Political Economy (POEC) 395

Overview

What is development? What are the historical and political origins of the idea of ‘development’? How has the idea of development affected political and economic processes of the ‘developing world’? Global Development Strategies, a three-credit, senior-level course provides an overview of theories of development and their indigenous critiques. It is focused on the 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’s population, and historically their participation in the world economy significantly predates the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, this course is conceptualized 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 percent) or better. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.

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 percent) on the examination.

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form