BSc International Disaster Management & Humanitarian Response

This course conceptualises disasters as a symptom of underdevelopment and links key development theories, issues and challenges to the causes and solutions to disasters. The first half of the course focuses on exploring what development is and how to go about ‘doing development’. Students will look at whether or not development should focus on economic growth or inequality, on state-led or market-led development and the role of communities in their own development The second half of the course goes in depth to explore key challenges to development, and illustrates these themes through case studies. These themes include migration, urbanisation, rural development, gender and other marginalised groups.

• To understand the changing definitions of development over the course of the twentieth century to the current day;
• To understand of the different ways in which poverty has been understood and the implications of those differences;
• To understand of the different roles of development actors, and the debates about their role and impact;
• An ability to used empirically formed analysis to identify gaps and tensions in the literature and academic debates;
• An ability to engage in critical discussion and debate in a group, and to formulate ideas based upon key readings.

On successful completion of this module, a student will be expected to be able:

• To understand the difference between local and international approaches to building peace
• To interrogate what the liberal peace means as a dominant peacebuilding paradigm
• To understand how local populations engage with conflict and peace interventions
• Understanding the intersection between different causes of conflict
• To discuss how international peacebuilding can be made more people-centric

• Knowledge of specific case studies (for instance Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Northern Ireland)
• Knowledge of key concepts in the peacebuilding field such as power, agency and resistance
• An understanding of the interplay between international and local approaches to peace
• An understanding of what the everyday means and why it is a political concept
• Develop an understanding of how people cope with and react to conflict in their societies

• Deepen critical appraisal
• Appreciate differing methodological/conceptual perspectives
• Link theoretical/conceptual material with case study material

• Writing academic essays
• Preparing and delivering presentations
• Debating and discussing

• Working autonomously
• Working in teams
• Respecting different views
• Giving feedback to others

Allen, Tim and Thomas, Alan. 2000. Poverty and Development into the 21st Century Oxford: Oxford University Press

Cowen, M.P. and R.W. Shenton 1996. Doctrines of Development. London: Routledge

Chari, Sharad, and Stuart Corbridge. 2007. The development reader. Routledge

Deaton, Angus. 2013. The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality.

Princeton: Princeton University Press

Desai, Vandana and Potter, Robert eds. 2002. The Companion to Development Studies. London: Arnold Krishna, Anirudh, ed. 2008. Poverty, Participation and Democracy: A Global Perspective.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

UNISDR 2000: Living with Risk, A global review of disaster reduction initiatives. http://www.undp.org/cpr/disred/documents/publications/isdr_livingwithrisk2002.pdf,