AD2AID: Approaches to International Development

Module code: AD2AID

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Andrew Ainslie, email: a.m.ainslie@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE AD1GLI OR TAKE AP1ID1 OR TAKE AP1ID2 (Compulsory)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module aims to show how all development interventions – whether academic, policy or programmatic or some combination of all three – ultimately rely on social and economic theories. In this module, you learn where some seventy years of mainstream and more radical ideas about international development spring from, how they’re connected to each other, and what authority they enjoy in making change happen in the world. Through reading, lectures, seminars and discussions, you’ll learn to recognise and understand key features of the contemporary intellectual architecture of international development. By analysing theories and real-life case-studies, you will critically assess the decisions that development actors make and consider why they may encounter resistance to their efforts. The purpose of this module is to ensure that you are equipped with the terminology, concepts and historical perspective to critically debate the motives for and the implications of development policy and praxis as these are applied around the world. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate a coherent, critical understanding of the origins and central tenets of at least five different, pre-eminent theoretical approaches to the study of international development 
2. Use this knowledge to critically identify and analyse the conceptual framework(s) used to frame a development issue, to pre-empt the ways to address it and how these may narrow down the options to evaluate outcomes of any interventions 
3. Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the contributions that development economists have made/make to understanding and valorising change at multiple scales and levels in international development 
4. Evidence a critical understanding of the philosophical debates around an ethics of development  

Module content

1. The progress of development theory since the Second World War 
2. Different disciplinary canons that contribute to theory building in international development 
3. Structuralist and critical approaches to international development, including Marxist political economy, Dependency theory and World Systems Theory 
4. Feminist-inspired gender-based theories of development and intersectionality 
5. Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach 
6. The retreat of the state and the rise of ‘people-centred development’ theory: participation, empowerment, good governance, livelihoods, social protection and rights-based approaches 
7. Different cultures and modes of development theorising and praxis 
8. The ‘ethics’ of development 
9. Alternatives to development 
10. Geographies of resistance, structural violence and contemporary social movements 
11. Collective/reflexive learning from development practice 
12. Case-studies/topics in the economics of development, delivered by guest lecturers, so may include economic growth, household decision-making, employment, poverty, inequality, nutrition, technological advances, environmental crises, and managing development projects 

The exact content may change from year to year, as this list includes guest lectures from academic colleagues and those in the development sector

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is taught via the delivery of structured lectures, seminars, small group discussions, reading, watching video clips, listening to podcasts, and engaging with other media. Students are encouraged to actively participate in class after having undertaken the preparatory reading and viewing. Seminars will focus on a particular reading or clip that is directly relevant to the topic at hand. Learning activities outside the class involve guided reading and occasional participation in exercises in groups in preparation of class discussions. Students are encouraged to reflect on their own life experiences, including of travel and volunteering locally and in other countries, of migration, of social and economic opportunities and hurdles, of the way that wider society, including the education system, our families and social networks all shape our responses and engagement with everyday life. 

Study hours

At least 48 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs