Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Notes

Synopsis

This unit focuses on the interrelated nature of power, poverty and development in the contemporary world. It provides students with the ability to critically examine geographical polarities of wealth, opportunity, and risk generated by globalisation for different groups of people in the world. Students are introduced to the concepts, definitions and discourses of international development. The following questions are explored:

1. What are key disparities that pose serious concerns for a secure global community?
2. How have differences in international development been generated or reinforced through globalisation?
3. How do these differences shape processes of population change and resource allocation, urbanisation, agrarian change, health delivery, and identity politics?
4. What institutional and other political structures exacerbate and reinforce uneven global development?
5. How might we approach alternative strategies for tackling current patterns of global inequality?

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.Students will meet the objectives of the unit by:+ 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

Midterm quiz: 10%
Class participation: 10%
Weekly reading commentaries: 10% +
Essay (3000 words): 30%
Exam: 40%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr. Ben Reid

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)
Geographical science

Prerequisites

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