Postgraduate Course: Global Development Challenges (Distance Learning) (PGSP11326)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Globalisation has linked the world together in myriad ways, with connections that continue to be reconfigured through rapid technological change and in response to shifting political and economic landscapes and systems. Today¿s global development challenges ¿ such as environmental and climatic change, emerging health challenges, intrastate and interstate conflict, and concurrent economic overconsumption and stagnation ¿ both drive and are driven by these connections. The complexity and entangled nature of these global challenges means that new ways of thinking about development and global governance and cooperation are required to address them. With this in mind, this course investigates key dimensions of global development challenges from multiple perspectives. It explores how development challenges get defined and how practical strategies for responding to them are designed and implemented, asking whose interests are served and who is excluded from these processes. In doing so, the course will help students to analyse complex problems in context, critically examine the global governance of development, and explore possible solutions for today¿s development challenges. |
| Course description |
By the end of the course students will have an understanding of key challenges in the global development landscape and the global and local drivers that shape their forms and effects. Students will have learnt how to engage critically with the complex political, economic, and social dynamics that influence how global development challenges are defined and addressed. Students will also have examined the effects of different global development challenges and the effects of different responses to those challenges.
This course is taught entirely online in a virtual learning platform called Learn. The course is delivered through pre-recorded lectures and engagement with a range of media and sources, including the curated reading list. Students discuss the course content through online asynchronous discussion boards and explore topics further through writing tasks across the semester.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 80 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2025 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
60% of the course assessment will be based on a final essay (2500 words)
20% of the course assessment will be based on a portfolio of two online activities. Activities that can count towards the portfolio selection will be indicated on Learn. These may be blog posts, posters, policy briefings, case study reports, etc.
20% based on participation in the weekly discussion forums. Marking criteria will be available on Learn. |
| Feedback |
Written feedback will be provided for all assignments. Students can submit an essay plan for formative feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of major global issues and pressures and their genesis and drivers.
- Demonstrate knowledge of key approaches to the governance of development.
- Critically examine and analyse the regimes and strategies of development governance.
- Analyse and evaluate the implications and impacts of select global issues and the effects of responses to those issues.
- Convey information and analysis regarding global development challenges to a range of potential audiences.
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Reading List
Recommended background readings:
Chant, S. (2006) Feminisms in development: Contradictions, contestations, and challenges. Zed Books.
Chari, S. (2008) The development reader. Routledge.
Escobar, A. (2008) Territories of difference: Place, movements, life, redes. London: Duke University Press.
Ferguson, J. (2006) Global shadows: Africa in the neoliberal world order. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
Hammett, D. (2024) Global development: The basics. Abingdon: Routledge.
Nederveen Pieterse, J. (2017) Multipolar globalization: Emerging economies and development. Boca Raton, FL: Routledge.
Rodney, W. (2011) How Europe underdeveloped Africa. Baltimore: Black Classic Press.
Rodrik, D. (2011) The globalization paradox: Why global markets, states, and democracy can¿t coexist. Oxford¿; Oxford University Press.
Sabaratnam, M. (2017) Decolonising intervention: International statebuilding in Mozambique. London: Rowman & Littlefield International.
Sachs, J. (2015) The age of sustainable development. New York: Columbia University Press.
Wilson, K. (2021) Race, racism and development: Interrogating history, discourse and practice. London: Zed Books. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students will develop analytical approaches to complex, integrated analysis. They will develop an ability to sift complex information and generate conclusions. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ian Russell
Tel:
Email: irussell@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Maria Brichs
Tel: (0131 6)51 3205
Email: mbrichs@ed.ac.uk |
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