Note- Due to copyright legislation the department cannot provide any copies of the book-chapters.