Political Economy (POEC) 395

Overview

Global Development Strategies, a three-credit, senior-level course which allows you to study in-depth 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 POEC 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:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Other materials

The course materials also includes 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 POEC 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

• Challenge for Credit Form