Unit information: Global Development and Environment: History, Theory, Practice in 2021/22

Unit name	Global Development and Environment: History, Theory, Practice
Unit code	GEOGM0044
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Duminy
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Geographical Sciences
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will review and critically analyse the causes, nature and consequences of contemporary trends in global development, against the backdrop of climate change. The aims of the unit are to:

• Set out the processes and trends that have contributed to the Global Development ‘turn’
• Ground these processes in the analysis of their impacts on certain places and for particular social groups
• Interpret their consequences for our understanding of environmental futures
• Evaluate how such processes have contributed to re-shaping global flows of development assistance and the logics that underpin such assistance
• Critically consider what this means for theorisations of transition and change
• Build an appreciation of why and where inequality remains deep and persistent notwithstanding narrowing between-country inequality

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate why scholars and practitioners have embraced global development in place of international development
2. Explore the processes that have underpinned this shift
3. Appraise these processes in the analysis of their impacts on certain places and for particular social groups
4. Interpret their consequences for our understanding of environmental futures under conditions of climate change
5. Critically evaluate why some scholars question the global development paradigm

Teaching Information

The unit will be taught through a blended combination of online and, if possible, in-person teaching, including

• online resources
• synchronous group workshops, seminars, tutorials and/or office hours
• asynchronous individual activities and guided reading for students to work through at their own pace

Assessment Information

Summative assessment

15-minute group presentation in a seminar (30% of module mark)

3,000 word essay (70% of module mark)

Both assessments assess all of the ILOs.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. GEOGM0044).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.