डॉ. बी. आर. अम्बेडकर विश्‍वविद्यालय दिल्ली
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi
Established by The Government of NCT of Delhi

1. Does the course connect to, build on or overlap with any other courses offered in AUD? The course is offered as part of MDC to SS and SU students. The course teaches students about the multidisciplinary dimensions of ‘development’ while situating the idea within the historical, sociological and economic framework.
2. Specific requirements on the part of students who can be admitted to this course:

None. This course is a core course offered to BA sixth semester students.

3. No. of students to be admitted (with justification if lower than usual cohort size is proposed): As per AUD norms.
4. Course scheduling: (summer/winter course; semester-long course; half-semester course; workshop mode; seminar mode; any other – please specify):

Semester-long course; Winter Semester

Proposed date of launch: Winter 2025

How does the course link with the vision of AUD and the specific programme(s) where it is being offered?

The course will be offered as a core course to sixth semester BA-SS students at Karampura Campus. For BA-SS students, this course foregrounds them to one of key thematic areas of the programme, i.e.,Global Development. This course will provide UG students with a conceptual understanding to the larger rubric of development by exploring various perspectives on development. This course intends to explore certain thematic and historical concerns that shape and reshape development as a mode of analysis in comprehending the global by situating these in a larger conjectural-historical framework. This course emanates from AUD’s larger vision to engage with the concerns of our times in which a critical understanding of processes and consequences of globalization have become indispensable.

Course Details:

Summary: The course intends to introduce students to the concept of development, the key theories on development and the politics of it especially from the perspective of the Global South in the recent century. The course is not looking at development as a policy text but examining it as a conceptualisation. Development has evolved as a multifaceted concept post-World War II period within a dedicated focus on capitalist development. From the perspective of the Global South the meaning of market led and capitalist development are different from the understanding of the concept in the West. The course aims at familiarizing the students with the new critiques and alternatives of development and to explain them the context of modernization, dependency (neo-colonalism) and market-led development paradigms. The course aims at providing a sound theoretical grounding to students in the development discourse. The course gives dedicated attention to the challenges faced by the developing world or the Global South in regard to deciding on the model of development and the need for modernisation in the years following the process of decolonization. The histories of three continents, Asia, Africa and Latin America are discussed in this context. Their challenges post-decolonisation and the problems faced by their governments in regard to development are discussed. The states in the Global South states share more in common than differences like a history of colonialism, political instability, urgent need for development and modernisation and a need and reliance on multilateral development banks and  institutions.  Global  South  needs  to  achieve  global  justice, challenges of neo-colonialism, and to break out of a prolonged and continuous dependency.

1. 2. Objectives
      • To give a historical perspective of evolution of conceptual framework for ‘Development’.
      • To    familiarise    students   with   global    inequalities    and   theories    of regional development.
      • To acquaint students with the challenges to development for the Global South.
2. 3. Expected Learning Outcomes:

• Help students understand the historical linkages between different parts of the world and how these linkages influenced the understanding of development, as we know of today.
• Impart an appreciation of interrelations and connectedness of people across the globe while they situate themselves locally.

Contents (brief note on each module; indicative reading list with core and supplementary readings)

Module 1: Introduction to Development: Various meanings and Approaches

The module will introduce students to the progress of thought and paradigm shifts to understand ‘development’. It will start with the explanation of the idea of political development, institutions and values which plays role in the terminologies associated with the development. It will then go forward with explaining the history of conceptualisations around development and what does it mean to be (under) developed. It will also introduce students to various schools of thought which are interlinked with the conceptualisation of development and the critiques which have evolved over a period of time as alternatives to development. It will also deal with the question of Growth and development, Growth versus development; parameters/indicators of economic and social development in the context of regions also known as measures of development. Various institutions which are crucial to understanding of development will be referred to in this introductory module.

Essential Readings:

Chang, H. J., & Grabel, I. (2004). Reclaiming development from the Washington consensus. Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 27(2), 273-291.

World Bank (1977), “Address by Willy Brandt at inaugural meeting of the Independent Commission”,

https://timeline.worldbank.org/content/dam/sites/timeline/docs/migrated/event50-Brandt-Brandt Speech1977-1557709.pdf

Rupesinghe, K. (1983). The Brandt Commission Report 1983* A Blueprint for World Recovery?            Bulletin            of            Peace            Proposals,            14(3),            283-288.

https://doi.org/10.1177/096701068301400311

Sachs, W. (Ed.). (1997). Development dictionary, The: A guide to knowledge as power. Orient Blackswan.

Dutt, A. K., & Ros, J. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of development economics. Edward Elgar Publishing. Chapter 1 and 2

Navarro, V. (2000). Development and quality of life: A critique of Amartya Sen's development as freedom. International Journal of Health Services, 30(4), 661-674.

Horner, R. (2020). Towards a new paradigm of global development? Beyond the limits of international development. Progress in Human Geography, 44(3), 415-436.

Sen, A. 1999. Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press.

Sen, A. 1989. “Development as Capability Expansion,” Journal of Development Planning 19: 41–58.

Reinert, E. S., Ghosh, J., & Kattel, R. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of alternative theories of economic development. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Bardhan,   P. (1988). Alternative approaches to development economics. Handbook of development economics, 1, 39-71.

Reinert, E. S., Ghosh, J., & Kattel, R. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of alternative theories of economic development. Edward Elgar Publishin.

Foster-Carter,       A.       (1973).       Neo-Marxist       approaches       to       development       and underdevelopment. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 3(1), 7-33.

Summers, L. H., & Pritchett, L. H. (1993). The Structural-Adjustment Debate. The American Economic Review, 83(2), 383–389. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2117695

United              Nations              (2024),               “The              SDGs              in              Action”, https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals

Module 2: Understanding the spatiality of Development and Global Inequalities

The module will draw upon the history, geography, socio-cultural and politics aspects of development to explain the spatiality of development and underdevelopment. It will introduce students to debates and theories of development and how is difference and development mapped across the globe.It will further explain the sophisticated inventionof globalisation through market-led regional development strategies under Structural Adjustment Programmes and the New Economic Policy and their impact on regions. This would help in understanding of views around core/peripheries and associated vernacular.

Essential Readings:

Frank, Andre Gunder. Dependent Accumulation and Underdevelopment. Monthly Review Press, 1979.

Friedmann, John. Regional Development Policy: A Case Study of Venezuela. MIT Press, 1966.

Isard, Walter. Location and Space-Economy: A General Theory Relating to Industrial Location, Market Areas, Land Use, Trade, and Urban Structure. MIT Press, 1956.

Myrdal, Gunnar. Economic Theory and Underdeveloped Regions. Duckworth, 1957. Perroux, François. L'économie du XXe Siècle. Presses Universitaires de France, 1961.

Seers, Dudley. The Meaning of Development. International Development Research Centre, 1979.

Slater, David. Geopolitics and the Post-Colonial: Rethinking North-South Relations. Blackwell, 2004.

Wallerstein, Immanuel. The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. Academic Press, 1974.

Kanbur, R. (2009). The co-evolution of the Washington Consensus and the economic development discourse.

Harvey, D. (2007). Neoliberalism as creative destruction. The annals of the American academy of political and social science, 610(1), 21-44.

Suggested Readings:

Club of Rome. The Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind. Universe Books, 1972.

World Bank. World Development Report 1980: Poverty and Human Development. Oxford University Press, 1980.

Friedmann, John. "The World City Hypothesis." Development and Change, vol. 17, no. 1, 1986,

pp. 69–83.

Wallerstein, Immanuel. "The Rise and Future Demise of the World Capitalist System: Concepts for Comparative Analysis." Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 16, no. 4, 1974,

pp. 387–415.

Slater, David. "Post-colonial Questions for Global Times." Review of International Political Economy, vol. 5, no. 4, 1998, pp. 647–678.

Frank, Andre Gunder. "The Development of Underdevelopment." Monthly Review, vol. 18, no. 4, 1966, pp. 17–31.

Myrdal, Gunnar. "An International Economy: Problems and Prospects." International Organization, vol. 22, no. 2, 1968, pp. 284–301.

Rodrik, Dani. "Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion?" Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 44, no. 4, 2006, pp. 973–987.

Module 3: Meaning of Development: The Global North and the Global South

This module reiterates that the development can have various meanings for different states. In this regard the students are introduced to the Global South. Most of these states share more in common than differences like a history of colonialism, political instability, urgent need for development and modernisation and a need and reliance on multilateral development banks and institutions. The Global South also stands together in facing challenges like the prolonged dependency on the developed world, neo-colonialism etc.

Readings

Escobar, Arturo. “The Problematization of Poverty: The Tale of Three Worlds and Development.” Cultural Anthropology, vol. 7, no. 4, 1992, pp. 388-411. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/656337.

Peet, Richard, and Elaine Hartwick. “Theories of Development.” Third World Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 1, 2002, pp. 57–75. Taylor & Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590220108111.

Nkrumah, Kwame. Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism. International Publishers, 1965.

Tharoor, Shashi. “How Colonialism Continues to Affect Global South Development.” The Times of India, 9 Jan. 2021, www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

Escobar, Arturo. Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. Princeton University Press, 1995.

Hipsher, Scott A. “The Role of Multilateral Development Banks in the New Global Economy.” Journal of Economic Policy Reform, vol. 12, no. 1, 2009, pp. 3–13. Taylor & Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/17487870802662311.

Babb, Sarah. “The Social Consequences of Structural Adjustment: Recent Evidence and Current Debates.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 31, 2005, pp. 199–222. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/29737747.

Shivji, G. (2009). Accumulation in an African periphery: a theoretical framework. African Books Collective.

Suggested Readings

Rodney, Walter. “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.” Journal of African History, vol. 14, no. 1, 1973, pp. 121-124. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/181173.

Amin, Samir. “The Political Economy of the Twentieth Century.” Monthly Review, vol. 52, no. 2, 2000, pp. 26-49. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40362394.

Stiglitz, Joseph E. Globalization and Its Discontents. W.W. Norton & Company, 2002.

Sachs, Jeffrey. “How Multilateral Aid Can Help the Global South.” The Guardian, 22 June 2017, www.theguardian.com.

Easterly, William. “The Effect of IMF and World Bank Programs on Poverty.” World Development, vol. 35, no. 5, 2007, pp. 831-849. Elsevier, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2006.10.014.

Ramesh, Jairam. “Multilateralism and India’s Development Agenda.” The Hindu, 18 Feb. 2020, www.thehindu.com.

Module 4: A history of colonial and post-colonial development in Asia, Latin America and Africa

This module aims to introduce students to the three regions for the study of “Global South”- the Asia, Afric and Latin America. It would include subregions like East Asia, Missile East and North Africa (MENA) etc.. It would allow the students to understand the meaning of development in these regions by contextualising the regions historically, geographically and economically. It describes the political economy and the unfolding of capitalism in these regions and what brings them together as “Global South” while also focusing on variations that exists within the region. Towards the end of this module, there is a case study of India. The experiments India did in post colonial days in development.The mixed economic model, public sector, and restrictions for the entry of international private actors in economic sphere. The change in the idea of development in the 21st cnetuty and the idea of Viksit Bharat are discussed herein.

Essential Readings:

Kudaisya, M. (2015). Developmental Planning in ‘Retreat’: Ideas, instruments, and contestations of planning in India, 1967–1971. Modern Asian Studies, 49 (3), 711-752.

Wa Muiu, M. (2010). Colonial and postcolonial state and development in Africa. Social research: an international quarterly, 77 (4), 1311-1338.

Mann, M. (2012). Postcolonial development in Africa. Foreign Policy Journal, 3, 1-3.

Mizuno, N., & Okazawa, R. (2009). Colonial experience and postcolonial underdevelopment in Africa. Public Choice, 141, 405-419.

Moraña, M., Dussel, E. D., & Jáuregui, C. A. (Eds.). (2008). Coloniality at large: Latin America and the postcolonial debate. Duke University Press.

Ashcroft, B. (1998). Modernity's first born: Latin America and postcolonial transformation. ARIEL-CALGARY-, 29, 7-30.