Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società

The course aims at (1) introducing and unpacking the debate around the notion and the main characteristics of local and global development; (2) illustrating the interplay between local development and global dynamics; (3) presenting and assessing study cases with a special focus on the concept of stakeholders ownership at the global and the local level.

At the end of the course students should be able to (1) identify and compare the mainstream and new perspectives on global and local development; (2) assess and reconstruct the interplay between local development and global dynamics; (3) critically review theoretical approaches to development and clearly express their point of view. In addition to that, students will strengthen their ability of understanding, summarising and discussing academic papers related to global and local development and of cooperatively working in groups.

The course adopts a blended methodology: online classes, in-person classes, groupwork. During the lectures the active participation of the students is encouraged and critical thinking is fostered through group discussion.

Attending students 

Students are considered as "attending" if they have attended at least 75% of the lectures.

The final exam consists of a short written report and an oral presentation/discussion of an academic paper to be carried out in groups of 2-3 students. The assessment criteria are the following:

a) the ability to reorganise the acquired knowledge and to apply it in the assessment of relevant study cases;

b) the ability to engage with the course contents in a thoughtful and critical way;

c) the ability to understand and summarise in a clear and effective way the main arguments of an academic paper;

d) the ability to cooperatively plan and manage group work activities.

Active participation during the lectures is considered a plus.

The final grade will be integrated with the grade of Development Economics and International Cooperation.

Non attending students

The final exam consists of a written essay on one of the topics of the course. The assessment criteria are the following:

a) the ability to reorganise the acquired knowledge and to apply it in the assessment of relevant study cases;

b) the ability to engage with the course contents and learning material in a thoughtful and critical way;

c) the ability to understand and summarise in a clear and effective way the main arguments of relevant books and academic articles.

The final grade will be integrated with the grade of Development Economics and International Cooperation.

The course aims at introducing students to development as a highly contested field, with shifting frontiers, and a set of processes, practices and values.

The course (1) presents elements of mainstream and critical perspectives on development; (2) unpacks the relation between global development and development in the Anthropocene; (3) introduces mainstream and new perspective on local development and presents relevant study cases, with a specific focus on urban areas; (4) analyses the interplay between global and local development and the conflicts, the problems and the opportunities that arise from it (5) reviews development key-concepts such as social, environmental and health justice, ownership, cooperation, sustainability.

Attending students:

1) Handnotes of the course;

2) Essays and academic papers analysed and discussed during the course;

Non attending students: 

1) K. Rawhorth, The Doughnot Economics, Corberstone, 2018;

2) Collective for the Foundational Economy, Foundational Economy, Manchester University Press, 2018;

3) 2 academic papers on a topic of your choice, chosen in agreement with the lecturer.