Development Studies Major

Total units 48 Units

Areas of interest Development Studies
Major code DEST-MAJ

Academic career Undergraduate

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

Relevant Degrees

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Requirements

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

12 units from completion of the following course(s):

Code	Title	Units
ANTH1003	Global and Local	6
POLS1005	Introduction to International Relations: Foundations and Concepts	6
SOCY1002	Self and Society OR	6
SOCY1004	Introduction to Social Psychology	6

18 units from completion of the following course(s):

Code	Title	Units
ANTH2009	Culture and Development	6
POLS2011	Development and Change	6
SOCY2030	Sociology of Third World Development	6

18 units from completion of the following course(s):

Code	Title	Units
ANTH2025	Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective	6
ANTH2026	Medical Anthropology	6
ANTH2056	Belonging, Identity and Nationalism	6
ANTH2129	Crossing Borders: Diasporas and Transnationalism	6
BIAN2119	Nutrition, Disease and the Environment	6
BIAN2120	Culture, Biology and Population Dynamics	6
ECON2900	Development Poverty and Famine	6
ECHI2006	The World Economy Since 1800 (P)	6
ENVS2025	Indigenous Cultural and Natural Resource Management	6
ENVS3007	Participatory Resource Management: Working with Communities and Stakeholders	6
ENVS3033	International Environmental Policy	6
INDG3002	Indigenous Peoples and Development	6
POLS2064	Global Social Movements	6
POLS2075	Globalism and the Politics of Identity	6
POLS2094	Issues in International Political Economy	6
POLS2101	Refugee Politics: Displacement and Exclusion in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries	6
POLS2113	Human Rights	6
POLS3033	Environment, Human Security and Conflict	6
SOCY2060	Mobile Societies	6
SOCY3022	Identity, Difference and Ethnicity	6
	SOCY 3029: Food Environment & Development

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