Watson Institute for International StudiesBrown University

DS Coursework

Concentrators design their own programs within a common framework.  In doing so, they are encouraged to combine analytical courses with courses that offer local and historical knowledge.  Courses must be taken from at least three departments in order to provide an inter-disciplinary perspective on development.  A well-rounded program of ten courses should consist of the following elements:

  1. New core courses

    • DEVL 1000   Sophomore seminar in Development Studies.  Tentatively, it is planned that this will become a requirement for all concentrators, to be taken sophomore year. This course introduces the main debates and perspectives in Development Studies.
    • ECON 0510  Development and the International Economy.  A course designed for students who do not plan to concentrate in economics but seek a basic understanding of the economics of less developed countries and interactions with the world economy including trade, international capital flows, aid and migration.  Students should have taken ECON 0110 or the AP exams or IB in economics.  Students planning to take additional economics courses are encouraged to take ECON 1510 or ECON 1560 instead of ECON 0510.


  2. Courses that deal explicitly with the theory and study of development

    In order to develop some fluency in the issues and theories that animate the debate on development, students are strongly encouraged to take at least two courses that provide overviews of various dimensions of development.  At the introductory level SOC 0150: Economic Development and Social Change, and POLS 0200: Introduction to Comparative Politics, provide useful introductions to some critical debates and theories in the field of development studies. We recommend that students take more advanced classes within the disciplines. PS 1240: Politics, Markets, and States in Developing Countries and POLS 1460: International Political Economy provide broad perspectives on the political economy of development.  SOC 1620: Globalization and Social Conflict examines the impact that global economic integration is having on the developing world.  ANTH 1320: Anthropology and International Development critically examines development policy and its impact on the local level.  In economics, ECON 1510: Economic Development explores a range of substantive and policy debates in development. ECON 1560 covers a similar range of topics from a more macroeconomic perspective.

  3. Analytical and methodological courses that present social science perspectives on general issues that are related to development, including courses that provide specific research tools for the senior thesis

    The ideal course for this is DEVL 1500: Methods in Development Research. Courses in anthropology, political science, and sociology, for example, provide methodologies and theories for the institutional or cultural analysis of social change; courses in economics provide rational choice and quantitative perspectives.  Students are encouraged to take a few courses of this nature from different departments, but also to follow a sequence of courses within a given discipline to ensure a solid understanding of that particular field.  Students considering quantitative analysis of data in their senior thesis should consider obtaining training in statistics or econometrics, and can count such a course in this category.

  4. At least one advanced seminar course related to Development

    These courses can address a wide range of issues—education, public health, nutrition, the environment, women’s issues, international finance—and are offered by many different departments.  Ideally, the focus of the course should be on the developing world; however, if the course focus is not on the developing world, DS students are encouraged to write course papers that make the link with development.

  5. Courses focused on developing regions

    Students are required to take two courses on one region and two other courses either on a single region or on a second and a third region.  Note that students taking ECON 0510, DEVL1000 and a methods course need only 2 regions courses. Students who DO NOT take those three courses will need the 4 courses as stipulated in the concentration requirements. Such courses can be found in both the social sciences and the humanities (History, English, Comparative Literature, Political Science, Sociology and area studies departments).  These courses should ideally address issues that have a direct impact on processes of development.  For the second region requirement, a course that deals with two regions, for instance Africa and Brazil, can also fill one of these slots. Courses that are far removed from the study of development can be counted only if students write papers that relate to development (for example: a course such as “Hindu philosophy” is really far removed from the DS concentration; however, if one writes a paper on how elements of Hinduism inspired social change movements in India, the course becomes very relevant).

    6. DS Coursework at a Glance:

    Recommended Courses for Development Studies Concentrators


    DS Course Offerings '07-'10

     

    A request we often get is for a list of recommended courses for DS concentrators.  This list of recommendations is more extensive than the list of requirements for the concentration, but following this list will assure those who follow it a sense of a common experience and a guarantee of a solid foundation in Development Studies.

     

    • Two Core Courses (Ideally in the Sophomore Year):
      • DVL 1000: Sophomore Seminar
      • Econ 510. Introduction  to The Economics of Development. (Students who choose EC111 from the list below should take ECON1510 or ECON1560 instead)

     

    • At least two “disciplinary core” courses from the list below (Ideally in Junior Year):
      • Econ1110 (in conjunction with 1510 [see above].  Economic Development
      • Anthro 1320. International Development.
      • Soc 1600 (Comparative Development) or Soc 1620 (Globalization and Conflict)
      • POLS 1240 (Politics, Markets, and States in Developing Countries) or  POLS 1460 (International Political Economy)

     

    • At least one methods course from a menu of courses (or similar) (Strongly Recommended for Junior Year):
      • DVLS 1500.  Methods in Development Studies
      • ES 1500. Field Research
      • ECON 1620 or 1630. Econometrics
      • Political Science 1600   Research Methods
      • Education 1110.  Methods
      • Sociology 1100. Sociological Inquiry.

     

    • At least one advanced seminar course related to Development (Senior Year):
      • ENG1930 Social Entrepreneurship
      • One of the IR 18XX Seminars, such as Ethnography of Global Connection
      • Anthro 1830

     

    • Senior Thesis Writing Seminar (Senior Year):
      • DVLS 1980

     

    • At least two courses focusing on regions in the developing world.*

    * Students taking EC0510, DS1000 and a methods course need only 2 regions courses.  Students who DO NOT take those three courses will need the 4 courses as stipulated in the concentration requirements.


[ Back To Top ]