BA Global Development

This module introduces students to key development theories and approaches. How have processes of transformation and change, ideas about progress, and the policy and practice of development unfolded around the world, over time? We consider major shifts in approaches to 'development', from colonial intervention, modernisation, dependency theory and developmentalism, to neoliberalism. Feminist contributions, participatory and decolonial approaches and post-development perspectives are also explored. 

What are the key contemporary issues in development? This module tackles questions of poverty and inequality; climate change and the environment; violence, conflict and humanitarianism; rural livelihoods and cities; labour and social justice; migration and displacement; and aid interventions. The factors shaping poverty, insecurity and inequality and debates about pathways to progress are considered throughout. 

This module provides students with an introduction to core social science skills. We explore how social scientists work with theory and empirical evidence, present findings and construct arguments. We consider the role and process of secondary research, including the use of library resources and the basics of primary research and the role of knowledge production. Students learn the basics of critical thinking, argumentation and politics of knowledge production in relation to development.

This course examines the political economy of development processes and the specific development policies and strategies undertaken in different regions and countries of the world. The syllabus is designed to provide insights on the historical evolution of development debates, and an overview of the elements of theory and policy that are especially relevant to the study and practice of development.

This course examines the political economy of development processes and the specific development policies and strategies undertaken in different regions and countries of the world. The syllabus is designed to provide insights on the historical evolution of development debates, and an overview of the elements of theory and policy that are especially relevant to the study and practice of development.
The main focus of the course is to introduce basic and foundational concepts in development and the main actors involved at the national and global levels The course introduces to students key development debates on the environment, trade, resource mobilisation (aid, taxation, and finance) as well as how these issues are relevant for the understanding the political economy of three regions/countries (Africa, Middle East, and China).

This module introduces students to research projects on-going in the department and elsewhere. Students practice reading and interpreting research findings and exploring how they may be applied to development. In the process, students become familiar with research generated or being generated by department academics. 

This is a first year module covering macroeconomic principles. It seeks to provide students with the basic concepts and ideas prevailing in (mainstream) macroeconomic theory. It further seeks to introduce students to basic features of macroeconomic reasoning and to develop an understanding of the workings of economic systems. The interaction of macroeconomic variables and mechanisms will be examined for the short and long period, as well as within a closed economy and in terms of the relations between nations (open macroeconomics).

This is a first year module covering microeconomic principles. It deals with the question of how societies organise resource allocation and production through prices, and with the economic behaviour of individuals and individual institutions mediated by markets.

What is anthropology about and what do anthropologists do? This module gives an introduction to social anthropology as both an academic discipline and a practice. Students are introduced to anthropology through a number of particular themes, such as modes of production and livelihood, exchange relations, explanations of witchcraft, power relations, kinship and marriage, class, gender, and race.

101B Anthropology in and of the World is the second term of our introduction to social anthropology, open only to students who have taken 101A. This module introduces a critical framework for understanding the production of anthropological theory/knowledge in relation to changing social, political, economic, and ethnographic circumstances. It helps students develop the skills necessary for a close and critical reading of ethnographies. And offers an introduction to the kinds of practical uses anthropological thinking and methods can be put to in everyday life.

Introduction to Global History provides students with a broad understanding of the development of the modern world system. Beginning with 1492, it traces how the world became increasingly integrated and connected – economically, politically, militarily and socially. The course begins by asking what we might mean by ‘global history,’ and then considers global phenomena including empire, slavery, colonialism and revolution, through primary and secondary sources. We take a global look at the twentieth century, moving through the world wars, decolonization, the movements of 1968 and the contemporary rise of China in a globalized and capitalist age. In short, the course seeks to “narrate the world’s past in an age of globality” (Geyer and Bright), and to show how and where that past interacts with the present.

Introduction to Global History 2 provides students with a broad understanding of the development of the contemporary world system, tracing moments of global crisis and instability, as well as activist responses to them, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and seeing how each reverberates in global politics today. The module covers topics as broad as women's emancipation, fascism, decolonisation, and the energy crisis through primary and secondary sources. This is one of two Introduction to Global History modules, organised broadly chronologically. The first one runs roughly to the 1920s. This second module looks at the last century of global history.

This module is a core module in the BA International Relations and provides a general introduction to the discipline of International Relations and to major themes in world politics. Major theories and approaches to world politics are covered, including Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Marxism, Feminism, and Postcolonial Approaches. Topics to be covered will include issues of war and peace, power, global political economy, public health, environmental politics, justice and human rights, empire, and the crisis of liberal international order. The course pays particular attention to the relationship between the discipline of International Relations as a field of knowledge and its application and/or relevance to the experience and interests of actors in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

This module is a core module in the BA International Relations and provides a general introduction to the discipline of International Relations and to major themes in world politics. Major theories and approaches to world politics are covered, including Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Marxism, Poststructuralist, Feminism, and Postcolonial Approaches. Topics to be covered will include issues of war and peace, power, global political economy, identities and ideologies, environmental politics, technological change, justice and human rights, empire, and the crisis of liberal international order. The course pays particular attention to the relationship between the discipline of International Relations as a field of knowledge and its application and/or relevance to the experience and interests of actors in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

This module explores how development is shaped from 'above' and 'below' by a range of actors. It explores the institutional history and (changing) ways of working of these actors, considering the goals, methods and power dynamics shaping their interventions. To this end, the module foregrounds the actors most associated with 'from above' (i.e. World Bank) and 'from below' (i.e. social movements) development, and dissects the philosophies and approaches that characterise them, in so doing, the module provides a deeper understanding of how development works (or is supposed to), what alternative understandings of development look like, and how different actors work to make more (or less) space for such alternatives.

This module explores concrete examples from across the global South of efforts to bring about development, from above, below or a combination of both. The module will examine the ways in which varied actors have identified problems and opportunities, and formulated and implemented interventions. In what ways do they take into consideration power relations within communities, and differentiation around class, gender, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, and other identities? What impact have they had? It also looks at the unruly politics of development from below led by local and transnational groups and communities who organise to influence, reform or resist intervention. A range of cases, tracking the interventions of the actors outlined in the prerequisite module, 'Development actors from above and below', will be used across the module. Examples include low-carbon development in Ethiopia, resistance to forced eviction in informal settlements in Indonesia, different ways of influencing dam construction in India, the labour strategies of Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa, women's movements in Korea and former resistance to neoliberal agricultural reform in India.

The module embraces a range of voices that have contributed to debates around development over the years, the insights they have brought to different issues, and the divergences and convergences between thinkers. We explore influential conceptualisations of the relationship between state, market and society including critical analyses of modernity and the development of capitalism; the influence and legacies of colonialism and empire; race, class and gender; and the very idea of development as it is linked to notions of progress in the contemporary world.

This course looks at the writings and influence of key thinkers and theories in development. We will take an in-depth look at critical voices in development debates, and explore how they have shaped understandings and debates on development, on the role of institutions and power in shaping development processes, and on development policy and practice. Students are expected to explore these theories and ideas and how they have been subsequently interpreted, used and critiqued. Keep in mind the contribution each thinker has made to development studies and practice.

This module analyses conceptual issues relating to labour and development, including historical aspects of labour and capitalist development in the Global North and South. We engage with debates around the working poor under neoliberalism, including the differences between poverty-focused and labour-focused social policy. We will look in detail at the processes and institutions that blight the lives of the working poor such as modern slavery/unfree labour as well as the emergence of apparent opportunities such as the gig/sharing economy. Perhaps most importantly, we examine resistance via case studies of struggles of and for the working poor by organised labour and social movements, their potential and limitations.

This module gives an introduction to the contemporary and future consequences of the intertwined histories of global development and environmental change. The module is organised into three parts. Part 1, on environmental histories and futures, locates the roots of contemporary social-environmental relations in the historical emergence of capitalism. Part 2 surveys key global environmental problems arising from social-environmental relations of capital in the 21st-century. Part 3 reflects on different ways of responding to the current moment that social-environmental relations of capital have led us to, and the varying futures that might result from its continuation or contestation, depending on whether we choose reform, rejection, revolution or resignation.

The purpose of this course is to examine the effects of political factors on economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It aims to familiarise students with various theories of economic development, specifically the role of the state and government intervention, and then to guide students in tracing these theories against the empirical evidence from a range of examples from states in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It will thereby enable students to acquire a nuanced and empirically grounded perspective on the reasons for wide variations in economic development.

This module is designed to introduce students to the major theoretical approaches and concepts in contemporary Development Economics. Both mainstream and heterodox approaches to Development Economics will be covered. Students will have the opportunity to critically engage with international development policy debates by unpicking the theories, frameworks and methods underpinning these debates. The module will apply theories to contemporary issues in low income countries, relying on a variety of case studies throughout.

This module provides an introduction to both classical and recent approaches in economic anthropology. Moving away from narrow understandings of economy, it will explore how economic life is embedded in social relations, cultural transformations and political action. This includes vital topics such as money and commodities, the gendering/racialising of labour, cultures of consumption, informal economies, indebtedness and finance. Finally, it will investigate how anthropologists are envisaging the future of economic life and alternatives to neoliberal austerity, and how an engaged anthropology can contribute to shaping alternatives.

The course will enable students to interrogate the relationship between violent conflict and development and will provide a comprehensive grounding in theory, policy and practice surrounding war and violence. Throughout the course there is emphasis on understanding war and peace as a continuum, rather than seeing them as distinct and separate phenomena, and conceptualising a ‘spectrum of violence’ that explores both the ‘spectacular’ violence of war and other forms of structural, ‘slow’ and everyday violence that shape the relationship between conflict and development. The course is structured so as to allow students to engage with (1) the causes of violent conflict (weeks 1-3); (2) the structures and manifestations of war (weeks 4-6); (3) Interventions and the aftermath of war (weeks 7 – 10).

This innovative module builds on the theoretical knowledge and foundations gained through the first two years of studying Global Development, to now think about how to translate that understanding into practical action for change. In Making Change Happen 1, students explore a variety of approaches and tools for thinking about what change looks like, how it takes place, and how to identify points of entry for change-makers. It also explores a range of skills and tools for understanding the change-context and working with local communities as allies and partners.

This innovative module builds on Making Change Happen 1, and shifts the focus to thinking about different kinds of change-making activity and interventions. After considering issues around power and policy, students will explore what change-making looks like in a number of different settings (including the development project, protest and campaigning). Students will also explore approaches for measuring the impact of change-making interventions.

This 3rd year module provides students with the opportunity to identify, develop and produce a research based dissertation related to any area of their interest within development studies. Students will benefit from peer support and guidance from the module convenor in regular training sessions throughout the two terms of study. In term 2, they will each present their ongoing research to the student group for feedback and discussion. Individually, they will also work with an academic supervisor who will provide specific support in the framing of the project, its theoretical underpinnings and its methodologies.

The module will familiarise students with the role gender plays in global development and with the history of gender and development. It will train students to centre gender in the analysis of development processes and interventions. Sessions in the module address issues of coloniality, sexuality, race, economic dependence and debt, violence, peace and security, food-systems and the ecology. They explore their relation to intersectional inequality as well to gender and intersectional justice. 

Almost all questions of our time revolve around the conceptualisation, functions and effects of boundaries and of bordering processes. Whether we talk about sovereignty, geopolitics, and humanitarian interventions; citizenship, identity and migration; economic integration, financial crises and protectionism; globalism, localism, or transnationalism; and more broadly, distinctions, discriminations, exclusions and inclusions; borders are central for our understanding of processes of social change. Development is no exception and the module, at its broadest, draws from the vast body of literature concerned with these issues to study the relation between borders and the development process.

Forced migration is an issue that is constantly in the news and political debates. This module unpacks crucial questions. We consider how forced migration is understood from different angles and how diverse forms of violence and climate change drive displacement. We also examine the frameworks that displaced people encounter – from humanitarian assistance, regimes of protection, pursuit of ‘durable solutions’ and ‘developmental approaches’ – to measures seeking to contain and control people’s movements. We explore the role of diasporas, activists and global governance initiatives, discussing ways forward. Throughout, we keep in focus the lived realities of displacement and how power relations shape institutional responses.

The BA Development Placement involves students being placed within a development organisation to participate in a specific element of development research or practice. Some placements will be online (enabling students to work with diverse organisations while studying on campus), some in London-based organisations. In some instances, a group of students may be allocated to a particular host organisation to work together on a project under the supervision of a staff member. Informed by their prior studies, students will acquire practical experience in development research or practice, fostering skills relevant to their future careers. Tasks may include research, campaigning and communications, policy work, programming, project implementation, casework, monitoring and evaluation. Student undertake 40 hours of work over an 8 week period. Students use their professional exposure to develop a research paper which explores the issues and contexts with which their placement organisation engages and reflects on ways of bringing about change in this field.

What is migration? Is this the “age of migration”? What is Diaspora and what challenges do diasporic communities bring to modern political constructions such as the nation-state, national “imagined” communities, citizenship and their associated metaphysics of sedentarism? This module explores these issues by critically engaging with the ways in which migration and diaspora have been understood historically and in modern and contemporary times.

Students will engage with the central theoretical and ethical debates relating to anthropologies of climate change, and consider how these have developed in relation to key social movements and moments from the twentieth century to the present. Topics including temporality, political economy, development, justice, ethics, distress, activism and more-than-human ecologies of care are explored, with students encouraged to consider how they might approach crafting their own anthropologies of climate change. Whilst attention is given to historical antecedents and the development of climate as an object of concern, both within and outside the academy, the course looks at contemporary developments and encourages students to think about how they might engage with and shape emergent anthropologies of the anthropocene. In this, the intersection between anthropology and activism is explored, as we ask not only how we can write anthropologies of a warming planet, but also how anthropologies of the anthropocene can help us collectively navigate uncertain planetary futures.

This module is a Year 3 optional module for Economics Undergraduates. It aims at providing students with a thorough understanding of core economic policy challenges in the contemporary global economy, and to equip them with the theoretical and applied skills necessary to evaluate policy debates and challenges and contemplate policy solutions to such challenges.

This course looks at the interaction between China's economic transformation and world development since the late 1970s until the present time. The emphasis is on critically analyzing and assessing this interaction from alternative historical and theoretical perspectives.

This module introduces final year undergraduate students to a range of key issues in contemporary world politics, centered on conflict, rights, and justice – and to what extent developments in these issues reflect, or even drive, changes in the ‘liberal’ international order. The module considers the role of war and violence in contemporary international politics, and asks what, if anything, we should make of claims of the historical decline of inter-state war and, more recently, civil wars. We also look at international efforts to manage both the occurrence and conduct of armed conflict through international law and norms, and ask why civilians nonetheless are increasingly vulnerable. We’ll also look at the focus on terrorism that long has dominated international management of global ‘peace and security’, and, more recently, to the ‘rise’ of nationalism in world politics; through both, we consider the interconnected implications for armed resistance to oppression, and demands for collective rights. In the rest of the term, we’ll look at the implications of the expansion of ‘hybrid war’ – surveillance, drone (and increasingly automated) warfare and cyber warfare; the contested politics of human rights, civil liberties, and asylum (‘protection’); the increased international focus on women, children, and sexual violence in conflict; and controversies over international justice for war crimes and mass atrocities.