International Devel

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the major sociological perspectives of international and comparative development, sometimes called globalization and social change or global development. It examines and compares the processes and conflicts of development across various international regions. It focuses on the relationship of development to regional economies, ecologies, food/land/income distribution, demographic shifts, and quality of life measures. This course examines the positions of the promoters of development, including post-WWII institutions of development (the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund). This course also considers the positions of social movements and resisters to development. Related topics to be studied include the influence of states on development, the intersection of resistance to development and religion, the role of multinational corporations on development, as well as prospects and tensions surrounding democratization.