Understanding Global Development from WWII to the Present

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Since the end of World War II, development has fundamentally changed the social, political, and economic worlds in which we live. Yet there is little agreement among academics, practitioners, and policy-makers about how best to further this process, or whether we can and should try to further it at all. Development is seen by some as a means to promote individual and community welfare, as well as human dignity. Others question the motives behind development promotion, how we measure it, and even how it should be defined. Political and scholarly debates about development policy have been constant. This class provides students with an overview of the history and debates around development since the mid-twentieth century. We will also explore how different disciplinary approaches contribute to and shape the theory and practice of development.