BA (Hons) INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH POLITICS

Code: DEV-4009B Credits: 20

This module provides an introduction to political concepts and frameworks that are central to the study of international development. Through studying theoretical approaches you will gain the foundations required to critically evaluate contemporary development debates and development policy and practice.

Code: DEV-4003A Credits: 20

Students on this module will learn how to think critically about complex global problems such as poverty, inequality, climate change, food security and conflict. Students will also study crucial development issues such as environmental sustainability, gender equality and democracy. We will address three 'Big Questions: How do we ensure peace and security? Can industrial development be sustainable? Why do global living standards vary so wildly? This module adopts an interdisciplinary approach, enabling students to learn about these issues from a diverse array of perspectives.

Code: DEV-4004A Credits: 20

This module will introduce students to a range of key concepts and perspectives in the study of global development, such as human development, neo-liberalism and de-colonisation. Students will learn how these different ideas have contributed to – and critiqued - development policy and practice. Students will also be encouraged to compare these different perspectives, and to think critically about how well they explain global inequalities and the complex social, cultural, economic, and political processes which produce them.

Code: DEV-4005A Credits: 20

We will explore the many ways that people work together to imagine and shape billions of diverse futures on our one shared planet. The module critically analyses the different institutions involved in tackling, but also producing, poverty, environmental destruction, and injustice around the world. These include states, social movements, civil society organisations and the private sector. We will explore the interests and motivations of these different actors as well as their strategies and tactics. It will also show how these actors relate to each other, both at the level of policy and practice, in a range of case studies

Code: DEV-4001B Credits: 20

This module explores the biological and physical basis for primary production within the main natural resource systems providing food, fuel and fibre to human populations. The module has an integrated biophysical core and deals with resource demand, supply and exploitation issues. There will be a particular emphasis on the important processes in production and a number of key issues in natural resource systems will be introduced here e.g. global resource cycles, diversity, productivity and stability of natural resource systems. There is an important field-based, practical element throughout this course.

Code: DEV-4003B Credits: 20

The module introduces you to key development economics theories and empirical evidence. Topics include the economics of poverty and inequality, economic growth, the balance between states and markets, agriculture and internal migration, population growth, health, human capital, the environment, international trade, and development aid. All of these are discussed within the context of development.

Code: DEV-4005B Credits: 20

This is the first part of a two year course that covers basic principles in social anthropology, and uses them to understand society and processes of social change in developing countries. The SAID1 module provides an introduction to anthropological theory to advance student’s knowledge of socio-cultural issues and disciplinary themes such as adaptation and the environment, human evolution, colonialism, witchcraft and magic, religion, kinship and marriage, class and hierarchy, exchange, rituals, myths and ceremonies. The module’s main aim is to promote an understanding of key figures and debates in social theory and show how these can be applied to development issues and policies. The lectures and seminars are accompanied by a weekly film series in which ethnographic films addressing key anthropological debates are shown and discussed.

Code: DEV-4008B Credits: 20

This module will critically explore changing trends in humanitarian communication by both the international news media and international development actors, such as Non-Governmental Organisations. This will include a critical review of media representations of development in the Global South and the role and responsibility of journalists reporting about humanitarian crises and poverty. We will also explore conventional strategies of humanitarian communication, such as ‘pornography of poverty’, as well as more contemporary issues such as the role of celebrities, social media and the rise of ‘post-humanitarian’ communication. With case studies ranging from Live Aid to Kony 2012, you will be introduced to key concepts and theoretical approaches cutting across a range of disciplines. This module also contains an integral practical skills component. Speakers from leading NGOs and experienced practitioners will share their insights about the everyday complexities of humanitarian communication and a number of workshops will focus on a relevant hands-on skills such blogging and the basics of development photography.

Code: DEV-4011B Credits: 20

This module introduces geographical approaches to the key processes of change that shape our world and its societies. You will examine how people and places are connected and transformed as a result of processes such as colonialism, globalisation, industrialisation, migration, urbanisation and development, and explore how differences and inequalities emerge. A central theme will be why space matters, as people’s lives are influenced by the places that surround them - both near and far - and as they in turn change those places. You will explore these issues through a range of contemporary geographical topics, from sweatshops to climate change, through which you will be introduced to core geographical concepts, ideas and approaches, emphasising on critical thinking and practice. You will discover key methods for geographical research, including Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and will include field-based practical work in the local area.

Code: DEV-4012B Credits: 20

Introduction to International Global Development Management will give you key management, leadership and business skills enabling you to make a stronger career contribution to development through helping more people overcome injustice and poverty. Organisational boundaries continue to change and it is less about the type of organisation that delivers development policy and activities and more about the leadership and management skills that enable you to deliver success. This module has a practical focus drawing heavily upon real world contemporary examples.

Code: DEV-5019B Credits: 20

This module critically analyses the role of key development actors, and the contexts that they work within. It emphasises how actual interventions play out in society - where they become concrete and have real effects. What changes because of these interventions, and what stays the same, and why? What are the actors’ intentions, who shaped them, and why are outcomes often unintended and contradictory? The module considers a range of actors from social movements to international organisations. It exposes students to the complexities of policy implementation and social change, and provides a strong grounding in understanding the politics of development policy. Although open to all students it is useful if you have taken Introduction to the Politics of Development (DEV-4009B). If you have not you may have to do some additional work in the opening weeks of the semester in order to familiarise yourselves with key concepts. Lecturers will assist you in doing so.

Code: DEV-5001B Credits: 20

This module addresses governance challenges arising from natural resource policy and practice, in situations where different stakeholders have competing interests, values and visions. In particular, the module will focus on the governance of biodiversity conservation and agriculture, mainly concentrating on the global South. Students will be encouraged to explore and analyse contested policies and practices using a range of analytical frameworks relating to ecosystem services, human wellbeing and environmental justice. Teaching will involve lectures, seminars and field visits and students will all pursue a case study of natural resource conflict.

Code: DEV-5002A Credits: 20

Throughout the study of International Development, as in all areas of the social and natural sciences, it is important to weigh our theoretical ideas and policy recommendations against the available evidence. This module deals with the use of quantitative evidence. The aim is to enable students to understand quantitative analysis encountered in other modules, to become critical readers of published quantitative data analysis and to manage, analyse and interpret quantitative evidence themselves. The module deals with research design, a review of descriptive statistics and a number of inferential methods. Techniques taught include simple tests for group differences such as the t-test, analysis of variance and multiple regression.

Code: DEV-5005A Credits: 20

This module will introduce students to the theory and practice of research methods in the social sciences. It will provide you with the skills you need to conduct research both within and beyond the university context, including your dissertation and future careers. The module will introduce students to a range of qualitative, quantitative and spatial methods that social scientists use in research including research design, data collection and data analysis skills. The module is taught using lecture-based classes and workshops. The module is organised based on three research methods that use different approaches to data collection, analysis and presentation. The qualitative method focuses on analysing and presenting qualitative data. The quantitative method focuses on building statistical skills to analyse secondary survey data as well as interpreting quantitative research findings. The GIS method focuses on data visualisation skills, mapping skills and basic GIS analysis.

Code: DEV-5005B Credits: 20

This is a regional studies module which covers economic, social and political aspects of development in Latin America. It situates the region in its historical and international context, and gives an overview of major development debates in the region. The module also includes country case studies of contrasting development strategies.

Code: DEV-5006A Credits: 20

This module builds on the issues and themes introduced in NR1, with the focus moving to rural livelihoods and household production systems across the landscape. Its themes will be continued in NR3 in the spring. Through deepening their understanding of technical and social aspects of natural resource management, students will be better equipped for later work on applied issues, such as management and conservation, which benefit from inter-disciplinary approaches. This module links closely with the summer Field Course, and with the module on Resource Development and Conservation in DEV3. This module is a requirement for BSc. students and those following the NR stream in DEV and in the joint DEV/ENV BSc. (EGID)

Code: DEV-5006B Credits: 20

Sub-Saharan Africa Development aims to provide students with a historical, political, social and economic analysis of key issues relating to development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Students will develop a historically grounded understanding of political, social and economic change in Sub-Saharan Africa through a critical engagement with a range of scholarship from political science, sociology, anthropology, education and economics. Through an exploration of issues such as colonialism and the post-colonial experience, the state in Africa, reasons for Africa’s poor economic performance and aid effectiveness, conflict and ethnicity, migration and urban development students will develop understandings of the dynamics and agendas of change.

Code: DEV-5007A Credits: 20

What role does media and communication play in promoting positive social change? How can communication help to mobilise citizens, change policies, modify behaviours, promote human rights and support democracy? Equally, how can we prevent communication technologies from being used to promote hate speech and violence? This module will address these and other questions by providing a critical introduction to the fields of ‘Media Development’ and ‘Communication for Development’. Key topics covered are likely to include behaviour change communication, participatory communication, press freedom, digital development and media imperialism. This module is designed to be accessible to Global Development (DEV) students, who have not studied the media before, and to students on degrees relevant to media, with no previous experience of studying global development.

Code: DEV-5007B Credits: 20

This module begins with an overview of the region's history before analysing recent and contemporary social, political and economic development processes. Topics include economic growth, social difference, democracy, land and food security, the environment, health and education. The module draws heavily on India, but also considers Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in relation to the various topics.

Code: DEV-5008A Credits: 20

This module teaches concepts, theories and methods that are fundamental to social anthropology and its relationship with development and change. The teaching methods include formal lectures, guided discussions of key readings, small-group seminars, and ethnographic films. The topics include: fieldwork and ethnography, kinship and marriage, personhood, identity and gender, cultural rights, economic anthropology ecological anthropology, and the anthropology of development.

Code: DEV-5009A Credits: 20

The module is about the distinctive challenges that face low and middle income countries in providing quality education for all. We also consider sources of inequalities in the education systems of the Global North, aiming for a worldwide awareness of the issues affecting equity in education.

Code: DEV-5016A Credits: 20

You’ll be introduced to the basic concepts of microeconomics and its application to development problems. Microeconomic theories of consumption, production, externalities, public goods, common property resources, market structures, land and labour markets and households are covered with an emphasis on issues relevant to developing countries. In addition to conventional microeconomic principles, insights from behavioural and institutional economics on development problems are also covered.

Code: DEV-5017B Credits: 20

The module will introduce you to the main macroeconomic issues of development. You will cover long-run macroeconomics, with a particular focus on economic growth, and short-run macroeconomics, including fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policy. The module combines theory and evidence, relating theoretical arguments to recent macroeconomic phenomena. You will look at specific topics including the government budget and fiscal policy, inflation and monetary policy, trade and the balance of payments, exchange rates and capital flows, and the relationships between gender, institutions, and capital (physical, human and natural) and economic growth.

Code: DEV-5019A Credits: 20

This module will develop your theoretical and empirical understanding of how social environments in different places affect people’s health or ill-health. You will look at health problems and their socio-economic causes at a global, national and sub-national level, examining both communicable diseas (e.g. HIV, covid-19) and non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, stroke), and using case studies from both the Global South and Global North. You will develop knowledge about how ill-health and health inequalities are linked to socio-economic inequalities, poverty and marginalisation. You will be able to apply this knowledge to questions of health policy and interventions designed to improve health. A key conceptual framework for this module is the social determinants of health (SDH). This includes analysis of the risk environment for ill-health, influenced by deeper social structures (such as gender or class inequalities, or poor governance) in a particular setting, how people make a living (their livelihoods), and the nature of health policy and the health services available to people. We are therefore also interested in the interventions which can help deal with risk environments, to make people less susceptible to disease and less vulnerable when they become ill. You will learn how some places have achieved good health. The module is inter-disciplinary, drawing on theories and evidence from disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, public health and development studies, and to a lesser extent economics, demography and epidemiology. It also provides an understanding of the ways different cultures and societies define and understand health and ill-health and why some diseases are highly stigmatised. Case studies from different places and of different diseases are used to illustrate the social determinants of health, including infectious diseases (such as HIV, malaria, Ebola) and non-communicable diseases.

Code: DEV-5020A Credits: 20

This interdisciplinary module will begin by exploring the various approaches to understanding gender and development, then introduces and explains a range of key concepts as the foundations of gender analyses. The module then applies these concepts in examining a selection of important relevant debates: gender analysis of economic growth, divisions of labour and incomes, land and property rights, environmental change, education and health policies, voice and empowerment, violence and religion.

Code: DEV-5025B Credits: 20

The core of this module is that you learn how to conduct your own ethnographic research. You will develop your own project throughout the semester, by collecting ethnographic data, analysing it, and writing your own ethnography. The module is structured in two parts. In part 1 (weeks 1-5) we will provide you with all the practical tools needed to collect ethnographic data. We will also consider the ethics of ethnographic research. You are expected to start conducting your ethnographic research during this part. In Part II (weeks 6-12) we will show you how to analyse and interpret your findings; in short, how to write ethnographically. There will be a chance for feedback every week.

Code: DEV-5026B Credits: 20

What is uneven development and why should we care about it? How did uneven development emerge and what can we do about it? This module focuses on the ways in which geographers have engaged with such questions from different perspectives, focusing on political-economic, environmental, and social concerns. We explore how economic geographers (and geographical economists) have sought to explain the spatiality and unevenness of economic activity, examining the evidence for “natural advantage” and contrasting arguments. We engage with geographical work on urban restructuring and environmental governance – which posit uneven development as a product of capitalism – and consider the influence of Marxist theory on geographical thought. We also explore how both ordinary people and civil society have tried to address, contest, and resist spatial difference and forms of inequality. Throughout the module, questions of place, space, nature, and scale surface (and overlap) – demonstrating the disciplinary strength of geographic scholarship for the analysis of uneven development.

Code: ENV-5002B Credits: 20

The most significant obstacles to problem solving are often political, not scientific or technological. This module examines the emergence and processes of environmental politics. It analyses these from different theoretical perspectives, particularly theories of power and public policy making. The module is focused on contemporary examples of politics and policy making at UK, EU and international levels. The module supports student-led learning by enabling students to select (and develop their own theoretical interpretations of) ‘real world’ examples of politics. Assessment is via seminar slides and a case study essay. The module assumes no prior knowledge of politics.

Code: PPLB4 Credits: 20

There are a broad range of Beginners’ Language Modules for you to choose from. To explore all our available Level 4 modules, please visit our Language Options page. 

Code: PPLB5 Credits: 20

There are a broad range of Beginners’ Language Modules for you to choose from. To explore all our available Level 5 modules, please visit our Language Options page. 

Code: PPLI5161B Credits: 20

This course provides students with an introduction to the global political economy. The world is made up of flows: goods, services, capital, people, cultures, and ideas which continuously cross borders and move across oceans. And so it has been for hundreds of years, An array of international regimes, national authorities, nongovernmental organisations, companies, and social movements exist to promote, prohibit, or regulate these exchanges and flows. There are, just as importantly, the processes of the ‘everyday’, the social reproduction of society, that reveal how gendered the global political economy actually is. And one of the biggest challenges is thinking how to manage the fragile environmental equilibrium and economics’ obsession with growth on a finite planet. All this is taking place in a world moving East, to Asia, and in the process of decolonising from the long shadow of Western extractive imperialism in the global South.

Code: PPLM5002A Credits: 20

Providing a conceptual overview of feminist research approaches, this module examines contemporary gender and power relations. You will examine both the formal and informal power structures that shape the experience of gender. Bringing together the fields of media and sociology, politics and cultural studies, you will explore the relationship between feminist theory and activism.

Code: PPLM5002B Credits: 20

Political violence, individual or collective, is easily condemned as an irrational and barbaric phenomenon, with little relevance for understanding political developments and social change. A lot is down to LeBon’s famous nineteenth century accounts of the crowd as ‘a primitive being’ so destructive ‘that the interests of the individual, even the interest of self preservation, will not dominate them’ (LeBon, 1995). The taboo of violence persists despite attempts of social and political theorists to engage with the issue and understand different forms and contexts, from riots, to religious violence and terrorism. The aim of the module is to break this generalized taboo by tracing the role (explicit or implicit) of political violence in political theory and its function in processes of socio-political transformations and change. Critical engagement with contemporary theoretical and empirical debates around the issue and the examination of mass and new media representations of political violence will enable students to develop a sophisticated understanding of the origins, logics, perceptions and outcomes of political violence and conflict.

Code: PPLX5064A Credits: 20

In this second year module you will examine in depth the works of selected thinkers who are seminal to the Western tradition of political thought, and have shaped the ways in which we think about politics even today, including Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill and Machiavelli. You will also compare their work thematically, with a focus on themes such as the natural law and social contract traditions, and other schools of thought which have been influenced by these traditions. The module will be based on the study and interpretation of key primary texts and will enable you to develop skills of textual analysis and critique. It will also provide some of the historical background necessary to study more contemporary political theory at 3rd year undergraduate level, as well as building substantially on some of the political theories encountered on Social and Political Theory at first year level. The module is taught by a combination of weekly lectures and seminars, supported by private study of your own, and you will be assessed by coursework, usually a combination of an essay and a portfolio which reflects on your reading and seminar performance throughout the semester.

Code: DEV-6001B Credits: 20

This module is about social movements. It is organised around five key themes, which are also the five main axes of inequality globally. They are: gender/patriarchy, racism, labour/class, climate change and social reproduction. There are two weeks on each theme. The first addresses the forms of inequality relating to each theme and also the structural constraints that impede change. The second week focuses on forms of action taken by social movements, and asks the key questions: under what conditions do things change, which strategies work where, and how can increases in equality be sustained?

Code: DEV-6003A Credits: 20

Since the late 1950s, far more wars have been fought within the boundaries of single states than between different countries. The occurrence of these violent intrastate conflicts poses significant challenges to the development agenda, as they have often devastating social, political and economic consequences that can lead to severe humanitarian crises. Grounded in the acknowledgment that it is extremely difficult to meet international development targets in states experiencing violent civil conflict, the aim of Wars & Humanitarian Crises is to critically assess the (contested) causes and possible solutions of protracted civil wars. Key themes in the module include competing explanations for the incidence of civil war; the humanitarian implications of civil wars; the role of the media in reporting wars and humanitarian action; terrorism as another form of political violence that is distinct from but in many cases related to violent intrastate conflicts; and strategies and challenges of peace-building.

Code: DEV-6012B Credits: 20

This module offers you the opportunity to explore how development ideas and aims are reflected in contemporary development practice, focusing on project design and management . The module content is geared towards giving you tools with which to approach designing and working in and on development projects We explore the history of different approaches to aid enterprises, and how they have been shaped by different geo-political and ideological forces. You will learn core tools common in the sector, such as the difference between a log frame and a theory of change, how to create both, and how they may be useful to defining your endeavours. You will work in a team to develop your own project, with a justification of the need, an evidence-based approach and a strong analysis of the social and political context in which it is going to operate. This will also need a communications strategy and a fully costed budget, all of which you will be supported to learn how to do. However we will also encourage you to think critically about these processes, looking at how these tools have been developed and why, and being aware of their limitations and benefits.

Code: PPLX6098A Credits: 20

This module falls squarely within the academic disciplines of political philosophy and applied ethics. It asks questions of an ethical or normative nature. Who should get what and why? In particular, it focuses on the idea of just or fair distribution. What is distributive justice? What are the correct or justifiable principles of distributive justice? Although it addresses some aspects of real-life situations and practical policy debates (how the world is and how it can be changed), these are always considered with the ultimate goal in mind of answering the core philosophical questions about the nature and principles of distributive justice. This is not a public policy, development studies, or sociology module. In the module you’ll focus on some of the leading contemporary theorists of distributive justice, including Rawls, Cohen, Dworkin, Elster, and Sen. As well as exploring macro questions of social justice (e.g. What should be the main principles of justice for the basic institutions of our society? Equality, sufficiency, or priority to the worst off? What about the role of personal responsibility and deservingness in just outcomes?), you’ll also spend time on a range of micro questions about just allocation (e.g. How should household chores be divided between men and women? On the basis of what criteria should scarce donor organs be distributed in hospitals? Who should get Covid vaccines first?). In addition to this, you’ll address, through the work of Beitz, Pogge, and Miller, questions of global distributive justice (Is global economic inequality unjust? If so, why? Do people have a right to an equal share in the value of the Earth’s natural resources?). Moreover, you will examine how issues or gender and race (sexism and racism) connect with issues of distributive justice, at micro, macro, domestic, and international levels. The format of the module will be a two-hour workshop each week, comprising research-led teaching, seminar discussions, practical exercises, textual reading, balloon debate, videos, and essay writing and research-skills mini-sessions. The assessment will be comprised exclusively of a series of short workshop briefing papers, with a heavy emphasis on formative feedback on drafts to be discussed during optional weekly one-to-one tutorials.

Code: DEV-5001B Credits: 20

This module addresses governance challenges arising from natural resource policy and practice, in situations where different stakeholders have competing interests, values and visions. In particular, the module will focus on the governance of biodiversity conservation and agriculture, mainly concentrating on the global South. Students will be encouraged to explore and analyse contested policies and practices using a range of analytical frameworks relating to ecosystem services, human wellbeing and environmental justice. Teaching will involve lectures, seminars and field visits and students will all pursue a case study of natural resource conflict.

Code: DEV-5005A Credits: 20

This module will introduce students to the theory and practice of research methods in the social sciences. It will provide you with the skills you need to conduct research both within and beyond the university context, including your dissertation and future careers. The module will introduce students to a range of qualitative, quantitative and spatial methods that social scientists use in research including research design, data collection and data analysis skills. The module is taught using lecture-based classes and workshops. The module is organised based on three research methods that use different approaches to data collection, analysis and presentation. The qualitative method focuses on analysing and presenting qualitative data. The quantitative method focuses on building statistical skills to analyse secondary survey data as well as interpreting quantitative research findings. The GIS method focuses on data visualisation skills, mapping skills and basic GIS analysis.

Code: DEV-5005B Credits: 20

This is a regional studies module which covers economic, social and political aspects of development in Latin America. It situates the region in its historical and international context, and gives an overview of major development debates in the region. The module also includes country case studies of contrasting development strategies.

Code: DEV-5006B Credits: 20

Sub-Saharan Africa Development aims to provide students with a historical, political, social and economic analysis of key issues relating to development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Students will develop a historically grounded understanding of political, social and economic change in Sub-Saharan Africa through a critical engagement with a range of scholarship from political science, sociology, anthropology, education and economics. Through an exploration of issues such as colonialism and the post-colonial experience, the state in Africa, reasons for Africa’s poor economic performance and aid effectiveness, conflict and ethnicity, migration and urban development students will develop understandings of the dynamics and agendas of change.

Code: DEV-5007A Credits: 20

What role does media and communication play in promoting positive social change? How can communication help to mobilise citizens, change policies, modify behaviours, promote human rights and support democracy? Equally, how can we prevent communication technologies from being used to promote hate speech and violence? This module will address these and other questions by providing a critical introduction to the fields of ‘Media Development’ and ‘Communication for Development’. Key topics covered are likely to include behaviour change communication, participatory communication, press freedom, digital development and media imperialism. This module is designed to be accessible to Global Development (DEV) students, who have not studied the media before, and to students on degrees relevant to media, with no previous experience of studying global development.

Code: DEV-5007B Credits: 20

This module begins with an overview of the region's history before analysing recent and contemporary social, political and economic development processes. Topics include economic growth, social difference, democracy, land and food security, the environment, health and education. The module draws heavily on India, but also considers Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in relation to the various topics.

Code: DEV-5008A Credits: 20

This module teaches concepts, theories and methods that are fundamental to social anthropology and its relationship with development and change. The teaching methods include formal lectures, guided discussions of key readings, small-group seminars, and ethnographic films. The topics include: fieldwork and ethnography, kinship and marriage, personhood, identity and gender, cultural rights, economic anthropology ecological anthropology, and the anthropology of development.

Code: DEV-5009A Credits: 20

The module is about the distinctive challenges that face low and middle income countries in providing quality education for all. We also consider sources of inequalities in the education systems of the Global North, aiming for a worldwide awareness of the issues affecting equity in education.

Code: DEV-5016A Credits: 20

You’ll be introduced to the basic concepts of microeconomics and its application to development problems. Microeconomic theories of consumption, production, externalities, public goods, common property resources, market structures, land and labour markets and households are covered with an emphasis on issues relevant to developing countries. In addition to conventional microeconomic principles, insights from behavioural and institutional economics on development problems are also covered.

Code: DEV-5017B Credits: 20

The module will introduce you to the main macroeconomic issues of development. You will cover long-run macroeconomics, with a particular focus on economic growth, and short-run macroeconomics, including fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policy. The module combines theory and evidence, relating theoretical arguments to recent macroeconomic phenomena. You will look at specific topics including the government budget and fiscal policy, inflation and monetary policy, trade and the balance of payments, exchange rates and capital flows, and the relationships between gender, institutions, and capital (physical, human and natural) and economic growth.

Code: DEV-5019A Credits: 20

This module will develop your theoretical and empirical understanding of how social environments in different places affect people’s health or ill-health. You will look at health problems and their socio-economic causes at a global, national and sub-national level, examining both communicable diseas (e.g. HIV, covid-19) and non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, stroke), and using case studies from both the Global South and Global North. You will develop knowledge about how ill-health and health inequalities are linked to socio-economic inequalities, poverty and marginalisation. You will be able to apply this knowledge to questions of health policy and interventions designed to improve health. A key conceptual framework for this module is the social determinants of health (SDH). This includes analysis of the risk environment for ill-health, influenced by deeper social structures (such as gender or class inequalities, or poor governance) in a particular setting, how people make a living (their livelihoods), and the nature of health policy and the health services available to people. We are therefore also interested in the interventions which can help deal with risk environments, to make people less susceptible to disease and less vulnerable when they become ill. You will learn how some places have achieved good health. The module is inter-disciplinary, drawing on theories and evidence from disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, public health and development studies, and to a lesser extent economics, demography and epidemiology. It also provides an understanding of the ways different cultures and societies define and understand health and ill-health and why some diseases are highly stigmatised. Case studies from different places and of different diseases are used to illustrate the social determinants of health, including infectious diseases (such as HIV, malaria, Ebola) and non-communicable diseases.

Code: DEV-5020A Credits: 20

This interdisciplinary module will begin by exploring the various approaches to understanding gender and development, then introduces and explains a range of key concepts as the foundations of gender analyses. The module then applies these concepts in examining a selection of important relevant debates: gender analysis of economic growth, divisions of labour and incomes, land and property rights, environmental change, education and health policies, voice and empowerment, violence and religion.

Code: DEV-5026B Credits: 20

What is uneven development and why should we care about it? How did uneven development emerge and what can we do about it? This module focuses on the ways in which geographers have engaged with such questions from different perspectives, focusing on political-economic, environmental, and social concerns. We explore how economic geographers (and geographical economists) have sought to explain the spatiality and unevenness of economic activity, examining the evidence for “natural advantage” and contrasting arguments. We engage with geographical work on urban restructuring and environmental governance – which posit uneven development as a product of capitalism – and consider the influence of Marxist theory on geographical thought. We also explore how both ordinary people and civil society have tried to address, contest, and resist spatial difference and forms of inequality. Throughout the module, questions of place, space, nature, and scale surface (and overlap) – demonstrating the disciplinary strength of geographic scholarship for the analysis of uneven development.

Code: DEV-6002B Credits: 20

This module is about sustainability as an environmental justice concern. It approaches sustainability from a political ecology perspective, paying attention to the transformative politics involved in building a safer and more just planet. It looks at just transformations for sustainability from different sides/topics (e.g. conservation, food sovereignty, water, urban and rural areas, indigenous territories) but also in terms of concepts and processes, e.g. planetary boundaries, global (and cognitive) justice, transitions, transformations, alternatives, resistance movements, equity, etc. The course is taught using student experiences and observations. A typical session therefore might involve asking questions around planetary boundaries and asking how students are living within these boundaries. This would involve some theory but also on-line research and group work and dynamics.

Code: DEV-6005A Credits: 20

This module will provide you with the opportunity to work overseas or in the UK, for example working in education, conservation, agriculture, working with vulnerable groups, administration or journalism. You are expected to fund your own project, which must be approved by the module convenor. The School has a database of projects to assist you with your project selection. The work placement can be between 2 - 5 months duration, over a period stretching from the summer (June) at the end of year two through to the end of the autumn semester of year three (November/December). You are expected to work for a minimum of two months and complete 150 hours of work as a minimum requirement. There are two pieces of assessment: an initial reflective piece of writing about the placement, and an essay related to the placement or project work.

Code: DEV-6007Y Credits: 40

The dissertation will provide you with an opportunity to undertake a research project on a topic within development studies in consultation with your supervisor. It is intended to complement the more conventional methods of coursework and examination assessment, allowing you to investigate and consider themes and issues of importance to you in more depth. The dissertation is not an extended essay; rather it is a (social) scientific piece of research that sets out a clear question and methods, and develops a coherent argument based on a review of existing and/or interpretation of fresh evidence, and application to theory. Please note, the dissertation is restricted to International Development and Environmental Geography & International Development students.

Code: DEV-6014A Credits: 20

This module will address different forms of migration (e.g. internal, international, circular, return, seasonal, irregular) and reasons why people migrate (e.g. economic, political, social and environmental), and will critically explore the different ways in which these are related to development and change in societies of origin and destination. We will start by exploring migration from a historical perspective, and addressing different theoretical approaches with a multidisciplinary angle (including different methods of researching migration – both quantitative and qualitative), as well as regional differences and heterogeneity in migration trends and patterns across the globe. We will then look at key issues in migration studies including: types of migrants; networks and community organisations that link home and host societies; migrants’ integration into the host society; the impact of climate change on people’s movement; policies, citizenship and human rights; and the refugee crisis. Within these topics, we will also discuss inequalities across population subgroups (e.g. by age, gender, education and ethnicity) in terms of migration opportunities, access, networks and integration. These topics will be discussed through the analysis of case studies in various parts of the world and the participation of local community practitioners or migrants themselves in one or more seminar sessions. The module will also include one visit to a local museum to learn about the long and complex history of migration to Norfolk from the museum curators. With this comprehensive approach to migration this module will move beyond a narrow and casual view of the relationship between migration and development, and contribute to understanding the myriad ways in which global forces influence people’s movements, and how these movements, in turn, have historically been transforming societies and communities.

Code: DEV-6017A Credits: 40

The dissertation will provide you with an opportunity to undertake a research project on a topic within development studies in consultation with your supervisor. It is intended to complement the more conventional methods of coursework and examination assessment, allowing you to investigate and consider themes and issues of importance to you in more depth. The dissertation is not an extended essay; rather it is a (social) scientific piece of research that sets out a clear question and methods, and develops a coherent argument based on a review of existing and/or interpretation of fresh evidence, and application to theory. Please note, the dissertation is restricted to International Development and Environmental Geography & International Development students.

Code: DEV-6019B Credits: 20

In this module, we will examine historical and contemporary ideas around urban planning. We will explore the varied socioeconomic, gendered and racialized exclusions embedded within such plans and how ordinary people contest and resist top-down visions. By drawing on Black urbanisms and geographies, Indigenous planning frameworks, and ‘Southern’ theory, we consider alternative visions for what a ‘city for all’ can look like. The module’s focus on theorizing and learning from the ‘South’ and from the ‘margins’ seeks to decenter our ideas on what ‘works’ within a city and the methods we use. While centered on urban planning, the module will bring into conversation debates which have preoccupied urban geographers, including urban economic restructuring and informality; migration; citizenship; urban nature; and race and gender/sexuality in the city. We will think critically with other non-academic materials, such as podcasts and anti-eviction handbooks put together by activists – to ‘decolonize’ and pluralize the ‘knowledges’ we engage with. A one-day field trip to Elephant and Castle, London, focusing on urban planning and regeneration, is an integral part of the module and will be hosted by our partners Latin Elephant and Southwark Notes (Covid-permitting).

Code: ENV-5002B Credits: 20

The most significant obstacles to problem solving are often political, not scientific or technological. This module examines the emergence and processes of environmental politics. It analyses these from different theoretical perspectives, particularly theories of power and public policy making. The module is focused on contemporary examples of politics and policy making at UK, EU and international levels. The module supports student-led learning by enabling students to select (and develop their own theoretical interpretations of) ‘real world’ examples of politics. Assessment is via seminar slides and a case study essay. The module assumes no prior knowledge of politics.

Code: PPLB5 Credits: 20

There are a broad range of Beginners’ Language Modules for you to choose from. To explore all our available Level 4 modules, please visit our Language Options page. 

Code: PPLI5161B Credits: 20

This course provides students with an introduction to the global political economy. The world is made up of flows: goods, services, capital, people, cultures, and ideas which continuously cross borders and move across oceans. And so it has been for hundreds of years, An array of international regimes, national authorities, nongovernmental organisations, companies, and social movements exist to promote, prohibit, or regulate these exchanges and flows. There are, just as importantly, the processes of the ‘everyday’, the social reproduction of society, that reveal how gendered the global political economy actually is. And one of the biggest challenges is thinking how to manage the fragile environmental equilibrium and economics’ obsession with growth on a finite planet. All this is taking place in a world moving East, to Asia, and in the process of decolonising from the long shadow of Western extractive imperialism in the global South.

Code: PPLM5002A Credits: 20

Providing a conceptual overview of feminist research approaches, this module examines contemporary gender and power relations. You will examine both the formal and informal power structures that shape the experience of gender. Bringing together the fields of media and sociology, politics and cultural studies, you will explore the relationship between feminist theory and activism.

Code: PPLM5002B Credits: 20

Political violence, individual or collective, is easily condemned as an irrational and barbaric phenomenon, with little relevance for understanding political developments and social change. A lot is down to LeBon’s famous nineteenth century accounts of the crowd as ‘a primitive being’ so destructive ‘that the interests of the individual, even the interest of self preservation, will not dominate them’ (LeBon, 1995). The taboo of violence persists despite attempts of social and political theorists to engage with the issue and understand different forms and contexts, from riots, to religious violence and terrorism. The aim of the module is to break this generalized taboo by tracing the role (explicit or implicit) of political violence in political theory and its function in processes of socio-political transformations and change. Critical engagement with contemporary theoretical and empirical debates around the issue and the examination of mass and new media representations of political violence will enable students to develop a sophisticated understanding of the origins, logics, perceptions and outcomes of political violence and conflict.

Code: PPLM6079B Credits: 20

How do grassroots and third sector organisations campaign for social and political change? Rather than pose this as an abstract question, you will partner with existing organisations to conduct campaigns on specific issues such as climate change, tax avoidance or gender inequality. You will receive a brief from a partner organisation and be supported in planning, devising, and carrying out activities that will achieve the aims of the brief. Taught content will include strategies for both online and offline activism, analysing power relations at different scales, and ways of assessing the effectiveness of your campaigns, but the bulk of this module will be the experience of a “live” campaign. You will combine applied research skills with professional practice in the form of a “reverse internship.” As the partner organisations are embedded in the module, you will build valuable skills for employability as well as an opportunity for being supported in the exercise of engaged citizenship. You will be assessed by presentation and critical reflection. In the year 2017-2018 the partner organisation was Greenpeace, but partners may change each year.

Code: PPLX5064A Credits: 20

In this second year module you will examine in depth the works of selected thinkers who are seminal to the Western tradition of political thought, and have shaped the ways in which we think about politics even today, including Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill and Machiavelli. You will also compare their work thematically, with a focus on themes such as the natural law and social contract traditions, and other schools of thought which have been influenced by these traditions. The module will be based on the study and interpretation of key primary texts and will enable you to develop skills of textual analysis and critique. It will also provide some of the historical background necessary to study more contemporary political theory at 3rd year undergraduate level, as well as building substantially on some of the political theories encountered on Social and Political Theory at first year level. The module is taught by a combination of weekly lectures and seminars, supported by private study of your own, and you will be assessed by coursework, usually a combination of an essay and a portfolio which reflects on your reading and seminar performance throughout the semester.