Minor Development Studies

What is development? This might seem like a straightforward question, but this course covers a number of ways in which development is defined. In the course, we consider many different ways in which development and underdevelopment come to be seen as ‘problems to be solved.’ For instance, we will talk about how development comes to be seen as an economic problem with economic solutions, or as a problem that can be solved through charity. Throughout the course, we will read texts from a range of academic disciplines, thereby giving students the foundation to study development in an inter-disciplinary way. Each lecture week explains a particular way development is approached as a problem to be solved. In seminars, students will work through practical examples and approaches from a range of institutions like the World Bank, aid agencies, national governments, and NGOs to consider how development is approached across a range of issues, including, but not limited to: health, education, infrastructure, agriculture, and migration. The course will thus give students both a theoretical and practical grounding to support their study of development across a range of courses in the minor.

Rethinking Global Inequality
Course Coordinator: dr C.M. Ryan

This course studies the relation between environment and development in developing (and developed) countries. The focus is on a natural science approach linked to societal issues, such as poverty, population, migration, and a weak institutional and political structure. Possible strategies for environmental improvement are reviewed using case-studies from different countries and sectors. The causes of environmental problems are analyzed on the local, national and international level.
The following issues will be touched upon: the depletion of natural resources; energy; climate change; land use and food; water use.
Each week is organized around one particular theoretical or thematic topic of environment and development.
The course consists of lectures and group assignments. During class, key concepts and theories related to the topic will be explained.

Environment and Development
Course Coordinator: drs M.R. Berger

Migration is a powerful mechanism in the social and economic dynamics of both migrants and the places that are involved in migration. At the regional level, for example, it is observed that human capital is an increasingly important determinant of economic development. Migration of skilled employees therefore importantly shapes regional differences in economic growth. At the other end, we see places that lose people as a result of migration and suffer the social and economic consequences. At the individual level, migration may be a means to improve your socio-economic position, for example when searching for a new job, or perhaps when running from harsh political or environmental circumstances. Migration thus plays a key-role in the lives of people, as well as for the regions in which people live and work. Understanding the process and dynamics of migration is therefore key to understanding the socio-economic development of people and places.

This course is dedicated to the mutual relationship between migration and the economic and social development of people and places. It offers theories to understand why people migrate and the outcomes of migration. At the same time, theories that highlight the role of human capital and migration in regional development are explored. In addition, the course aims at providing the latest research and trends about migration flows within and between countries, as well as the changing economic and social frameworks in which migration takes place.

Migration and Development
Course Coordinator: dr S.A. Adaawen

We live in an ever-changing world and sociology as a discipline has a long tradition to explain such changes societies have been going through such as globalization, the use of technology, and international migration. This course will elaborate and compare different theories that are used to explain causes, forms, and possible directions of social and institutional change. We will explore how various forms of institutions influence each other and the extent to which institutions have desired or undesired effects. Moreover, we will focus on the conditions under which institutions lead to coordination and cooperation. Several examples will be given based on contemporary empirical research from the field of international migration, family life, digitalization, and climate change. Special attention will also be paid to the role of the state in a market economy, and the effect of cultural norms on economic development. To this end, we will discuss classical theories (Weber, Durkheim, Smith) that have been used to explain social institutions.

For enrollment email Gea van Wijk at onderwijsbureau.sociologie.gmw rug.nl in mid-August.

Social and Insitutional Change
Course Coordinator: prof B. Bilecen

What is colonialism, what is settler colonialism, what is decolonisation, what is post colonialism, are we in an era of post colonialism? How was decolonisation different or similar between countries that have been colonized? This course aims to provide introductory knowledge that addresses the above questions and discusses the theories that explain the epistemic practice of decolonisation.

Introduction to Decolonization Theories
Course Coordinator: dr. D. Ahmadi

Development, as a terminology, is increasingly problematized by scholars who have researched and worked in that field. Their concern is the fact that countries that, the term “development” promotes a certain way of improvement that is in line with capitalist norms and by doing so, categorizes some countries to be “in need of development”. We need alternatives to “development” as a terminology and a practice. An alternative that problematizes the terminology as well as the notion and myths it represents (Gustavo 2022).
This course aims to promote alternatives to development, and at the same time contextualize and bring forward problems and colonial legacies that are reproduced by development work. Development aid is increasingly under criticism for continuing colonial legacies in representation of people they serve; in its gender, racial and hierarchical power dynamics, and the role that global South has in shaping the making of development agenda. In this course, initiation and progress of international development are explained from a historical perspective. Students will learn about the role of colonial powers in initiating the idea and shaping the agenda of international development in the past and present. By critically discussing different case studies, students discuss problems around international aid from a contextual and nuanced perspective. They also learn that decolonisation is not a status that is achieved or could be achieved in a linear manner (Mignolo, Walsh 2018) and that decolonisation is in fact an ongoing movement.

Critical Well Being - Theories from the South
Course Coordinator: dr S. Yousefzadeh Faal Daghati

This course introduces you to the historical and political development of the international system of development cooperation as it evolved from 1945 onwards, taking Dutch policy development and execution and Dutch perspectives as a starting point. We will discuss the “aid or trade” dilemma that was (and to a point still is) central to Dutch development policy and how this translates into international relations and policies. We will also discuss how the epistemology of the concepts of development and international development relations changed over time and what this means for our current understanding. Special attention will be given to debates on the post-colony, the continent of Africa, and the role of international organizations.
Engelse vlag This course introduces you to the historical and political development of the international system of development cooperation as it evolved from 1945 onwards, taking Dutch policy development and execution and Dutch perspectives as a starting point. We will discuss the “aid or trade” dilemma that was (and to a point still is) central to Dutch development policy and how this translates into international relations and policies. We will also discuss how the epistemology of the concepts of development and international development relations changed over time and what this means for our current understanding. Special attention will be given to debates on the post-colony, the continent of Africa, and the role of international organizations.

Aid, Trade and Beyond
Course Coordinator: dr M.R. Doortmont

The course discusses political, social and cultural aspects of globalisation and of development problems, focusing especially on societies outside the North-Atlantic world. It discusses questions such as: Which processes have led to the development of the modern state, democracy and civil society? What is the historical, social and cultural basis of nationalism and ethnicity? How can identity be understood, what is identity politics and how does it operate in contemporary conflicts in developing countries as well as in our own? This course introduces students to the ways that culture and society are understood and analysed in academic literature, through a diverse range of key texts from different social sciences. It applies innovative anthropological, political and philosophical theories of identity, nationalism and globalisation from the last few decades and discusses several case studies from the so-called “developing world”. In addition, the course places a strong emphasis on understating how to link ideas and theories to empirical cases, inviting students to engage with them by discussing societal issues related to ethnic minorities. The course is part of the Minor Development Studies but can also be followed separately. It provides students with a good background to further specialise in development related aspects of their own main field of study.

Ethnicity, Culture and Politics
Course Coordinator: dr W.A. Figueroa

This course is about the main determinants of socio-economic development in developing countries. Students learn about the similarities and differences in the socio-economic development of various regions in the world such as China, India, South-East Asia, Latin-America, Eastern Europe and Africa. In the course, the role of trade, technology, health, education, structural change, and foreign aid on socio-economic development is explained. The usefulness of various empirical methods to measure socio-economic development and its determinant is discussed, and theories of socio-economic development are evaluated. Throughout the course, national and international policies to generate socio-economic development are discussed and evaluated.

Global Development Studies
Course Coordinator: dr S.M. Perez Alvarez

While countries in Western-Europe are dealing with the implications of population ageing and decline for the wellbeing of its population; in another region, India has surpassed China as the world’s biggest population. Also, most countries have seen a reduction in fertility and mortality, as explained by the demographic transition model, but countries such as Uganda do not follow this typical pattern: they continue to have high fertility. This poses great challenges to the country’s resources and the wellbeing of its citizens. Different parts of the world are challenged by different population issues, which play a role in the countries’ development and their population wellbeing. In this course we will explore and discuss how population and development are interlinked and its implications for wellbeing. To do so, we will focus on at least two global contemporary population issues: (1) sexual and reproductive justice and (2) human resource development, including cash transfers and food security. We will discuss how international and national policies are at the core of such developments, and we will pay special attention to vulnerable and marginalised groups in societies as we apply a human rights and capability perspective. A UN simulation game will be part of the assessment.

Polulation and Development
Course Coordinator: dr. B. de Haas

In this course, students work both independently and in small teams on a research topic of their interest, which is supervised by a faculty member under a 'topical theme' in Development Studies (broadly defined). The Faculty Member is responsible for deciding on the broad theme, and then for supervising the students in the group to write essays on something related to that theme.

Topical Themes in Development Studies
Course Coordinator: dr. C.M. Ryan

Climate change is arguably one of the greatest challenges facing the planet in the 21st century. How to effectively respond to climate change and prepare for new social, political, economic, moral and environmental realities are urgent issues that need to be addressed across all levels of society. What are the visions and resources available across different theological, philosophical and spiritual traditions for understanding and responding to climate change? How do these different visions influence the ways in which various groups and actors interpret climate change and the solutions they offer (or don’t offer)? This course explores these and other questions through a consideration of eschatological end times visions, the promotion of technology and economy as effective solutions to the climate change challenge, alongside ethical and existential questions regarding humanity’s relationship to and responsibility for nature and future generations.

Climate Change, End Times, and Sustainable Futures
Course coordinator: Prof E.K. Wilson