Global Studies (GLST) 395
Global Development Strategies (Revision 3)

Delivery Mode: Individualized study online.
Credits: 3
Area of Study: Social Science
Prerequisite: None. A previous course in development is recommended.
Precluded Course: GLST 395 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under two different disciplines—POEC 395. GLST 395 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for POEC 395.
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
GLST 395 has a Challenge for Credit option.
Overview
Global Development Strategies, a three-credit, senior-level course which allows you to study indepth strategies of development, particularly in the Global South. The course begins with an introduction to traditional western theories of development and various indigenous critiques. Next, it shifts to an examination of the main regions that comprise the global South, including Latin America and the Caribbean; Africa and the Middle East; and South and Southeast Asia. Together these regions comprise eighty percent of the world population and historically their participation in the world economy significantly predates the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, this course is conceptualised not just as a study of ‘Third World’ countries but as the interdisciplinary study of the challenges and successes of peoples in a world continually shaped by several types, stages, and layers of global and local interactions.
Outline
The course consists of the following seven units.
Unit 1: Introduction: The Construction of the Third World from Western (or European) Perspectives
Unit 2: Development Strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean
Unit 3: Development Strategies in Africa and the Middle East
Unit 4: Development Strategies in Southeast and East Asia
Unit 5: Development Strategies in India and China: Emergent Global Leaders?
Unit 6: Development Strategies in the Post-Communist World
Unit 7: Conclusion: Re-assessing Development in an Era of Globalization
Evaluation
To receive credit for GLST 395, you must complete all of the assignments, achieve a mark of 50 per cent or better on the final examination and the research essay, and obtain a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 per cent) or better. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| TME 1 | TME 2 | Research Essay | Final Exam | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | 20% | 30% | 30% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbooks
Mike Mason. Development and Disorder: A History of the Third World Since 1945. Toronto: Between the Lines, 1997.
Howard J. Wiarda. Political Development in Emerging Nations: Is There Still a Third World? Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2004.
Other materials
The course materials include a student manual.
Challenge for Credit Course Overview
The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.
Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
- Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
- Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures
Challenge Evaluation
To receive credit for the GLST 395 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least "C-" (60 per cent) on the examination.
Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 3, March 19, 2008.
View previous syllabus
Last updated by SAS 02/14/2013 11:42:24