Critical Perspectives on Development Processes: from Economic Growth to Human Development

Syllabus GaD 302

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES: FROM ECONOMIC GROWTH TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Draft 9 August 2005

Lecturer: Asunción St. Clair

15 Credits

Fall 2005

General objectives

 The main aim of this course is to trace the conceptual and policy trajectory from economic growth to human development with a particular emphasis on processes of gender mainstreaming. The course will offer a critical analysis of the most relevant development theories in contemporary debates their controversies, strengths and weaknesses, and the challenges posed by globalization. The course gives particular emphasis to poverty and vulnerability, processes of production and re-production of discrimination and exclusion, and the ways in which development theories and practices address the goals of empowerment and self-reliance. The course will also introduce students to the complex relations between local, national and global development theories and practices.

Specific objectives

Students should be able to

 outline the most relevant development theories and trace the transition from economic growth to human development, with a particular emphasis on gender mainstreaming and analysis of the contributions from gender research.

 be familiar with the different ways in which the notion of human development seeks to establish interconnections among the manifold aspects involved in processes of socio-economic and political change, and the ways in which it addresses poverty.

 outline the most important critical contributions to development theory of different disciplines (e.g. development economics, anthropology, sociology, political science, feminist philosophy and economics).

 outline and understand debates on gender equity, empowerment, marginalization and discrimination against women within development theories and practices.

 outline and understand the current debates on and challenges to human rights-based development, with particular emphasis on gender issues (for example the right to health and education).

 identify the different actors involved in the processes of development policy and planning from the global to the local level and the overlapping and interconnected layers of governance involved in gender mainstreaming.

Assessment/ exam

 One mid-term in class written examination (3 hours) Friday 7 October

 1 Essay (8 pages) due 30th November

Lectures

 Lectures will be held Tuesdays from 12:15 to 14 hrs.

 Venue: building, Room

Reading List

Mandatory Books

The Companion to Development Studies, edited by Vandana Desai and Robert Potter, Arnold 2002. Selected texts (150 pages)

Reversed Realities, Naila Kabeer (selected 100 pages, shared with Gender class) Chapter 2,3,4, 9 and 10

The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Garment Workers in London and Daka, Naila Kabeer (selected 100 pages, shared with Gender class)

Compendium:

Alkire, Sabina (2002), “Dimensions of Human Development,” Journal of World Development 30:2 (ps. 181-205) Available online BIBSYS. (24 pages)

Appadurai, Arjun (2004) “The Capacity to Aspire: Culture and the Terms of Recognition,” in Culture and Public Action, Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton (eds.) Washington D: C.: World Bank. Pgs 59-84 (25 pages)

Beneria, Lourdes (2003), “On Development, Gender and Economics,” in Gender, Development and Globalization: Economics as if People Mattered, London: Routledge. (1-29) (29 pages).

Bessis, Sophie (2001), “The World Bank and Women: ‘Instrumental Feminism’” in Susan Kerry and Celeste Schenck (eds.) Eye to Eye: Women Practicing Development Across Cultures, London: Zed. 11-22 (11 pages)

Elson, Diane (1993), “From Survival Strategies to Transformation Strategies: Women’s Needs and Structural Adjustment” in Lourdes Beneria and Shelley Feldman (eds.), Unequal Burden: Economic Crises, Persistent Poverty and Women’s Work, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

Eyben, Rosalyn (2005), “The Road Not Taken: International Aids’ Choice of Copenhagen over Beijing,” Background paper for United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) Report Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal World, available at (29 pages)

Gasper, Des (2004), “The Meaning of Development” in Ethics and Development: From Economism to Human Development, Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP. Pages 25-48 (23 pages)

Gasper, Des and Irene Van Stavaren (2003), “Development as Freedom and as What Else?” Journal of Feminist Economics 9:2/3 (p137-161) (25 pages)

Gore, Charles (1996), “ Social Exclusion, globalization, and the Trade-offs Between Efficiency and Equity,” in Kohler, Gabrielle, Charles Gore, Utz-Peter Reich and Thomas Ziesemer (eds.), Questioning Development: Essays on the theory, Policies and Practice of Development Interventions. (pages 103-116; 13 pages).

Hickey, Sam (2005), “The Politics of Staying Poor: Exploring the Political Space for Poverty Reduction in Uganda,” Journal World Development 33:6 (995-1009) (available online BIBSYS) (14 pages).

Katz, Cindi (2004), “Social Reproduction: Knowing Subjects, Abstracting Knowledge” Chapter 4) Growing up Global: Economic Restructuring and Children’s Everyday Lives, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press (22 pages).

Koggel, Christine (2003), “Equality Analysis in a Global Context: A Relational Approach,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 28. (247-272) Extended reading.

Minogue, Martin and Uma Kothari (2002), “Orthodoxy and its Alternatives in Contemporary Development,” in Uma Kothari and Martin Minogue (eds.) Development Theory and Practice: Critical Perspectives. Pages 179-190 (11)

Moore, Donald (2000), “The Crucible of Cultural Politics: Reworking ‘Development’ in Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands, American Ethnologist 26:3 (pages 654-689), 34 pages. Extended Reading.

Mosse, David (2004), “The Ethnography of Policy and Practice,” in Cultivating Development: An Ethnography of Aid Policy and Practice (1-20) 20 pages, London: Pluto Press.

Nambissan, Geetha (2003), “Social Exclusion, Children’s Work and Education: a View from the Margins,” in Child Labor and the Right to Education in South Asia: Needs versus Rights, London: Sage (109-142) 33 pages

Nussbaum, Martha (2000), “Feminism and International Development,” in Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach, Chapter 1, 15 pages 1-33 (33 pages)

Nussbaum, Martha (2005), Women’s Bodies: Violence, Security, Capabilities,” Journal of Human Development 6:2, pages 167-183, 16 pages. Available via BIBSYS.

Okin, Susan Moller. 2003. "Poverty, Well-Being, and Gender: What Counts, Who is Heard?" Philosophy & Public Affairs 31:280-316.

Osmani, Sidiqur Rhaman (2005), “Poverty and Human Rights: Building on the Capabilities Approach, Journal of Human Development, 6:2 pages 205-219 (14 pages), available via BIBSYS.

Pogge, Thomas (2005), “The First UN Millennium Development Goal: A Cause for Celebration?” Journal of Human Development 5:3; (377-397) 20 pages, available via BIBSYS.

Pyle, Jean (2005), “Critical Globalization Studies and Gender,” in Critical Globalization Studies, Richard Appelbaum and William I. Robinson (eds.) London: Routledge (249-257), 8 pages.

Robeyns, Ingrid (2005) “The Capabilities Approach: A Theoretical Survey,” Journal of Human Development 6:1 p 115-134 (19 pages) (available online via BIBSYS).

Robinson, William (2002), "Remapping Development in Light of Globalization: From a Territorial to a Social Cartography," Third World Quarterly 23:6 (1047- 1158) (Available online via BIBSYS) (11 pages).

Sen, Amartya (1981), “”Poverty and Entitlements, Concepts of Poverty” in Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, Clarendon Press. (15 pages)

------(2000) “A Decade of Human Development” Journal of Human Development 1:1 p 17-23 (available online via BIBSYS). (6 pages)

------(2000) “Women’s Agency and Social change,” in Development as Freedom, (189-203) New York: Knopf (14 pages).

Townsend, Peter (2002), “Poverty, Social Exclusion and Social Polarization: The Need to Construct an International Welfare State,” in World Poverty: New Policies to Defeat and Old Enemy, Peter Townsend and David Gordon (eds.), London: The Policy Press. (15 pages)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (1995), Human Development Report 1995: Gender and Human Development, “Overview: The Revolution of Gender Equity” (10 pages), available online

------(2005) Human Development Report 2005, available online

United Nations Office of the Secretary General (2005), In Larger Freedom: Towards Security, Development and Human Rights for All, Chapter 2 “Freedom from Want,” Available online (5 pages).

Unterhalter, Elaine (2003), “The Capabilities Approach and Gendered Education,” in Journal of Theory and Research in Education 1:1 (2003), pages 7-22, 15 pages available via BIBSYS.

World Bank (2003), Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook, Chapter 2 “what is Empowerment,” 13-29 (16 pages), Available online

World Bank (2005), World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development, overview chapter (15 pages) Available online

Schedule and Content of Lectures

Lecture 1 (23 August): Meanings of Development and Introduction to Development Studies

Gasper, Des (2004), “The Meaning of Development” in Ethics and Development: From Economism to Human Development, Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP. Pages 25-48.

The Companion to Development Studies, edited by Vandana Desai and Robert Potter, Arnold 2002. Chapters 1.1 to 1.10

Lecture 2 (30 August): Development Theories

The Companion to Development Studies, edited by Vandana Desai and Robert Potter, Arnold 2002. Chapters 2.1 to 2.10; 2.13; and 2.14

Lecture 3 (6 September): Human Development and the Capabilities Approach

Alkire, Sabina (2002), “Dimensions of Human Development,” Journal of World Development 30:2 (ps. 181-205)

Nussbaum, Martha (2000), “Feminism and International Development,” in Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach, Chapter.

Nussbaum, Martha (2005), Women’s Bodies: Violence, Security, Capabilities,” Journal of Human Development 6:2, pages 167-183.

Robeyns, Ingrid (2005) “The Capabilities Approach: A Theoretical Survey,”

Journal of Human Development 6:1 p 115-134

Lecture 4 (20 September): Development as Freedom

Gasper, Des and Irene Van Stavaren (2003), “Development as Freedom and as What Else?” Journal of Feminist Economics 9:2/3 (p137-161) (25 pages)

Sen, Amartya K. (1981), “”Poverty and Entitlements, Concepts of Poverty” in Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, Clarendon Press.

Sen, Amartya K. (2000) “A Decade of Human Development” Journal of Human Development 1:1 p 17-23.

Sen, Amartya K. (2000) “Women’s Agency and Social change,” in Development as Freedom, (189-203) New York: Knopf.

Lecture 5 (27 September) Gender and Development: Politics and the Role of the Disciplines

Beneria, Lourdes (2003), “On Development, Gender and Economics,” in Gender, Development and Globalization: Economics as if People Mattered, London: Routledge. (1-29) (29 pages).

Kabeer, Naila (1994), “Treating Cancer with Band-Aid? The Theoretical Underpinnings of WID, Chapter 2 Reversed Realities (pages 11-39)

------“Same Realities, different Windows: Structuralist Perspectives on Women and Development,” Chapter 3 in Reversed Realities (pages 40-67).

------“Connecting, Extending, Reversing: Development from a gender Perspective,” Chapter 4 in Reversed Realities (pages 69-94)

Lecture 6 (4 October) Gender and Poverty: The
Roads not Taken

DUE: Mandatory Title and Abstract for Final Paper

Okin, Susan Moller. 2003. "Poverty, Well-Being, and Gender: What Counts, Who is Heard?" Philosophy & Public Affairs 31:280-316.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (1995), Human Development Report 1995: Gender and Human Development, “Overview: The Revolution of Gender Equity” (10 pages), available online

Friday 7 October: Mid-Term Exam

Lecture 7 (10 October) Addressing Equity and Vulnerability

Guest Lecture: Mandatory assistance to Open Lecture given By Thomas Pogge “Freedom from Poverty ad Human Right” at 19:30 (place TBA).

Elson, Diane (1993), “From Survival Strategies to Transformation Strategies: Women’s Needs and Structural Adjustment” in Lourdes Beneria and Shelley Feldman (eds.), Unequal Burden: Economic Crises, Persistent Poverty and Women’s Work, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

Gore, Charles (1996), “ Social Exclusion, globalization, and the Trade-offs Between Efficiency and Equity,” in Kohler, Gabrielle, Charles Gore, Utz-Peter Reich and Thomas Ziesemer (eds.), Questioning Development: Essays on the theory, Policies and Practice of Development Interventions. (pages 103-116; 13 pages).

Kabeer, Naila (1995), “Empowerment from Below: Learning from the Grassroots,” Chapter 9 in Reversed Realities (pages 223-263).

Pogge, Thomas (2005), “The First UN Millennium Development Goal: A Cause for Celebration?” Journal of Human Development 5:3; (377-397) 20 pages, available via BIBSYS.

Lecture 8 (25 October): Needs, Capability-Poverty, and Rights

Presentations of Final Paper’s Draft (TBA)

Osmani, Sidiqur Rhaman (2005), “Poverty and Human Rights: Building on the Capabilities Approach, Journal of Human Development, 6:2 pages 205-219 (14 pages).

Nambissan, Geetha (2003), “Social Exclusion, Children’s Work and Education: a View from the Margins,” in Child Labor and the Right to Education in South Asia: Needs versus Rights, London: Sage (109-142) 33 pages

Unterhalter, Elaine (2003), “The Capabilities Approach and Gendered Education,” in Journal of Theory and Research in Education 1:1 (2003), pages 7-22, 15 pages available via BIBSYS.

Lecture 9 (1 November): Challenges to Operationalizing Alternatives to Mainstream Development Economics

Presentations of Final Paper’s Draft (TBA)

Katz, Cindi (2004), “Social Reproduction: Knowing Subjects, Abstracting Knowledge” Chapter 4) Growing up Global: Economic Restructuring and Children’s Everyday Lives, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press (22 pages).

Mosse, David (2004), “The Ethnography of Policy and Practice,” in Cultivating Development: An Ethnography of Aid Policy and Practice (1-20) 20 pages, London: Pluto Press.

The Companion to Development Studies, edited by Vandana Desai and Robert Potter, Arnold 2002. 10.2; 10.3; 10.4

Lecture 10 (8 November): Development Actors: Politics and the Poor

Presentations of Final Paper’s Draft (TBA)

The Companion to Development Studies, edited by Vandana Desai and Robert Potter, Arnold 2002. Chapters 10.6; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10

Bessis, Sophie (2001), “The World Bank and Women: ‘Instrumental Feminism’” in Susan Kerry and Celeste Schenck (eds.) Eye to Eye: Women Practicing Development Across Cultures, London: Zed. 11-22

Hickey, Sam (2005), “The Politics of Staying Poor: Exploring the Political Space for Poverty Reduction in Uganda,” Journal World Development 33:6 (995-1009) (

World Bank (2003), Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook, Chapter 2 “what is Empowerment,” 13-29 (16 pages), Available online

World Bank (2005), World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development, overview chapter (15 pages) Available online

Lecture 11 (15 November): The Challenges Posed by Globalization Processes and New Perspectives in Global Development

Presentations of Final Paper’s Draft (TBA)

Kabeer, Naila (1995), “Triple Roles, Gender Roles, Social Relations: The Political Subtext of gender Training Frameworks,” Chapter 10 in Reversed Realities (pages 264-304).

Minogue, Martin and Uma Kothari (2002), “Orthodoxy and its Alternatives in Contemporary Development,” in Uma Kothari and Martin Minogue (eds.) Development Theory and Practice: Critical Perspectives. Pages 179-190 (11)

Pyle, Jean (2005), “Critical Globalization Studies and Gender,” in Critical Globalization Studies, Richard Appelbaum and William I. Robinson (eds.) London: Routledge (249-257), 8 pages.

Townsend, Peter (2002), “Poverty, Social Exclusion and Social Polarization: The Need to Construct an International Welfare State,” in World Poverty: New Policies to Defeat and Old Enemy, Peter Townsend and David Gordon (eds.), London: The Policy Press. (15 pages)

Lecture 12 (22 November): Summary and Further Work: The Power to Choose

Final Paper Due 30th November

Discussion of the case study elaborated by Naila Kabeer in The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Garment Workers in London and Daka