Monash University Handbook 2010 Undergraduate - Unit

Synopsis

This unit provides students with the ability to critically examine geographical polarities of wealth, opportunity and risk for different groups of people in a globalising world. It focuses on differential resource allocation, demographic factors, agrarian systems and health outcomes. Answers to the following questions will be sought: 1)What are key disparities that pose serious concerns for a secure global community? 2)How have international development differences come about? 3)What competing explanations exist for global disparities? 4)What institutional and other structures exacerbate and reinforce uneven international development? 5)How might patterns of global inequality be transformed?

Objectives

Students successfully completing this unit will be able to:

1. Understand and explain how international development differences have come about.
2. Interpret critically the competing explanations exist for global disparities.
3. Assess critically the institutional and other structures that exacerbate and reinforce uneven international development
4. Explain key disparities that pose serious concerns for a secure global community.
5. Develop normative understandings about how patterns of global inequality can be transformed toward socially just and sustainable outcomes
6. Demonstrate sound written and verbal expression, involving the critical analysis of text, graphs, tables, maps, film and other data.

• Actively participating in tutorials,
• Demonstrating knowledge of key concepts of international development in discussions and written work,
• Preparing and submitting an essay that adheres to essay guidelines, is clearly structured, and which shows a well argued and balanced treatment of the material,
• Demonstrating the complexities of uneven international development issues and theory in the exam.

Assessment

+ Essay (2500 words): 40%
Class participation: 10%
Short answers: 10%
Exam (2 hours): 40%

Chief examiner(s)

Craig Thorburn

Contact hours

One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Human rights theory
International studies
Geography and environmental science (ARTS)

Prerequisites

First year sequence in INT, SCY, ANY, GES or permission of instructor.