Development Studies

How have global forces shaped Africa’s states and economies—and how will today’s shifting world order define its future? In this course, students explore the evolution of contemporary Africa, examining the uneven trajectories of nations and regions through the lens of geography, history, geopolitics, and global markets. Students trace Africa’s place in the global system from the colonial era to Cold War developmentalism, to the neoliberal “Washington Consensus,” and the “Africa Rising” narrative driven by China’s ascent. Finally, students contemplate today’s tectonic shifts in global geopolitics and the current polycrisis of climate, geopolitics, and deglobalization. Through scholarly readings, policy reports, films, debates, and case studies, students critically engage with these pressing issues, gaining a deeper understanding of Africa’s past, present, and possible futures—while also better understanding the global economic and political shifts since the 1950s.

This course examines what drives development interventions, their impacts on communities, and the ways they respond. It also explores the processes and influences that operate at a global level and that impact such fundamental concerns as human rights, population health, environmental and climate change, and migration. 

In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals which provide a roadmap for addressing the key global challenges that the world is facing including, poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. In this course, students are introduced to the SDGs, the practical ways in which policy aims to address them, and how the success of these policies in progressing the Goals can be measured and evaluated. 

This course explores key development challenges faced across developing countries and is divided into three sections. The first critically examines some of the major concepts, paradigms, and theories, which have attempted to define what development is, how and why it occurs (or does not), and to whose benefit. The second focuses on some of the key development challenges faced by developing countries: economic (poverty, inequality, unemployment), political (democracy, human rights, role of elites), social (religion, race/ethnicity/caste, urbanization), and natural (climate change, pollution, resource extraction, extermination of species). The final section explores possible remedies to these issues through international cooperation (trade, aid, finance, South-South cooperation), national policies (welfare schemes, laws and regulations), and micro and informal solutions.