Offered By	ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Areas of Interest	Development Studies

Development Studies refers to a broad range of courses that address the planning, implementation and consequences of social, political and economic change among peoples of the Third and Fourth Worlds.

Development as an aspect of state policy, and specifically as an integral part of relations between states of the wealthy 'West' or 'North' (First World) and states of the 'South' (Third World), gained prominence after the Second World War with the establishment of the IMF/World Bank and other development banks and aid agencies, such as USAID and the Australian Development Assistance Bureau. Since then agency and government officials, practitioners and intellectuals have debated the rights and wrongs of development and the merits of particular approaches to development. These have crystallised in various 'theories' or approaches to development, such as the modernisation theories, world system theories, or the more recent emphasis on empowerment or popular participation.

Development Studies examines the impact of globalisation on states and peoples of the South, and reviews notions of economic viability, democracy, governance, human rights or environmental sustainability as they apply to such culturally divergent entities. In the last two decades there has been an explosion in the numbers of non-government organisations (NGOs) or voluntary organisations (VOs) also concentrating on development.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Due to structural changes in the undergraduate program rules in 2012, the courses that make up the new 2012 majors may be different to the pre-2012 majors, and therefore some courses cannot be counted between majors.  Students are advised to contact the CASS Student Office if they are unsure about their Majors.

 

Learning outcomes

• Familiarity with the principles of development as espoused in the development industry
• Familiarity with past and current critiques of the principles and practices of development
• Detailed understanding of select issues within development
• Understanding of social and political issues which affect underdevelopment

Requirements

This major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include:

12 units from the completion of 1000-level courses from the following list:

ANTH1003 - Global and Local (6 units)

POLS1005 - Introduction to International Relations (6 units)

SOCY1002 - Self and Society or SOCY1004 - Introduction to Social Psychology (6 units)

 

18 units from the completion of the following compulsory courses:

ANTH2009 – Culture and Development (6 units)

POLS2011 – Development and Change (6 units)

SOCY2030 – Sociology of Third World Development (6 units)

 

18 units from completion of courses from the following list:

ANTH2025 – Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (6 units)

ANTH2026 – Medical Anthropology (6 units)

ANTH2056 – Belonging, Identity and Nationalism (6 units)

ANTH2129 – Crossing Borders: Diasporas and Transnationalism (6 units)

BIAN2119 – Nutrition, Disease and the Human Environment (6 units)

BIAN2120 – Culture, Biology and Population Dynamics (6 units)

ECHI2003 – Development, poverty, and famine

ECHI2006 – Globalisation and Regionalisation in the World Economy

POLS2075 – Globalism and the Politics of Identity (6 units)

POLS2094 – Issues in International Political Economy (6 units)

POLS2101 – Refugee Politics: Displacement and Exclusion in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries (6 units)

SOCY2060 – Mobile Societies (6 units)

SOCY3022 – Identity, Difference and Ethnicity (6 units)

The information published on the Study at ANU 2012 website applies to the 2012 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2011 website.