UT-107 Power, Resistance and Development
- ECTS Credits:
- 10
- Responsible department:
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Course Leader:
- Eric Kimathi
- Lecture Semester:
- Spring
- Teaching language:
- English
- Duration:
- 1 term
The course is connected to the following study programs
- Bachelor's Programme in Global Development Studies
- Global Development Studies, 1-year Programme
Teaching language
EnglishCourse contents
The course explores how actors, practices, and discourses within the development field are shaped by power and resistance at global, national and local scales. Histories of development aid, as well as the role played by non-governmental organisations in development cooperation, are central topics in the course. Key development discourses and development practices are analysed in light of critical theories of power and resistance. The course also discusses the ways in which popular protests and social movements can give rise to alternative development paradigms.
Theories of power and resistance are important analytical tools in the course. A detailed introduction to theories of and perspectives on power and resistance will, therefore, be provided at the start of the course. These theories and perspectives will be discussed in terms of how they can advance critical understandings of development and development cooperation.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:
-
recognise different theoretical perspectives on power and resistance and use these perspectives in critical analysis of development
-
identify actors, discourses, and practices in the development field and examine how they are shaped by power at different scales
-
explain how subaltern actors exercise resistance in different ways and at different scales
-
apply theories of power and resistance when discussing a particular development project
-
analyse power dynamics in different types of development cooperation
-
recognise and identify how different power relations and forms of resistance within development cooperation can give rise to conflicts
-
explain and analyse different development strategies and development practices in a larger historical, economic, political, social and cultural perspective
Examination requirements
Approved group work with presentation. Further information can be found in Canvas in the start of the semester.
Teaching methods
Lectures, group work, films and seminars. Estimated workload is 270 hours.
Evaluation
The person responsible for the course decides, in cooperation with student representative, the form of student evaluation and whether the course is to have a midway or end of course evaluation in accordance with the quality system for education, chapter 4.1.
Assessment methods and criteria
3-day individual take-home exam. Graded A-F.
Reduction of Credits
This course’s contents overlap with the following courses. A reduction of credits will occur if one of these courses is taken in addition:
| Course | Reduction of Credits |
|---|---|
| UT-107 – Aid and Conflict Resolution | 10 |
| UT-107 – Aid and Conflicts | 10 |
| UT-107 – Aid, Power and Conflicts | 7 |