Director: Dr Susan Blackburn
Acting director (July-December 1995): Dr Peter Marden
The foundation of the Development Studies Centre was approved by the university Council in November l987, to coordinate and foster research and teaching on all aspects of international development. Central to this task is the recognition that issues of development are essentially complex and multifaceted, and are best tackled by groups of scholars from a variety of disciplines.
This commitment to interdisciplinary approaches is reflected in the composition of the centre's committee, which consists of representatives from seven faculties, from a number of individual departments and as well as from graduate students. While the majority of the issues of concern to the centre relate to developing countries, many subjects such as poverty, environmental degradation, third world debt and industrial development, can best be approached from a global perspective. Such insights are also useful in understanding the current problems of Australia, which like countries of the third world is faced with declining prices for its major export commodities, has considerable levels of foreign debt, is heavily dependent on imported technology and is seeking to restructure its economic base.
Staff associated with the centre are engaged in a wide variety of research projects, including health in China, industrial restructuring in East Asia, irrigation management in Indonesia, development of law and government in the South Pacific, changing food consumption patterns in Asia, Australian foreign aid, and non-government organisations in Indonesia.
A number of centre staff have been engaged by government and other agencies to advise on a variety of projects and policies. The centre also has strong links with the non-government organisations concerned with aid and development.
The centre organises a regular series of seminars at which visitors, staff and graduate students present the results of their work. Its publications list consists of a number of monographs, occasional papers and working papers.
While most graduate students work in individual departments, most students benefit from a wide range of advice. The centre regards this interdisciplinary supervision of graduate students as an important part of its activities.
Members of staff associated with the Development Studies Centre and their fields of special interest
Susan Blackburn Foreign aid; Southeast Asian development policies; gender and Asian politics; non-government organisations and social movements in Southeast Asia.
Tannetje Bryant Environmental law.
John Dalton Australian politics and foreign policy; Malaysia; Fiji; Australia and the South Pacific.
Gale Dixon Geography of Southeast Asia; cultural geography; cartography.
Robyn Eckersley Green politics and philosophy; modern social and political theory; new social movements; environmental philosophy; environmental law and ecological economics.
David Goldsworthy Politics of development; decolonisation; Australian foreign policy.
Peter Marden Modern social and political theory, nationalism, state theory, cultural studies; development studies and ethics.
John McKay Asian economic development; industrial restructuring; Korea and Taiwan.
Robert Moodie Health in developing countries.
Andrew Perry Modern politics and economies of Japan, Korea and the Philippines; East Asian international relations; American foreign policy, especially in relation to Asia; politics of international and transnational trade and finance; Japanese relations with Southeast Asia and Australia.
Guy Powles Law, government and society in the Pacific Islands region.
Alan Rice Education in developing countries.
Robert Rice Indonesian economy; economics of development.
Bill Russell Public sector management, public enterprise management, development administration.
Michael Stevenson Political economy and social relationships between the first and third worlds; theories of development and under-development; comparative study of social movements of indigenous peoples; the history of social and cultural theory.
Keith Trace International trade and business.
Marika Vicziany Australia's business relations with South Asia; the Untouchables of India.
Mark Wahlqvist Health in developing countries.
Ian Wills Agriculture, environmental economics.
Dennis Woodward Australian politics with special reference to elections and parties; Chinese politics with special reference to People's Liberation Army and to industrial and agricultural policies.
Xiokai Yang Chinese economy.
MA in development studies
The MA consists of some subjects which are interdisciplinary, while others are centred in particular disciplines. All students must take interdisciplinary core subjects on the nature of development studies and current issues in the field, but Part II of the MA program allows specialisation in a number of vocationally oriented subjects.
Entry requirements
Applicants for Part I of the MA program must have a pass bachelors degree with results at least at credit standard in the third part of a major sequence (such as anthropology, economics, economic history, geography, politics, sociology) and some background in subjects relating to development studies in the major and minor sequences. Applicants who have completed an honours bachelors degree with results at least at second class honours standard in a relevant discipline may be admitted to Part II of the MA program. The MA program Parts I and II is composed of subjects totalling ninety-six points value and may be completed in two years of full-time or approximately four years of part-time study.
For detailed information please obtain the Development studies postgraduate handbook from the Monash Asia Institute in the Performing Arts Centre.
MA Part I
Core subject
* DSM4000.12 Development studies: theories and approaches to policy
and subjects totalling thirty-six points value chosen from the following list. Departments in which the subjects are offered are listed after the subjects.
* ASM4230.12 Culture and conflict in Indonesia (Anthropology)
* ASM4430.12 The third world (Anthropology)
* ASM4470.12 Comparative sociology of `development' (Anthropology) (not offered in 1995)
* AUS4200.12 Tourism and development in the Pacific (Australian Studies)
* DSM4020.06 Economics of developing countries (Economics)
* DSM4030.12 Agricultural policy (Economics) (not offered in 1995)
* DSM4040.12 Development in Asia, Australia and the Pacific Basin (Development Studies)
* DSM4060.12 Population and development (Economics) (not offered in 1995)
* DSM4080.12 International economics and development (Economics)
* DSM4120.12 Business in Asia (Economics)
* DSM4130.12 Economic development of East Asia (Economics)
* DSM4140.12 Introduction to economics (Economics)
* DSM4150.12 Environmental economics and policy (Economics)
* GYM4710.12 Southeast Asia (Geography)
* PLM4280.12 Japan, Korea and China: East Asian states and development (Politics)
* PLM4290.12 China: the quest for modernisation (Politics)
* PLM4500.12 International relations and development (Politics)
* PLM4930.12 Southeast Asian politics (Politics)
* PLM4990.12 Politics of environmentalism (Politics)
MA Part II
Core Course
* DSM5000.12 Development studies and development planning in an era of global crisis
and any subjects totalling thirty-six points value chosen from the following:
* Thesis
* AUS5200.12 Tourism and development in the Pacific
* DSM5010.12 Environment and development (Development Studies)
* DSM5020.12 Aid, development education and the non-government organisations
* DSM5030.12 Development, lifestyle and health (not offered in 1995)
* DSM5040.12 Individual research project
* DSM5050.12 International environmental law (Law)
* DSM5060.12 Administration and planning of education in developing countries (Education) (not offered in 1995)
* DSM5090.12 Pacific comparative law (Law)
* DSM5095.12 Education and society in the Asia-Pacific region (Education)
* DSM5110.12 Development administration (Graduate Scool of Management)
* DSM5120.12 International public administration (Graduate School of Administration)
* DSM5130.12 Special topics in public health: international health (Social and Preventive Medicine)
* GYM5050.12 Advanced studies in Southeast Asia (Geography)
* PLM5290.12 China: the quest for modernisation (Politics)
* PLM5500.12 International relations and development (Politics)
* PLM5640.12 International finance: dollars, debt and development (Politics)
NB: With the approval of the director, other subjects may be studied as part of the MA.