Undergraduate Course: International Development and Agriculture (VETS10039)
Course Outline
| School | Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will address the key theories of international development in agriculture through a combination of political theory and historical and contemporary case studies. |
| Course description |
This course will cover the major theories of international agricultural development and the historical contexts in which they emerged. Through much of the history of agricultural development - including in many cases in the present - there has been a tendency to view new agricultural technologies as a form of 'silver bullet' solution which can be un-problematically transplanted across contexts by benevolent international experts. Insights from international development, economic history and global politics will be used to develop a more realistic and pragmatic approach to agricultural development.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe different views about international development with particular relevance to the role agriculture plays in economic development.
- Analyse and assess the trade-offs inherent in international development for agriculture.
- Critically evaluate the potential for agriculture's integration into global value chains as an engine for economic development.
- Identify, describe and evaluate the roles and responsibilities of statutory, advisory and non-governmental bodies involved in global agriculture with particular relevance to sustainable development.
- Provide a critical appreciation of the multiple research sites for studying global agriculture and relevant methods for doing so.
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Reading List
Constance et al (eds.), (2018), Contested Sustainability Discourses in the Agrifood System, Routledge.
Green, A., (2016); 'How change happens', OUP.
Shattuck, A. & Holt Giménez, E.(2011), "Food crises, food regimes and food movements: rumblings of reform or tides of transformation?, The Journal of Peasant Studies 38(1): 109-144.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course will contribute to developing graduate skills in:
Influencing and negotiations skills, having the ability to negotiate or persuade and influence others - practically through working as a group to produce a presentation, and theoretically by understanding the challenges of participatory research.
Verbal communication & presentation, enhancing verbal communication skills encompassing both listening and questioning, and oral communication of complex ideas and arguments - through working as a group to produce a presentation
Team working, effectively perform within team environments including the ability to recognise and capitalise on individuals' different thinking, experience and skills - through working as a group to produce a presentation, and choosing how to respond by blogging about seminar presentations.
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| Keywords | International development,agriculture,global politics,political theory,case studies. |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alfy Gathorne-Hardy
Tel: (0131 6)50 5412
Email: a.gathorne-hardy@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Gordon Littlejohn
Tel: (0131 6)51 7454
Email: Gordon.Littlejohn@ed.ac.uk |
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