Master of Development Studies
Course code: 097AB
2 years full time / 4 years part time
1 or 1.5 years full time (or part time equivalent) with relevant prior qualifications
March, July
Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) available
Access Melbourne is available
March, July
AUD $48,992 (2026 indicative first year fee)
IELTS 6.5: with no band less than 6.0
Course structure
Overview
200 point program (2 years full-time or part-time equivalent)
This is our most popular program for those who have completed undergraduate study in any discipline.
- Six compulsory subjects (75 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points to 62.5 points)
- Elective subjects (62.5 points to 100 points, depending on the capstone option selected).
150 point program (1.5 years full-time or part-time equivalent)
This is for graduates who have completed at least one year of relevant professional work experience, or equivalent, in addition to relevant background study.
- Four compulsory subjects (50 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points to 62.5 points)
- Elective subjects (37.5 to 75 points, depending on the capstone option selected).
Gender and Development specialisation
200 Point Program-Gender and Development specialisation (2 years full-time or part-time equivalent)
This is our most popular program for those who have completed undergraduate study in any discipline.
- Six compulsory subjects (75 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points to 62.5 points)
- Elective subjects (62.5 points to 100 points, depending on the capstone option selected).
150 Point Program - Gender and Development specialisation (1.5 years full-time or part-time equivalent)
This is for graduates who have completed at least one year of relevant professional work experience, or equivalent, in addition to relevant background study.
- Five compulsory subjects (62.5 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points to 62.5 points)
- Elective subjects (25 points to 62.5 points, depending on the capstone option selected).
100 Point Program - Gender and Development specialisation (1 year full-time or part-time equivalent)
This is for relevant honours graduates or those who have completed at least two years professional work experience in a closely related field, in addition to relevant background study.
- Three compulsory subjects (37.5 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points to 62.5 points)
- Elective subjects (0 points to 37.5 points, depending on the capstone option selected).
Capstone requirement
Capstone subject options must be completed in the final hundred points of the program. All students are required to complete one of the three available Capstone streams options for the program (at least 25 points). This requirement cannot be waived or replaced in any circumstances. For a full list of subjects, Capstones and detailed information, please view the Handbook entry for the course.
Understanding credit points
A 2-year program typically consists of 200 credit points.
A standard full-time study load is four subjects per semester, across two semesters per year (eight subjects per year), which equals 100 credit points per year.
Most subjects are worth 12.5 credit points*.
* Some subjects carry a heavier workload and may be worth more points.
Explore this course
Explore the subjects you could choose as part of this degree.
200 point program
2 years full time / 4 years part time. All students must complete one capstone option.
Students must complete 75 points of compulsory subjects.
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Development Theories · 12.5 pts |
This subject forms an introduction to the main theories of development and considers key issues in development such as globalisation, development aid, and development in the new post-Cold War context. This subject seeks to foster skills in critical thinking, communication and group work. Students should become adept at synthesising complex theories and ideas and be able to engage in and critically assess a range of contemporary debates in development. |
| Civil Society, NGOs and the State · 12.5 pts |
Over the course of the last thirty years, an 'associational revolution' has swept the world, as more and more civil society organisations have taken over tasks formerly assigned to states, formed cross-border advocacy campaigns to hold both states and corporations accountable for labour, environmental, and human rights violations, and formulated alternative development policies that run counter to the paradigms espoused by the World Bank and other multilateral lending organizations. While some argue that this associational revolution promises more participatory, expedient, and decentralized forms of transnational governance, others contend that it reflects little more than the ongoing privatisation of the public sphere at the hands of transnational capital. In this course, we evaluate these and alternative perspectives by exploring transformations in the structure of the global political-economy over the past thirty years; looking closely at the roles played by a variety of NGOs and CBOs as part of more multi-layered regimes of 'global governance'; analysing the shifts in state structures that have made these regimes possible; and teasing apart the ongoing tensions between various factions of what some have called, an emerging 'global civil society'. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. |
| Gender Issues in Development · 12.5 pts |
As a fundamental cross-cutting theme in development theory and practice today, gender discourse and practices have gone beyond the exclusive focus on feminist activism in the 1970s. What began as a preoccupation with women's discrimination and disadvantage and the lack of their visibility in development initiatives became a broader concern with the nature of relations between men and women. Drawing on the scholarship in gender studies, development studies, political science, sociology and anthropology, the subject will examine key gender and development concepts and debates through case studies from the developing world. It will cover important themes in the gender and development literature such as power and inequalities, economic development and poverty, work and labour, and marriage and family as well as sexualities, masculinities, childhood, violence, and HIV/AIDS. Various dimensions of difference such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and religion intersect with gender and sexuality to form myriad lived experiences and perspectives. The subject will investigate these themes through an intersectional lens in order to address the complex realities we experience and embody. |
| Political Economy of Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject considers processes of development through a political economic perspective. The subject begins by considering the historical roots of political economy, and then focuses on key theoretical debates in the field. It then moves on to consider several contemporary development issues, highlighting the ways in which political economic analysis provides new, critical insight. Key topics to be considered include the following: wealth and inequality; feminist and queer critiques; labour and exploitation; political ecology and natural resources; the limitations of social policy; green and carbon economies; surplus and waste; the effects of globalisation and migration; sustainability and diverse economies. By the end of this subject, students should have a clear understanding for what political economic analysis adds to debates over contemporary development. |
| Development Systems and Interventions · 12.5 pts |
This subject complements the Development Theories compulsory subject, which taken together will give students a strong grounding in both the theories and the practice of development. This subject interprets ‘intervention’ broadly to cover efforts (policies, programmes, projects, activities) that are understood by the actors concerned to be promoting of international and national development. This covers the efforts of the international development industry, but it is also interested in the interventions of national governments in the developing world, the role of emerging donors like China, India and the Gulf states and other agents of development including the private sector and social movements. It aims to show how intervening in development can involve a wide span of activities from the implementing of aid projects, to reforming the civil service, to campaigning for social justice, to improving the tax system. This subject aims to give students an introduction to the complexity and diversity of development settings and interventions and an understanding of why some forms of intervention have been more successful than others. |
| Disaster and Humanitarian Aid · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores emergency relief in crisis situations, including both ‘natural’ disasters and armed conflict (or combinations thereof). We will discuss the dynamics of different kinds of disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, armed conflict and displacement, as well as ‘complex emergencies’ where ‘natural’ disasters intermesh with man-made dynamics. Central to ‘natural’ and man-made disasters is the question of vulnerability and resilience: contrary to what international media images tend to suggest, the first response to disaster is always local, and the resilience of the people affected is determining for longer-term outcomes. But international responses can of course play a major role. The subject will therefore explore: international humanitarian principles, policies, and guidelines; the everyday life of humanitarian work; and the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian aid: how it gets entangled with local political economies; how it gets embroiled in dynamics of conflict; and how it can in fact become part of the problem. We will also examine differences and interlinkages between humanitarian and development interventions, as well as the supposed humanitarian-development ‘continuum’ – the idea that humanitarianism is something that occurs in times of crisis, and that this then gives way to development once the situation is back to ‘normal’. As we will see, disasters are not at all exceptional. They are a normal part of human life; and with the impact of development and climate change, human exposure to disasters is only increasing. Instead of thinking of disasters as unique and exceptional events, shouldn't we be thinking about ‘living with risk’? And, if so, how can that be done? |
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| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Internship in Development · 25 pts |
Internship in Development is an elective subject available to graduate students in Development and various cognate disciplines and fields of study. This subject aims to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills learnt in class and enhance their understanding of the current approaches to the broad field of development through a structured period of contributing as a temporary staff member in a government, non-government or private corporation inside or outside Australia. Students are able to select a host organisation to further develop their knowledge and skills in their chosen area of interest. The exposure to a different cultural, socio-political or organisational context provides students with vast opportunities to critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice, and the thus the nature of development as they have studied it and as they observe it to be approached or practiced during their internship placement. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete both minor thesis subjects and DEVT90041: Research Methods in Development. Note: the minor thesis requires enrolment over two consecutive semesters.
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Development Research Design & Assessment · 12.5 pts |
This subject will focus on understanding development research design and a variety of research methods for investigating development problems. The subject will also seek to build skills in assessing the evidence produced from development research, and identifying the strengths/weaknesses and validity of development research designs. The subject will give attention to the challenges of designing and ethically conducting research in developing contexts, and understanding of the various stages of research, particularly in identifying the most appropriate and feasible approaches for data collection and analysis. It will include sessions on qualitative research techniques, and a basic introduction to understanding and collecting quantitative data as well as mixed research methods. Students will gain insights into the debates between different disciplines on methodological approaches, and understanding the politics of knowledge in development research. |
| Development Studies Thesis Part 1 · 25 pts |
Students enrolled in this subject will undertake a piece of research in Development Studies approved by the course coordinator. The research will incorporate an analysis of relevant development theory and practice. Under the close guidance of a dedicated supervisor, students are expected to engage critically and independently with relevant intellectual debates and provide original insights into a particular social phenomenon or development issue. On completion of the subject, students will submit a 15,000-word minor thesis on their chosen research topic. |
| Development Studies Thesis Part 2 · 25 pts |
Refer to DEVT90054 Development Studies Thesis Part 1 for more details. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete these two subjects.
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Development Project Management & Design · 12.5 pts |
This subject offers an introduction to development project management and design from interdisciplinary and critical perspectives. We begin by understanding the standard project cycle approach to project management. We focus on strategy, vision and mission formulation, as well as problem identification and analysis, objectives analysis, stakeholder analysis, formulation of projects and budgets, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. We will examine how different functions require different forms of program design and planning. Students will be familiarised with the 'Logframe Approach' and 'Theory of Change', which will be contrasted with ‘Learning Process’, 'Strengths Based' and 'Social enterprise' approaches to project design. Students will explore participation and empowerment as methodologies to address gender and other power inequalities specific to disadvantaged groups, and consider the ethics and motivations of field workers. Students will also be introduced to recent critiques of, and debates on, project management and development practice. Case studies of projects in developing countries, practical exercises including a group project, and critically reflective learning will be integral to the syllabus. |
| Monitoring and Evaluation in Development · 12.5 pts |
The importance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the management of projects and programs has been widely recognised within the development sector. Effective M&E acts as an anchor to keep the program moving in the right direction towards the goals and targets set at the planning stage. Historically, M&E was seen exclusively as a tool to make development organisations accountable to donors and conducted by foreign consultants who were largely unfamiliar with the context where development interventions took place. This approach has hampered development agencies’ efforts to obtain the right kind of information for effective M&E and project management. Within the new M&E paradigms emerging since the 1990s, an emphasis is placed on not only accountability but also learning, empowerment and capacity building of local communities. This subject aims to offer comparative insights into different M&E approaches in development as well as to impart practical skills to students so they may develop the technical proficiency in project/program M&E. The subject focuses on development projects and programs rather than policies or public sector management. Practical exercises will be an essential part of the subject. |
Between 62.5 and 100 credit points of elective subjects, depending on the capstone option selected.
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| International Development Infrastructure · 12.5 pts |
This subject is suitable for graduate students seeking to understand the donor or sovereign government driven international development sector of international development and humanitarian work and the considerations and challenges in delivering culturally appropriate sustainable infrastructure outcomes. This subject complements the theory and principles in ABPL90277 Humanitarian Construction and further explores the policy settings, political motivations, contextual and cultural considerations of this specific area of the international development sector. Through in-person class sessions, students will gain an appreciation of current theory, practices and approaches and undertake a series of group activities related to the delivery of infrastructure investment in this part of the international development sector. The subject has been designed to enable students to apply their technical discipline understanding and learnings from prior studies and work experience and to collaborate with interdisciplinary peers. Industry leaders, guest presenters and technical experts will share their experiences and project case studies for students to learn about the industry and to test and challenge their own personal values and perspectives when working in developing countries. The subject will offer built environment and other graduate students an insight into the principles, strategic objectives and priority areas of delivering quality infrastructure to build genuine and respectful partnerships with our international neighbours in the Asia Pacific region. Topics will include how to prepare, plan, program, design and construct sustainable infrastructure in differing cultural contexts as well as how to consider policy, governance, economic, environmental and social factors in order to sensitively manage and implement complex program requirements linked to specific outcomes in a development context. Finally, students will also develop an understanding of potential pathways and employment opportunities in the international development industry. |
| Human Rights in Southeast Asia · 12.5 pts |
This seminar will focus on human rights and its critics from a historical and comparative perspective. We will explore the factors that have given rise to radically different conception of rights and justice (i.e. political, economic, cultural, religious, ideological) and look at their implementation and the obstacles at the local, national, and international levels. What is the relationship and relevance of the international human rights movement to local notions of rights? What impact is this having on local gender relations and the relationships of women to their states and communities? Are human rights NGOs weakening or strengthening the nation-states in Southeast Asia. Are they sites of resistance or complicity? The seminar introduces students to different conceptions of rights, and social justice, including feminist critiques of rights discourse and of 'development', ethnographic studies on the relationship between attitudes towards bodily integrity and human rights, the debates about poverty, economic development and access to adequate health care as human rights. We shall draw upon a wide range of sources from theoretical works, philosophical and anthropological critiques of rights discourse, and NGO documents. On completion of the subject students should have a broad historical, comparative and critical perspective on the debates about rights and justice in Southeast Asia. This subject is usually taught two times a year. It is available either as a semester-long subject taught on the Parkville campus or as an overseas intensive subject in some years. ASIA90001 at the University of Indonesia will be taught intensively on location at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. The subject will consist mainly of seminars held at the Faculty, with some field visits in Jakarta. There is a pre-teaching requirement for this subject, during which time students will be required to access subject materials on the LMS, and attend a pre-departure briefing on campus. |
| Civil Society and Social Change in China · 12.5 pts |
The emergence of civil society and nongovernmental organisations in China reflects the rise of new social and political issues that have proven challenging for the Chinese state to address effectively. This subject examines the conditions under which certain ideas, organisational forms, and associational practices have taken hold as well as the ways they have been contested, transformed, and adapted. It explores various social problems – like the rise of gender inequality, labour rights, LGBT concerns, environmental problems, and others – that civil society organisations in China have sought to tackle and examines the broader context in which civil society actors work. |
| Contemporary China · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides a broad-based overview of contemporary China, exploring key features of the country's increasingly complex and dynamic society. Topics covered include the economy, environmental challenges, political processes, cultural change, civil society, and China’s engagement with the global community. |
| The Political Ecology of Development · 12.5 pts |
The subject will help students understand human-environment relationships and key development issues using a political ecology perspective, with cases from developing and developed countries. Political ecologists use a variety of approaches to understand complex human-environment problems, and these are applied to concrete situations. We critically analyze a number of development initiatives that are reconstituting human-environment relationships and, in some cases, promoting new forms of ‘environmental governance’. The range of topics covered does change, and some indicative ones are; supporting rural livelihoods; water management; conservation policy; urban environmental governance; the environmental outcomes of corporate misdeeds; global land grabbing; and environmental movements. Through a seminar presentation, reading, and participation, students will learn how different institutions, and the politics surrounding them, impose constraints upon, and present opportunities for, the promotion of sustainable and equitable development. |
| Development Policy: Independent Project · 12.5 pts |
This subject involves the study of selected key issues in the field of development studies. It is intended that the subject will assist students in broadening their understanding of development processes and update their knowledge of current debates amongst development theorists and practitioners. This will be achieved by students taking advantage of subjects and/or lectures offered, or through intensive one-off courses offered by visitors with specialist expertise. |
| Advocacy in Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject focuses on the practice of advocacy in development. The subject explores how development practitioners can meaningfully contribute to and support grassroots activism and social movements; in areas including gender justice, social inclusion, access to education and healthcare, and environmental justice. We examine the different forms advocacy actions can take, from small local initiatives to improve access to services, to campaigns to influence national and international policy. The subject engages with debates about the roles of local and international actors, and the strengths and limitations of ‘inside vs outside’ (or collaborative vs. confrontational) advocacy in different political and cultural contexts. Students will examine the strengths and limitations of different advocacy strategies and tactics, and consider how these can be combined to influence change. They will be invited to critically reflect on their own roles as advocates and development practitioners. The subject will include case studies from advocacy practice in Australia and internationally, including participatory action research, community arts, civil society networks, and policy influence. Students will select their own case study of an advocacy issue to analyse in their final research essay. |
| Practising Community-led Development · 12.5 pts |
A range of strategies, tools and methods are available to development practitioners who work directly with communities. This subject focusses on the use of those methods, along with the strategies and skills required for effective community-led development practice. It is taught through workshop sessions that encourage a high level of interaction between students as they engage in participatory learning methods and group work. We start with the foundations of community-led development practice, including project governance and decision-making, cross-cultural considerations and the scope and nature of project achievements when viewed from a community perspective. We build on these foundations by examining examples and case studies (including from Aboriginal organisations in Australia) that illustrate ways of working effectively with the community, including partnership building, engagement with government and other stakeholders and ethical considerations in working with communities. We move on to consider how best to communicate about projects to build partnerships and attract support, using the Men's Shed movement in Australia as an example. A central component of the subject is that students will explore and apply in workshop settings a range of key participatory tools and methods. Workshop content will frequently refer to examples from diverse projects and programs. The content of the subject will address specific challenges in community-led in development practice and ways in which practitioners can navigate the complexities of the work they do. |
| Global Urban Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to investigate global processes of urbanisation, focusing particularly on issues of globalisation, capitalism, inequality, colonialism, informality, migration, gender, and state power. More specifically, this subject seeks to develop critical insight into how urban development (and underdevelopment) is linked through global processes, and how contemporary urban landscapes are produced through broader political economic, historical, socio-cultural, and environmental processes. The subject includes historical context in addition to contemporary case studies, and analysis is focused on cities in both the global South and North. Specific topics to be considered include the following: urban poverty and informality; labour and economic production; segregation and marginalisation; gender and urban development; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerability; urban governance and state power; policing and public security; colonial legacies and race in cities; migration and global climate change. |
| Development and Inequality · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the relationship between development and inequality by taking India as a central example to investigate two inter-related questions: how do different patterns of development shape inequality and how do existing regimes of inequality limit development? Adopting an intersectional approach to inequality and a multi-dimensional approach to development to answer these questions, we analyse the paradox of persistently high rates of poverty and deepening inequalities within an economy that has registered the world’s second-highest economic growth rates for the last two and a half decades. We consider whether the example of India suggests the need to revise existing paradigms of development thinking. We explore how various development strategies in India have ameliorated or exacerbated the disadvantage of women, lower castes, Indigenous peoples and religious minorities. This subject aims to give students an understanding of how and why approaches to development have changed over time (in India and globally) as well as the skills to analyse how different development approaches (including state-led industrialisation, rights-based welfare and a business-friendly political economy) impact poverty and inequality. |
| Migration and Development · 12.5 pts |
Migration is a powerful driver of social change across the contemporary world. This subject explores the key issues and debates at the intersection of migration and development, drawing on conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work in economics, development studies, gender studies, human geography, anthropology, sociology, demography, and political science. Through class debates and practical exercises, students will engage critically with the conceptual models and theoretical frameworks used to analyse migration and its impacts on development. Core concepts - including transnationalism, neoliberalism, forced migration, global care chains, governmentality, and global householding - will be examined and critiqued. The subject also considers the economic, social, and cultural implications of migration for development processes at both micro and macro levels, assessing its relationship to broader debates on globalisation, poverty, gender, and social change. |
| Development in Latin America · 12.5 pts |
This subject aims to provide a critical overview of ‘Development’ in Latin America. It seeks to engage critical perspectives concerning uneven development, processes of inequality and marginalisation, and patterns of globalisation in Latin America. By grounding theoretical arguments in contemporary empirical contexts (i.e., countries in Latin America), the subject attempts to make sense of current development issues in Latin America. Topics to be explored include the following: histories of development and postcolonial critiques; theories of development from Latin American scholars; urbanisation, poverty, and informality; gender and development; post-development critiques in Latin America; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerabilities; identity, race, and indigeneity; contemporary governance and state power in development initiatives. |
| Social Policy and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject investigates the linkages between social policy and development within lower-middle income countries. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas (UMOS) Subject in Indonesia, with a special focus on social policy in Indonesia. By learning 'in-country', the subject draws from the experience of Indonesia to understand the roles played by different actors (government, civil society organisations, international organisations, the private sector, and communities) in responding to complex social policy issues related to poverty, welfare and wellbeing. This includes considerations of environmental change; access to livelihoods, employment, health and education opportunities; and the ways that challenges and opportunities may vary for different social and identity groupings. The subject examines examples of multi-stakeholder approaches to responding to complex social policy challenges in large states like Indonesia, often through collaboration and innovation. The subject also explores debates on the relationship between social and economic development and the implications for social policy in multi-level and decentralised governance structures. Students learn from their experience examining these issues in Indonesia during the teaching period and apply this in their first assessment. The broader readings for the subject also examine similar social policy issues in other countries in the Asia Pacific. Students then use both their Indonesia experience and broader learning from the reading and their own research to investigate similar social policy challenges and responses in other country contexts in the Asia-Pacific for their second assessment. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas Subject in Indonesia with our partner institution the University of Gadjah Mada. The subject will involve Masters students from both Melbourne and Masters students and staff from our Indonesian partner university. This provides an exciting opportunity for students from each University to learn with and from each other to gain deeper knowledge on tackling inequalities and understanding real-world development challenges and responses through social policy in lower-middle income countries. The subject also uses teaching mediums that connects students with experts in the field in Indonesia. There is a quota for this subject. For further information and to apply: https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/students/overseas-experience#graduate-subjects. |
| Contested Development and Culture · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores development epistemes and practices and how they reflect cultural frames, concerns with different ways of seeing and organising the world, and, how they come into conflict and dialogue. It explores how development is situated within different cultural, economic and political contexts and reflects contested views and perspectives. The subject draws together examples of different ways of thinking and approaching development, the impacts of development and where culture and conflict are situated in the visions and ideologues of societal transformation, progress and modernity. We consider how new and alternative approaches emerge, tensions between local-global agenda setting and how they are built on or might lead to contestation and debate through case studies and illustrative material from Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and explore themes such as localisation, decolonisation, gender, equity, justice and inclusive and sustainable development. |
| Conflict, Security and Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to provide a grounding in analytical approaches to the political economy of conflict, security and development. To achieve this aim, we draw on the notion of the 'continuum of violence’ to show how differing forms of violence are connected in complex ways throughout the various processes of development. The subject examines the foundational theories of conflict and violence, including gender perspectives, debates about the origins of human violence, and the role of violence in historical change. Against this background, we explore a range of competing theories and claims in development theory to trace ways assumptions have influenced ideas regarding the causes and dynamics of conflict . Further, the subject looks critically at contemporary efforts to address insecurity and conflict through conflict mediation, ‘state building’, and post conflict stabilization/reconstruction. We also examine empirical trends in relation to conflict, and the varied responses, to areas that include insecurity/violent conflict; the difficulties of data collection; and the importance of categorization and boundaries to matters of conflict and development. |
| Gender Analysis in Development Practice · 12.5 pts |
This subject will use a decolonial, intersectional feminist approach to address the following core questions: How can development programs redress gender inequalities? What are the challenges in applying an intersectional, decolonial feminist approach to development programs and practice? What are the prospects for the re-politicisation of the ‘gender mainstreaming’ agenda? The subject will offer students the opportunity to undertake a critical and inter-disciplinary review of five decades of gender analysis in development programmes and practice. By undertaking practical scenario exercises and analysing case studies of projects in developing countries, students will learn tools and skills in gender analysis frameworks, gender mainstreaming, gender budgets, care analysis, programming with men and boys, and organising collective action. |
| Rethinking Rights and Global Development · 12.5 pts |
Are human rights universal? Has increased attention to human rights since the 1990s resulted in a neglect of the material conditions of poverty as political and civil rights are prioritised over social and economic rights? Is it useful to think of women having specific rights distinct from those of other humans? Do all women share the same concerns? This subject explores these questions relating to human rights and women’s rights from postcolonial and intersectional feminist perspectives. We analyse how these debates play out in development practice, particularly in ‘rights-based approaches’ to development. We consider different histories of human rights in the activities of the United Nations, in anti-colonial struggles, and in post-colonial demands for a ‘right to development’. We focus particularly on women’s rights in the contexts of sexual and reproductive health, land rights, the right to education, and the rights of sex workers. We also consider the gendered dimensions of struggles for the recognition of the human rights of people of colour, Indigenous peoples, LGBT people and people with disabilities. Throughout this subject, students are encouraged to ask, ‘whose interests do human and women’s rights serve?’ This subject aims to equip students with skills to critically analyse the power relations that underpin human rights discourse and practice. |
| Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation · 12.5 pts |
This subject develops the skills to understand and assess the social impacts of development, including international development projects, resource management, and proposed infrastructure or new policies. We do this in two ways: by looking at how to assess the impacts of proposed projects, and through evaluation techniques for existing developments or projects. In each case we develop practical skills and interdisciplinary techniques to appraise and evaluate impacts. These techniques draw from anthropology, development studies, and the policy sciences, and move beyond simple summative assessments and financial accounting. We consider the social and environmental contexts in which any form of appraisal is embedded, and the capacities of different actors (from the state to NGOs and community groups) to avert or mitigate negative impacts through learning, negotiation, and citizen participation. Examples, some presented by guest speakers, are drawn from Australia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. At the completion of the subject students will have developed the conceptual skills to understand the impacts of development; be familiar with the range of methodologies and techniques used in impact assessment; understand development evaluation; and will be able to apply this in critical evaluation of the impact of projects and programmes. |
| Environmental Politics and Policy · 12.5 pts |
This subject engages with critical concepts and issues related to environmental politics and policy. Special attention is paid to the political dimensions of policy development and implementation, with reference to national and international domains. Students will be introduced to relevant theories, cases, and tools for policy makers and environmental activists. Students will consider a variety of case studies including climate change, ozone depletion, water management, land conflict, forest preservation, waste and 'sustainability planning'. Case studies will be drawn from Australia, Southeast Asia, and other global contexts. The subject is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Students will gain a practical understanding of issues confronting policymakers and other political actors in relation to a range of environment problems and solutions. |
| The Politics of Food · 12.5 pts |
Formerly FOOD90026 This subject examines the politics of the global food system, and will focus on the policies, structures, power relations and political debates surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of food. The impacts of food production and consumption on food security, health, the environment, animal welfare, and the livelihoods of producers, will be critically explored. Key theoretical frameworks and concepts for understanding the dominant paradigms and dynamics of the food system will be discussed and evaluated. Integrated policies and strategies for creating more sustainable and equitable food systems, and alternative paradigms and practices of production, distribution and consumption, will also be critically examined. This subject will primarily draw on theories and methodologies from the sociology and politics of food and agriculture, food policy, and the political economy and political ecology of food. The topics and debates covered include:
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| Gender, Globalisation and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the relationships between gender, globalisation and development, illustrated principally through case studies, policy documents, and ethnographic texts. It also draws theoretical perspectives and insights from a number of social science and humanities disciplines as well. On completion of the subject students should have an understanding of problems of writing about gender and difference: debates on modernity, globalisation, and development: gender, colonialism and postcolonialism; gender, politics, and the state; masculinities, femininities and sexualities; gender and labour; gender and development agencies; gender, religion and development; gender, sexuality, rights and transnational migration. |
| Digital Politics · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the complex relationship between digital media and politics, broadly defined to include a range of political processes, roles and responsibilities. Using timely political case studies, students will analyse the different mechanisms by which these two systems influence each. They will learn to read the different affordances of digital media and assess how the logical operation of these tools preferences certain types of politics over others. Students will develop a critical understanding of how digital media is changing political communication, preparing themselves for careers in politics, advocacy, campaigning and journalism. Topics will include: the political transparency of software; the relationship between politics, social media companies and the press; how to campaign and how to effect political change through digital communication. |
| Social Enterprise Incubator · 12.5 pts |
This experiential learning subject introduces students to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, while equipping students with a practical understanding of social enterprise as a model to tackle social and/or environmental problems through trade. Working in small teams, students are introduced to a range of design thinking and social innovation frameworks. They draw on these frameworks to iteratively conceptualise, ‘pitch’, refine and develop a social enterprise ‘business model’ that appropriately responds to the needs of communities and society. To nurture and support development of ideas, the subject draws on real-world case studies as well as industry guests from the social enterprise ecosystem including social entrepreneurs, people with ‘lived-experience’, social finance and impact investment intermediaries, incubators and accelerators and leading scholars and thinkers in the field. Upon completing this subject, students will develop a critical understanding of the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship and how to develop a ‘business model’ for financially sustainable social impact. By doing so, the subject also offers a unique opportunity for students to apply conceptual knowledge and project management and business skills to real-world social and/or environmental challenges. |
| Communities and Ecosystem Management · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the ways people know and interact with nature in the context of ecosystem management. Through a series of local and global case studies, students will critically reflect on real world examples, grounded in ideas and theories drawn from social sciences. By exploring dimensions of power, knowledge, and values, students will analyse the ways in which communities participate, drive, and determine what healthy ecosystems mean. Tensions between government, corporate and community aspirations will be drawn out through the case study examples. This subject has a particular emphasis on Indigenous knowledges, self-determination and conceptualisations of Country. The field trip will provide students an opportunity to hear from communities directly about their connections to, and applications of caring for Country. Students will gain insights into different nature framings and perspectives. |
| Trade Policy Politics & Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the politics and governance of international trade. It explores the domestic and international dimensions of trade policy-making and the growing complexity of the "trade agenda" in national and international politics. It examines theories of trade and protection and theories of trade policy-making. It examines the evolution of the multilateral trade system since World War Two and the contemporary and future challenges that confront the system. The subject examines some of the perennial problems in the governance of the global trade system, as well as new issues and concerns, such as trade and the environment, trade and development, and agenda-setting and decision-making in the WTO. Finally, the subject explores the emergence of regional trade blocs and "free trade agreements" and their consequences for the multilateral trade system. |
| Politics and Business in post-Mao China · 12.5 pts |
Over the past two decades, the role of the Chinese state in the country's economic development has changed considerably. The state planning agencies no longer decide what and how much should the country's enterprises produce. Many of the old and inefficient state-owned enterprises have been transformed into market-driven businesses. Some of these companies (still state-controlled) have become global players in sectors such as oil and gas. The so-called non-state companies also occupy an important place in the country's economy. Ideology is no longer an important factor in decision-making and capitalists are welcome to join the communist party. This course will examine the relationship between the growing power of business and the political process in China. We"ll look at how the emergent class of professional managers and entrepreneurs attempts to convert its economic status into political advantage. A number of theoretical frameworks will be used to explore this relationship, including neo-traditionalism/clientelism, democratisation (civil society) and state corporatism. Students will also be encouraged to compare China's experience with that of other transitional societies. |
| International Organisations · 12.5 pts |
This subject is about the role of international organisations in global politics and governance. States have established these formal institutions to better cooperate in addressing global economic, environmental, and security problems, but there is considerable debate in international relations scholarship about their efficacy. In this subject, we will critically assess the world’s foremost international organisations, notably the United Nations and its many specialised agencies, international financial institutions including the World Bank and World Trade Organization, and regional organisations, such as the European Union and NATO. We will ask: to what extent do these organisations only reflect the interests of powerful member states? To what extent can they address global inequality and empower marginalised peoples? Do they enable or constrain efforts toward a more sustainable world? These questions and others will lead us to a better understanding of the factors that shape these organisations, the ways in which they operate, and the impact they have in global politics. |
| Asia-Pacific: Zone of Conflict or Peace? · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines important issues in international relations in the Asia Pacific, drawing on theory and evidence about domestic and international politics. The topics for study normally include the China-US-Japan triangle, the Taiwan and Korean conflicts, the international context of conflicts relating to Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific, and Australian engagement in the Asia-Pacific. |
| Disability in Policy and Practice · 12.5 pts |
Disability inclusion is now a global health and development priority. This includes translating 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal commitments to disability inclusion, and leaving no one behind, into practice. Without disability inclusion we cannot end poverty for all and achieve universal health coverage. Ensuring the inclusion of people with disability in health and development processes, systems, and programs is increasingly required under law in both lower and higher income settings. An understanding of disability inclusive policy and practice is becoming essential knowledge for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. An estimated 16% of the world’s population has a disability, with 80% of people with disability living in resource poor contexts. People with disability are systematically excluded from social, economic, and political participation. In turn, people with disability are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer health outcomes, lower education attainment, and be negatively impacted by climate risk than people without disability. In this short course, you will learn to critically analyse the factors that contribute to these inequities and develop strategies for improving policy and practice. Drawing on practitioner experience, including from people with disability themselves, this course will provide you with a foundation for critically considering issues of equity, representation, intersectionality, and meaningful participation. We will draw on real world examples from multiple sectors, including health, employment, education, and disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response. If you are working, or considering working, in global health and development, including in government, non-government, or United Nations agencies, this subject provides an essential foundation. This course can be taken by students in postgraduate courses, including public health, development studies, and social studies, or through the University of Melbourne Community Access Program (CAP). |
| Primary Health Care, Jamkhed, India · 12.5 pts |
The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India has won global acclaim and provided inspiration for the seminal Declaration of Alma Ata (1978). It remains one of the world’s most influential and innovative comprehensive community health and development programs. In this 3 week residential subject, students will learn about the Jamkhed Model while living in the resource-poor context of central Maharashtra, India. Students will engage with and critically analyse the Jamkhed approach to community health and development via: field visits to villages and project sites; seminars and discussions with project staff, lay volunteers, local health and development professionals and researchers; and interactive observations and teaching with university staff. Students of this subject will gain a thorough understanding of the context and history of comprehensive primary health care as a movement, and its applications within the Indian context. Students will acquire detailed knowledge of how the CRHP has applied a community-based, integrated multi-sectoral action, utilising a deep understanding of local culture and needs to address a wide range of issues. These include mortality and morbidity, poverty, gender inequity, and water and sanitation. Students will learn how to apply these principles in the design of programs seeking to address a variety of global health problems and contexts. Enrolment in this subject requires direct application to The Nossal Institute for Global Health, please proceed to the Nossal Institute website for further information and access to online application at https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/nossal-institute-for-global-health/study/PHC-Jamkhed/ |
| Health Program Design & Implementation · 12.5 pts |
An increasing global focus on program effectiveness and efficiency has brought renewed attention to the role of evidence in designing and implementing health programs. Students of this subject will engage with the discipline of implementation science, and will investigate a range of current theories and approaches to program design, including: Theory of Change; program logic models; logical frameworks; complexity theory; behaviour change theories; emergent design; participatory/co-design approaches; and approaches to scale-up. Facilitated by experts with applied field experience in program design and implementation in Australia and other global contexts, students will learn via practical, staged exercises to draft strategic program plans. A range of case studies on current health challenges and interventions will build students’ knowledge and skills in evidence-based health program design and implementation. Cross-cutting issues in program design will also be considered and applied to case studies, particularly the issues of participation and inclusion. Students will be asked to consider evidence requirements and real-world compromises in programmatic research and planning within Australian and other global settings. This subject will equip students with the knowledge and skills to operationalise their program design skills through best practice approaches to program implementation. Health Program Design & Implementation is a block mode intensive subject. It has a combination of online content which can studied in each student’s own time, combined with live seminars and workshops held on six days across the two week period. Selection of study mode (online or on campus) determines the mode of attending these seminars and workshops. Students are expected to commit approximately 40 hours to learning each week. |
| Global Issues in Indigenous Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject enables students to compare the policy developments involved in politically, legally and constitutionally recognising Indigenous rights and sovereignty in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, with a particular focus on the negotiation of treaties. Starting with a focus on the Victorian experience, students will identify the most pertinent issues that should be considered by the Victorian Government in negotiating a treaty or treaties with Aboriginal peoples. Comparative cases will include the Treaty of Waitangi in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the modern treaty process in Canada, specifically in the province of British Columbia. Students will consider how these treaty processes have hindered and/or facilitated effective policy development and Indigenous governance. With the assistance of public policy academics and practitioners, participants will construct their own case study of citizen-state relationships focusing on debates around rights, sovereignty, decolonisation, self-determination, access to services and economic development and propose some key recommendations for future reforms. |
Gender and Development Specialisation 200 point program
2 year full time / 4 years part time. All students must complete one capstone option.
Students must complete 75 points of compulsory subjects.
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| Development Theories · 12.5 pts |
This subject forms an introduction to the main theories of development and considers key issues in development such as globalisation, development aid, and development in the new post-Cold War context. This subject seeks to foster skills in critical thinking, communication and group work. Students should become adept at synthesising complex theories and ideas and be able to engage in and critically assess a range of contemporary debates in development. |
| Gender Issues in Development · 12.5 pts |
As a fundamental cross-cutting theme in development theory and practice today, gender discourse and practices have gone beyond the exclusive focus on feminist activism in the 1970s. What began as a preoccupation with women's discrimination and disadvantage and the lack of their visibility in development initiatives became a broader concern with the nature of relations between men and women. Drawing on the scholarship in gender studies, development studies, political science, sociology and anthropology, the subject will examine key gender and development concepts and debates through case studies from the developing world. It will cover important themes in the gender and development literature such as power and inequalities, economic development and poverty, work and labour, and marriage and family as well as sexualities, masculinities, childhood, violence, and HIV/AIDS. Various dimensions of difference such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and religion intersect with gender and sexuality to form myriad lived experiences and perspectives. The subject will investigate these themes through an intersectional lens in order to address the complex realities we experience and embody. |
| Development Systems and Interventions · 12.5 pts |
This subject complements the Development Theories compulsory subject, which taken together will give students a strong grounding in both the theories and the practice of development. This subject interprets ‘intervention’ broadly to cover efforts (policies, programmes, projects, activities) that are understood by the actors concerned to be promoting of international and national development. This covers the efforts of the international development industry, but it is also interested in the interventions of national governments in the developing world, the role of emerging donors like China, India and the Gulf states and other agents of development including the private sector and social movements. It aims to show how intervening in development can involve a wide span of activities from the implementing of aid projects, to reforming the civil service, to campaigning for social justice, to improving the tax system. This subject aims to give students an introduction to the complexity and diversity of development settings and interventions and an understanding of why some forms of intervention have been more successful than others. |
| Gender Analysis in Development Practice · 12.5 pts |
This subject will use a decolonial, intersectional feminist approach to address the following core questions: How can development programs redress gender inequalities? What are the challenges in applying an intersectional, decolonial feminist approach to development programs and practice? What are the prospects for the re-politicisation of the ‘gender mainstreaming’ agenda? The subject will offer students the opportunity to undertake a critical and inter-disciplinary review of five decades of gender analysis in development programmes and practice. By undertaking practical scenario exercises and analysing case studies of projects in developing countries, students will learn tools and skills in gender analysis frameworks, gender mainstreaming, gender budgets, care analysis, programming with men and boys, and organising collective action. |
| Rethinking Rights and Global Development · 12.5 pts |
Are human rights universal? Has increased attention to human rights since the 1990s resulted in a neglect of the material conditions of poverty as political and civil rights are prioritised over social and economic rights? Is it useful to think of women having specific rights distinct from those of other humans? Do all women share the same concerns? This subject explores these questions relating to human rights and women’s rights from postcolonial and intersectional feminist perspectives. We analyse how these debates play out in development practice, particularly in ‘rights-based approaches’ to development. We consider different histories of human rights in the activities of the United Nations, in anti-colonial struggles, and in post-colonial demands for a ‘right to development’. We focus particularly on women’s rights in the contexts of sexual and reproductive health, land rights, the right to education, and the rights of sex workers. We also consider the gendered dimensions of struggles for the recognition of the human rights of people of colour, Indigenous peoples, LGBT people and people with disabilities. Throughout this subject, students are encouraged to ask, ‘whose interests do human and women’s rights serve?’ This subject aims to equip students with skills to critically analyse the power relations that underpin human rights discourse and practice. |
| Gender, Globalisation and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the relationships between gender, globalisation and development, illustrated principally through case studies, policy documents, and ethnographic texts. It also draws theoretical perspectives and insights from a number of social science and humanities disciplines as well. On completion of the subject students should have an understanding of problems of writing about gender and difference: debates on modernity, globalisation, and development: gender, colonialism and postcolonialism; gender, politics, and the state; masculinities, femininities and sexualities; gender and labour; gender and development agencies; gender, religion and development; gender, sexuality, rights and transnational migration. |
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| Internship in Development · 25 pts |
Internship in Development is an elective subject available to graduate students in Development and various cognate disciplines and fields of study. This subject aims to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills learnt in class and enhance their understanding of the current approaches to the broad field of development through a structured period of contributing as a temporary staff member in a government, non-government or private corporation inside or outside Australia. Students are able to select a host organisation to further develop their knowledge and skills in their chosen area of interest. The exposure to a different cultural, socio-political or organisational context provides students with vast opportunities to critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice, and the thus the nature of development as they have studied it and as they observe it to be approached or practiced during their internship placement. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete both minor thesis subjects and DEVT90041: Research Methods in Development. Note: the minor thesis requires enrolment over two consecutive semesters.
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| Development Research Design & Assessment · 12.5 pts |
This subject will focus on understanding development research design and a variety of research methods for investigating development problems. The subject will also seek to build skills in assessing the evidence produced from development research, and identifying the strengths/weaknesses and validity of development research designs. The subject will give attention to the challenges of designing and ethically conducting research in developing contexts, and understanding of the various stages of research, particularly in identifying the most appropriate and feasible approaches for data collection and analysis. It will include sessions on qualitative research techniques, and a basic introduction to understanding and collecting quantitative data as well as mixed research methods. Students will gain insights into the debates between different disciplines on methodological approaches, and understanding the politics of knowledge in development research. |
| Gender and Development Thesis Part 1 · 25 pts |
Students enrolled in this subject will undertake a piece of research in Gender and Development approved by the course coordinator. The research will incorporate an analysis of relevant development theory and practice through the gendered lens. Under the close guidance of a dedicated supervisor, students are expected to engage critically and independently with relevant intellectual debates and provide original insights into a particular gender and development phenomenon or issue. In particular, they are required to demonstrate their in-depth understanding of key feminist critiques of development theories and gender analysis skills. On completion of the subject, students will submit a 15,000-word minor thesis on their chosen research topic. |
| Gender and Development Thesis Part 2 · 25 pts |
Refer to GEND90011 Gender and Development Thesis for details. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete these two subjects.
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| Development Project Management & Design · 12.5 pts |
This subject offers an introduction to development project management and design from interdisciplinary and critical perspectives. We begin by understanding the standard project cycle approach to project management. We focus on strategy, vision and mission formulation, as well as problem identification and analysis, objectives analysis, stakeholder analysis, formulation of projects and budgets, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. We will examine how different functions require different forms of program design and planning. Students will be familiarised with the 'Logframe Approach' and 'Theory of Change', which will be contrasted with ‘Learning Process’, 'Strengths Based' and 'Social enterprise' approaches to project design. Students will explore participation and empowerment as methodologies to address gender and other power inequalities specific to disadvantaged groups, and consider the ethics and motivations of field workers. Students will also be introduced to recent critiques of, and debates on, project management and development practice. Case studies of projects in developing countries, practical exercises including a group project, and critically reflective learning will be integral to the syllabus. |
| Monitoring and Evaluation in Development · 12.5 pts |
The importance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the management of projects and programs has been widely recognised within the development sector. Effective M&E acts as an anchor to keep the program moving in the right direction towards the goals and targets set at the planning stage. Historically, M&E was seen exclusively as a tool to make development organisations accountable to donors and conducted by foreign consultants who were largely unfamiliar with the context where development interventions took place. This approach has hampered development agencies’ efforts to obtain the right kind of information for effective M&E and project management. Within the new M&E paradigms emerging since the 1990s, an emphasis is placed on not only accountability but also learning, empowerment and capacity building of local communities. This subject aims to offer comparative insights into different M&E approaches in development as well as to impart practical skills to students so they may develop the technical proficiency in project/program M&E. The subject focuses on development projects and programs rather than policies or public sector management. Practical exercises will be an essential part of the subject. |
Between 62.5 and 100 credit points of elective subjects, depending on the capstone option selected.
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| International Development Infrastructure · 12.5 pts |
This subject is suitable for graduate students seeking to understand the donor or sovereign government driven international development sector of international development and humanitarian work and the considerations and challenges in delivering culturally appropriate sustainable infrastructure outcomes. This subject complements the theory and principles in ABPL90277 Humanitarian Construction and further explores the policy settings, political motivations, contextual and cultural considerations of this specific area of the international development sector. Through in-person class sessions, students will gain an appreciation of current theory, practices and approaches and undertake a series of group activities related to the delivery of infrastructure investment in this part of the international development sector. The subject has been designed to enable students to apply their technical discipline understanding and learnings from prior studies and work experience and to collaborate with interdisciplinary peers. Industry leaders, guest presenters and technical experts will share their experiences and project case studies for students to learn about the industry and to test and challenge their own personal values and perspectives when working in developing countries. The subject will offer built environment and other graduate students an insight into the principles, strategic objectives and priority areas of delivering quality infrastructure to build genuine and respectful partnerships with our international neighbours in the Asia Pacific region. Topics will include how to prepare, plan, program, design and construct sustainable infrastructure in differing cultural contexts as well as how to consider policy, governance, economic, environmental and social factors in order to sensitively manage and implement complex program requirements linked to specific outcomes in a development context. Finally, students will also develop an understanding of potential pathways and employment opportunities in the international development industry. |
| Human Rights in Southeast Asia · 12.5 pts |
This seminar will focus on human rights and its critics from a historical and comparative perspective. We will explore the factors that have given rise to radically different conception of rights and justice (i.e. political, economic, cultural, religious, ideological) and look at their implementation and the obstacles at the local, national, and international levels. What is the relationship and relevance of the international human rights movement to local notions of rights? What impact is this having on local gender relations and the relationships of women to their states and communities? Are human rights NGOs weakening or strengthening the nation-states in Southeast Asia. Are they sites of resistance or complicity? The seminar introduces students to different conceptions of rights, and social justice, including feminist critiques of rights discourse and of 'development', ethnographic studies on the relationship between attitudes towards bodily integrity and human rights, the debates about poverty, economic development and access to adequate health care as human rights. We shall draw upon a wide range of sources from theoretical works, philosophical and anthropological critiques of rights discourse, and NGO documents. On completion of the subject students should have a broad historical, comparative and critical perspective on the debates about rights and justice in Southeast Asia. This subject is usually taught two times a year. It is available either as a semester-long subject taught on the Parkville campus or as an overseas intensive subject in some years. ASIA90001 at the University of Indonesia will be taught intensively on location at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. The subject will consist mainly of seminars held at the Faculty, with some field visits in Jakarta. There is a pre-teaching requirement for this subject, during which time students will be required to access subject materials on the LMS, and attend a pre-departure briefing on campus. |
| Civil Society and Social Change in China · 12.5 pts |
The emergence of civil society and nongovernmental organisations in China reflects the rise of new social and political issues that have proven challenging for the Chinese state to address effectively. This subject examines the conditions under which certain ideas, organisational forms, and associational practices have taken hold as well as the ways they have been contested, transformed, and adapted. It explores various social problems – like the rise of gender inequality, labour rights, LGBT concerns, environmental problems, and others – that civil society organisations in China have sought to tackle and examines the broader context in which civil society actors work. |
| China and the Environment · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides an introduction to the key environmental challenges in contemporary China and to China’s environmental governance. The subject is structured around four topics: water resources, land resources, air pollution, and energy and climate change. For each of these topics lectures and tutorials will analyse impacts, policy and governance arrangements, citizen and NGO involvement, government and media discourse, and international linkages. Students will be introduced to key theoretical debates in China studies, development studies and human geography to help them understand the complexities of China’s environmental challenges. Using the environment as a lens, students will gain an understanding of politics and state-society relations in contemporary China. |
| Contemporary China · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides a broad-based overview of contemporary China, exploring key features of the country's increasingly complex and dynamic society. Topics covered include the economy, environmental challenges, political processes, cultural change, civil society, and China’s engagement with the global community. |
| Violence, Trauma and Reconciliation · 12.5 pts |
Mass violence inflicted by states and groups have a prolonged effect on communities and nations. This subject considers the forms of trauma people experience as a response to these forms of violence and explores how this trauma propels calls for apologies, truth commissions, retribution and torture. The subject employs psychoanalytic theory and practice to consider what it means to be traumatised and what it means to seek remedies from law, and uses examples of cross-cultural lawful practice to interrogate ideas of violence and trauma. Legal practices, apologies and demands for reconciliation will be discussed as methods of responding to the rage, pain and mourning that trauma demands. The course will be divided into 4 sections dealing with – trauma and violence, torture, testimony and reconciliation. In these sections we will look at events in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Australia and Nazi Germany, where legal mechanisms, apologies and vengeance have been utilised as responses to events such as genocide, terrorist acts, hostile occupation, and war. Note – some of the content of this course may be distressing. |
| The Political Ecology of Development · 12.5 pts |
The subject will help students understand human-environment relationships and key development issues using a political ecology perspective, with cases from developing and developed countries. Political ecologists use a variety of approaches to understand complex human-environment problems, and these are applied to concrete situations. We critically analyze a number of development initiatives that are reconstituting human-environment relationships and, in some cases, promoting new forms of ‘environmental governance’. The range of topics covered does change, and some indicative ones are; supporting rural livelihoods; water management; conservation policy; urban environmental governance; the environmental outcomes of corporate misdeeds; global land grabbing; and environmental movements. Through a seminar presentation, reading, and participation, students will learn how different institutions, and the politics surrounding them, impose constraints upon, and present opportunities for, the promotion of sustainable and equitable development. |
| Development Policy: Independent Project · 12.5 pts |
This subject involves the study of selected key issues in the field of development studies. It is intended that the subject will assist students in broadening their understanding of development processes and update their knowledge of current debates amongst development theorists and practitioners. This will be achieved by students taking advantage of subjects and/or lectures offered, or through intensive one-off courses offered by visitors with specialist expertise. |
| Monitoring and Evaluation in Development · 12.5 pts |
The importance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the management of projects and programs has been widely recognised within the development sector. Effective M&E acts as an anchor to keep the program moving in the right direction towards the goals and targets set at the planning stage. Historically, M&E was seen exclusively as a tool to make development organisations accountable to donors and conducted by foreign consultants who were largely unfamiliar with the context where development interventions took place. This approach has hampered development agencies’ efforts to obtain the right kind of information for effective M&E and project management. Within the new M&E paradigms emerging since the 1990s, an emphasis is placed on not only accountability but also learning, empowerment and capacity building of local communities. This subject aims to offer comparative insights into different M&E approaches in development as well as to impart practical skills to students so they may develop the technical proficiency in project/program M&E. The subject focuses on development projects and programs rather than policies or public sector management. Practical exercises will be an essential part of the subject. |
| Civil Society, NGOs and the State · 12.5 pts |
Over the course of the last thirty years, an 'associational revolution' has swept the world, as more and more civil society organisations have taken over tasks formerly assigned to states, formed cross-border advocacy campaigns to hold both states and corporations accountable for labour, environmental, and human rights violations, and formulated alternative development policies that run counter to the paradigms espoused by the World Bank and other multilateral lending organizations. While some argue that this associational revolution promises more participatory, expedient, and decentralized forms of transnational governance, others contend that it reflects little more than the ongoing privatisation of the public sphere at the hands of transnational capital. In this course, we evaluate these and alternative perspectives by exploring transformations in the structure of the global political-economy over the past thirty years; looking closely at the roles played by a variety of NGOs and CBOs as part of more multi-layered regimes of 'global governance'; analysing the shifts in state structures that have made these regimes possible; and teasing apart the ongoing tensions between various factions of what some have called, an emerging 'global civil society'. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. |
| Advocacy in Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject focuses on the practice of advocacy in development. The subject explores how development practitioners can meaningfully contribute to and support grassroots activism and social movements; in areas including gender justice, social inclusion, access to education and healthcare, and environmental justice. We examine the different forms advocacy actions can take, from small local initiatives to improve access to services, to campaigns to influence national and international policy. The subject engages with debates about the roles of local and international actors, and the strengths and limitations of ‘inside vs outside’ (or collaborative vs. confrontational) advocacy in different political and cultural contexts. Students will examine the strengths and limitations of different advocacy strategies and tactics, and consider how these can be combined to influence change. They will be invited to critically reflect on their own roles as advocates and development practitioners. The subject will include case studies from advocacy practice in Australia and internationally, including participatory action research, community arts, civil society networks, and policy influence. Students will select their own case study of an advocacy issue to analyse in their final research essay. |
| Practising Community-led Development · 12.5 pts |
A range of strategies, tools and methods are available to development practitioners who work directly with communities. This subject focusses on the use of those methods, along with the strategies and skills required for effective community-led development practice. It is taught through workshop sessions that encourage a high level of interaction between students as they engage in participatory learning methods and group work. We start with the foundations of community-led development practice, including project governance and decision-making, cross-cultural considerations and the scope and nature of project achievements when viewed from a community perspective. We build on these foundations by examining examples and case studies (including from Aboriginal organisations in Australia) that illustrate ways of working effectively with the community, including partnership building, engagement with government and other stakeholders and ethical considerations in working with communities. We move on to consider how best to communicate about projects to build partnerships and attract support, using the Men's Shed movement in Australia as an example. A central component of the subject is that students will explore and apply in workshop settings a range of key participatory tools and methods. Workshop content will frequently refer to examples from diverse projects and programs. The content of the subject will address specific challenges in community-led in development practice and ways in which practitioners can navigate the complexities of the work they do. |
| Political Economy of Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject considers processes of development through a political economic perspective. The subject begins by considering the historical roots of political economy, and then focuses on key theoretical debates in the field. It then moves on to consider several contemporary development issues, highlighting the ways in which political economic analysis provides new, critical insight. Key topics to be considered include the following: wealth and inequality; feminist and queer critiques; labour and exploitation; political ecology and natural resources; the limitations of social policy; green and carbon economies; surplus and waste; the effects of globalisation and migration; sustainability and diverse economies. By the end of this subject, students should have a clear understanding for what political economic analysis adds to debates over contemporary development. |
| Disaster and Humanitarian Aid · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores emergency relief in crisis situations, including both ‘natural’ disasters and armed conflict (or combinations thereof). We will discuss the dynamics of different kinds of disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, armed conflict and displacement, as well as ‘complex emergencies’ where ‘natural’ disasters intermesh with man-made dynamics. Central to ‘natural’ and man-made disasters is the question of vulnerability and resilience: contrary to what international media images tend to suggest, the first response to disaster is always local, and the resilience of the people affected is determining for longer-term outcomes. But international responses can of course play a major role. The subject will therefore explore: international humanitarian principles, policies, and guidelines; the everyday life of humanitarian work; and the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian aid: how it gets entangled with local political economies; how it gets embroiled in dynamics of conflict; and how it can in fact become part of the problem. We will also examine differences and interlinkages between humanitarian and development interventions, as well as the supposed humanitarian-development ‘continuum’ – the idea that humanitarianism is something that occurs in times of crisis, and that this then gives way to development once the situation is back to ‘normal’. As we will see, disasters are not at all exceptional. They are a normal part of human life; and with the impact of development and climate change, human exposure to disasters is only increasing. Instead of thinking of disasters as unique and exceptional events, shouldn't we be thinking about ‘living with risk’? And, if so, how can that be done? |
| Global Urban Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to investigate global processes of urbanisation, focusing particularly on issues of globalisation, capitalism, inequality, colonialism, informality, migration, gender, and state power. More specifically, this subject seeks to develop critical insight into how urban development (and underdevelopment) is linked through global processes, and how contemporary urban landscapes are produced through broader political economic, historical, socio-cultural, and environmental processes. The subject includes historical context in addition to contemporary case studies, and analysis is focused on cities in both the global South and North. Specific topics to be considered include the following: urban poverty and informality; labour and economic production; segregation and marginalisation; gender and urban development; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerability; urban governance and state power; policing and public security; colonial legacies and race in cities; migration and global climate change. |
| Development and Inequality · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the relationship between development and inequality by taking India as a central example to investigate two inter-related questions: how do different patterns of development shape inequality and how do existing regimes of inequality limit development? Adopting an intersectional approach to inequality and a multi-dimensional approach to development to answer these questions, we analyse the paradox of persistently high rates of poverty and deepening inequalities within an economy that has registered the world’s second-highest economic growth rates for the last two and a half decades. We consider whether the example of India suggests the need to revise existing paradigms of development thinking. We explore how various development strategies in India have ameliorated or exacerbated the disadvantage of women, lower castes, Indigenous peoples and religious minorities. This subject aims to give students an understanding of how and why approaches to development have changed over time (in India and globally) as well as the skills to analyse how different development approaches (including state-led industrialisation, rights-based welfare and a business-friendly political economy) impact poverty and inequality. |
| Migration and Development · 12.5 pts |
Migration is a powerful driver of social change across the contemporary world. This subject explores the key issues and debates at the intersection of migration and development, drawing on conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work in economics, development studies, gender studies, human geography, anthropology, sociology, demography, and political science. Through class debates and practical exercises, students will engage critically with the conceptual models and theoretical frameworks used to analyse migration and its impacts on development. Core concepts - including transnationalism, neoliberalism, forced migration, global care chains, governmentality, and global householding - will be examined and critiqued. The subject also considers the economic, social, and cultural implications of migration for development processes at both micro and macro levels, assessing its relationship to broader debates on globalisation, poverty, gender, and social change. |
| Development in Latin America · 12.5 pts |
This subject aims to provide a critical overview of ‘Development’ in Latin America. It seeks to engage critical perspectives concerning uneven development, processes of inequality and marginalisation, and patterns of globalisation in Latin America. By grounding theoretical arguments in contemporary empirical contexts (i.e., countries in Latin America), the subject attempts to make sense of current development issues in Latin America. Topics to be explored include the following: histories of development and postcolonial critiques; theories of development from Latin American scholars; urbanisation, poverty, and informality; gender and development; post-development critiques in Latin America; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerabilities; identity, race, and indigeneity; contemporary governance and state power in development initiatives. |
| Social Policy and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject investigates the linkages between social policy and development within lower-middle income countries. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas (UMOS) Subject in Indonesia, with a special focus on social policy in Indonesia. By learning 'in-country', the subject draws from the experience of Indonesia to understand the roles played by different actors (government, civil society organisations, international organisations, the private sector, and communities) in responding to complex social policy issues related to poverty, welfare and wellbeing. This includes considerations of environmental change; access to livelihoods, employment, health and education opportunities; and the ways that challenges and opportunities may vary for different social and identity groupings. The subject examines examples of multi-stakeholder approaches to responding to complex social policy challenges in large states like Indonesia, often through collaboration and innovation. The subject also explores debates on the relationship between social and economic development and the implications for social policy in multi-level and decentralised governance structures. Students learn from their experience examining these issues in Indonesia during the teaching period and apply this in their first assessment. The broader readings for the subject also examine similar social policy issues in other countries in the Asia Pacific. Students then use both their Indonesia experience and broader learning from the reading and their own research to investigate similar social policy challenges and responses in other country contexts in the Asia-Pacific for their second assessment. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas Subject in Indonesia with our partner institution the University of Gadjah Mada. The subject will involve Masters students from both Melbourne and Masters students and staff from our Indonesian partner university. This provides an exciting opportunity for students from each University to learn with and from each other to gain deeper knowledge on tackling inequalities and understanding real-world development challenges and responses through social policy in lower-middle income countries. The subject also uses teaching mediums that connects students with experts in the field in Indonesia. There is a quota for this subject. For further information and to apply: https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/students/overseas-experience#graduate-subjects. |
| Contested Development and Culture · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores development epistemes and practices and how they reflect cultural frames, concerns with different ways of seeing and organising the world, and, how they come into conflict and dialogue. It explores how development is situated within different cultural, economic and political contexts and reflects contested views and perspectives. The subject draws together examples of different ways of thinking and approaching development, the impacts of development and where culture and conflict are situated in the visions and ideologues of societal transformation, progress and modernity. We consider how new and alternative approaches emerge, tensions between local-global agenda setting and how they are built on or might lead to contestation and debate through case studies and illustrative material from Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and explore themes such as localisation, decolonisation, gender, equity, justice and inclusive and sustainable development. |
| Conflict, Security and Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to provide a grounding in analytical approaches to the political economy of conflict, security and development. To achieve this aim, we draw on the notion of the 'continuum of violence’ to show how differing forms of violence are connected in complex ways throughout the various processes of development. The subject examines the foundational theories of conflict and violence, including gender perspectives, debates about the origins of human violence, and the role of violence in historical change. Against this background, we explore a range of competing theories and claims in development theory to trace ways assumptions have influenced ideas regarding the causes and dynamics of conflict . Further, the subject looks critically at contemporary efforts to address insecurity and conflict through conflict mediation, ‘state building’, and post conflict stabilization/reconstruction. We also examine empirical trends in relation to conflict, and the varied responses, to areas that include insecurity/violent conflict; the difficulties of data collection; and the importance of categorization and boundaries to matters of conflict and development. |
| Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation · 12.5 pts |
This subject develops the skills to understand and assess the social impacts of development, including international development projects, resource management, and proposed infrastructure or new policies. We do this in two ways: by looking at how to assess the impacts of proposed projects, and through evaluation techniques for existing developments or projects. In each case we develop practical skills and interdisciplinary techniques to appraise and evaluate impacts. These techniques draw from anthropology, development studies, and the policy sciences, and move beyond simple summative assessments and financial accounting. We consider the social and environmental contexts in which any form of appraisal is embedded, and the capacities of different actors (from the state to NGOs and community groups) to avert or mitigate negative impacts through learning, negotiation, and citizen participation. Examples, some presented by guest speakers, are drawn from Australia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. At the completion of the subject students will have developed the conceptual skills to understand the impacts of development; be familiar with the range of methodologies and techniques used in impact assessment; understand development evaluation; and will be able to apply this in critical evaluation of the impact of projects and programmes. |
| Environmental Politics and Policy · 12.5 pts |
This subject engages with critical concepts and issues related to environmental politics and policy. Special attention is paid to the political dimensions of policy development and implementation, with reference to national and international domains. Students will be introduced to relevant theories, cases, and tools for policy makers and environmental activists. Students will consider a variety of case studies including climate change, ozone depletion, water management, land conflict, forest preservation, waste and 'sustainability planning'. Case studies will be drawn from Australia, Southeast Asia, and other global contexts. The subject is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Students will gain a practical understanding of issues confronting policymakers and other political actors in relation to a range of environment problems and solutions. |
| The Politics of Food · 12.5 pts |
Formerly FOOD90026 This subject examines the politics of the global food system, and will focus on the policies, structures, power relations and political debates surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of food. The impacts of food production and consumption on food security, health, the environment, animal welfare, and the livelihoods of producers, will be critically explored. Key theoretical frameworks and concepts for understanding the dominant paradigms and dynamics of the food system will be discussed and evaluated. Integrated policies and strategies for creating more sustainable and equitable food systems, and alternative paradigms and practices of production, distribution and consumption, will also be critically examined. This subject will primarily draw on theories and methodologies from the sociology and politics of food and agriculture, food policy, and the political economy and political ecology of food. The topics and debates covered include:
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| Digital Politics · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the complex relationship between digital media and politics, broadly defined to include a range of political processes, roles and responsibilities. Using timely political case studies, students will analyse the different mechanisms by which these two systems influence each. They will learn to read the different affordances of digital media and assess how the logical operation of these tools preferences certain types of politics over others. Students will develop a critical understanding of how digital media is changing political communication, preparing themselves for careers in politics, advocacy, campaigning and journalism. Topics will include: the political transparency of software; the relationship between politics, social media companies and the press; how to campaign and how to effect political change through digital communication. |
| Social Enterprise Incubator · 12.5 pts |
This experiential learning subject introduces students to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, while equipping students with a practical understanding of social enterprise as a model to tackle social and/or environmental problems through trade. Working in small teams, students are introduced to a range of design thinking and social innovation frameworks. They draw on these frameworks to iteratively conceptualise, ‘pitch’, refine and develop a social enterprise ‘business model’ that appropriately responds to the needs of communities and society. To nurture and support development of ideas, the subject draws on real-world case studies as well as industry guests from the social enterprise ecosystem including social entrepreneurs, people with ‘lived-experience’, social finance and impact investment intermediaries, incubators and accelerators and leading scholars and thinkers in the field. Upon completing this subject, students will develop a critical understanding of the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship and how to develop a ‘business model’ for financially sustainable social impact. By doing so, the subject also offers a unique opportunity for students to apply conceptual knowledge and project management and business skills to real-world social and/or environmental challenges. |
| Communities and Ecosystem Management · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the ways people know and interact with nature in the context of ecosystem management. Through a series of local and global case studies, students will critically reflect on real world examples, grounded in ideas and theories drawn from social sciences. By exploring dimensions of power, knowledge, and values, students will analyse the ways in which communities participate, drive, and determine what healthy ecosystems mean. Tensions between government, corporate and community aspirations will be drawn out through the case study examples. This subject has a particular emphasis on Indigenous knowledges, self-determination and conceptualisations of Country. The field trip will provide students an opportunity to hear from communities directly about their connections to, and applications of caring for Country. Students will gain insights into different nature framings and perspectives. |
| Trade Policy Politics & Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the politics and governance of international trade. It explores the domestic and international dimensions of trade policy-making and the growing complexity of the "trade agenda" in national and international politics. It examines theories of trade and protection and theories of trade policy-making. It examines the evolution of the multilateral trade system since World War Two and the contemporary and future challenges that confront the system. The subject examines some of the perennial problems in the governance of the global trade system, as well as new issues and concerns, such as trade and the environment, trade and development, and agenda-setting and decision-making in the WTO. Finally, the subject explores the emergence of regional trade blocs and "free trade agreements" and their consequences for the multilateral trade system. |
| Politics and Business in post-Mao China · 12.5 pts |
Over the past two decades, the role of the Chinese state in the country's economic development has changed considerably. The state planning agencies no longer decide what and how much should the country's enterprises produce. Many of the old and inefficient state-owned enterprises have been transformed into market-driven businesses. Some of these companies (still state-controlled) have become global players in sectors such as oil and gas. The so-called non-state companies also occupy an important place in the country's economy. Ideology is no longer an important factor in decision-making and capitalists are welcome to join the communist party. This course will examine the relationship between the growing power of business and the political process in China. We"ll look at how the emergent class of professional managers and entrepreneurs attempts to convert its economic status into political advantage. A number of theoretical frameworks will be used to explore this relationship, including neo-traditionalism/clientelism, democratisation (civil society) and state corporatism. Students will also be encouraged to compare China's experience with that of other transitional societies. |
| International Organisations · 12.5 pts |
This subject is about the role of international organisations in global politics and governance. States have established these formal institutions to better cooperate in addressing global economic, environmental, and security problems, but there is considerable debate in international relations scholarship about their efficacy. In this subject, we will critically assess the world’s foremost international organisations, notably the United Nations and its many specialised agencies, international financial institutions including the World Bank and World Trade Organization, and regional organisations, such as the European Union and NATO. We will ask: to what extent do these organisations only reflect the interests of powerful member states? To what extent can they address global inequality and empower marginalised peoples? Do they enable or constrain efforts toward a more sustainable world? These questions and others will lead us to a better understanding of the factors that shape these organisations, the ways in which they operate, and the impact they have in global politics. |
| Asia-Pacific: Zone of Conflict or Peace? · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines important issues in international relations in the Asia Pacific, drawing on theory and evidence about domestic and international politics. The topics for study normally include the China-US-Japan triangle, the Taiwan and Korean conflicts, the international context of conflicts relating to Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific, and Australian engagement in the Asia-Pacific. |
| Disability in Policy and Practice · 12.5 pts |
Disability inclusion is now a global health and development priority. This includes translating 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal commitments to disability inclusion, and leaving no one behind, into practice. Without disability inclusion we cannot end poverty for all and achieve universal health coverage. Ensuring the inclusion of people with disability in health and development processes, systems, and programs is increasingly required under law in both lower and higher income settings. An understanding of disability inclusive policy and practice is becoming essential knowledge for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. An estimated 16% of the world’s population has a disability, with 80% of people with disability living in resource poor contexts. People with disability are systematically excluded from social, economic, and political participation. In turn, people with disability are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer health outcomes, lower education attainment, and be negatively impacted by climate risk than people without disability. In this short course, you will learn to critically analyse the factors that contribute to these inequities and develop strategies for improving policy and practice. Drawing on practitioner experience, including from people with disability themselves, this course will provide you with a foundation for critically considering issues of equity, representation, intersectionality, and meaningful participation. We will draw on real world examples from multiple sectors, including health, employment, education, and disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response. If you are working, or considering working, in global health and development, including in government, non-government, or United Nations agencies, this subject provides an essential foundation. This course can be taken by students in postgraduate courses, including public health, development studies, and social studies, or through the University of Melbourne Community Access Program (CAP). |
| Primary Health Care, Jamkhed, India · 12.5 pts |
The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India has won global acclaim and provided inspiration for the seminal Declaration of Alma Ata (1978). It remains one of the world’s most influential and innovative comprehensive community health and development programs. In this 3 week residential subject, students will learn about the Jamkhed Model while living in the resource-poor context of central Maharashtra, India. Students will engage with and critically analyse the Jamkhed approach to community health and development via: field visits to villages and project sites; seminars and discussions with project staff, lay volunteers, local health and development professionals and researchers; and interactive observations and teaching with university staff. Students of this subject will gain a thorough understanding of the context and history of comprehensive primary health care as a movement, and its applications within the Indian context. Students will acquire detailed knowledge of how the CRHP has applied a community-based, integrated multi-sectoral action, utilising a deep understanding of local culture and needs to address a wide range of issues. These include mortality and morbidity, poverty, gender inequity, and water and sanitation. Students will learn how to apply these principles in the design of programs seeking to address a variety of global health problems and contexts. Enrolment in this subject requires direct application to The Nossal Institute for Global Health, please proceed to the Nossal Institute website for further information and access to online application at https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/nossal-institute-for-global-health/study/PHC-Jamkhed/ |
| Health Program Design & Implementation · 12.5 pts |
An increasing global focus on program effectiveness and efficiency has brought renewed attention to the role of evidence in designing and implementing health programs. Students of this subject will engage with the discipline of implementation science, and will investigate a range of current theories and approaches to program design, including: Theory of Change; program logic models; logical frameworks; complexity theory; behaviour change theories; emergent design; participatory/co-design approaches; and approaches to scale-up. Facilitated by experts with applied field experience in program design and implementation in Australia and other global contexts, students will learn via practical, staged exercises to draft strategic program plans. A range of case studies on current health challenges and interventions will build students’ knowledge and skills in evidence-based health program design and implementation. Cross-cutting issues in program design will also be considered and applied to case studies, particularly the issues of participation and inclusion. Students will be asked to consider evidence requirements and real-world compromises in programmatic research and planning within Australian and other global settings. This subject will equip students with the knowledge and skills to operationalise their program design skills through best practice approaches to program implementation. Health Program Design & Implementation is a block mode intensive subject. It has a combination of online content which can studied in each student’s own time, combined with live seminars and workshops held on six days across the two week period. Selection of study mode (online or on campus) determines the mode of attending these seminars and workshops. Students are expected to commit approximately 40 hours to learning each week. |
| Pandemic Preparedness and Response · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response from a multidisciplinary perspective using frameworks and developing skills that are often transferrable to other large-scale health emergencies. Focusing on varied pandemic examples, including but not limited to: SARS, MERS, Zika, Rabies, Swine and Avian Influenza, Ebola, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, the subject provides students with a multi-sectoral framework through which to appraise a range of prevention, preparedness, and response efforts across diverse country contexts. Students will learn how to conceptualise effective pandemic preventions, preparedness, and response efforts as stemming from the intersection of global systems including human and animal health, political, economic, cultural, and environmental systems. A wide range of pandemic and country case studies are presented, with particular attention to equity and inclusion in terms of the diverse and specific needs of, and impacts on, varied populations. The subject emphasises lessons learnt that can be translated into future and ongoing pandemic and other health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response efforts, as well as highlighting key unresolved issues which need attention. This dual-delivery subject will be delivered by a multidisciplinary team of experts from Australia and around the world. Topics covered include multi-sectoral preparedness efforts; One Health, climate change and pandemics; outbreak risk assessment and surveillance; health system resilience and surge capacity; maintaining essential health services; communication for health emergencies and pandemics; community engagement; non-pharmaceutical interventions; dimensions of equity and vulnerability in pandemics; technological advancements and emerging paradigms post COVID; and the politics and economics of pandemics. |
150 point program
1.5 years full time / 3 years part time. All students must complete one capstone option.
Students must complete 50 points of compulsory subjects.
| Accordion | |
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| Development Theories · 12.5 pts |
This subject forms an introduction to the main theories of development and considers key issues in development such as globalisation, development aid, and development in the new post-Cold War context. This subject seeks to foster skills in critical thinking, communication and group work. Students should become adept at synthesising complex theories and ideas and be able to engage in and critically assess a range of contemporary debates in development. |
| Development Systems and Interventions · 12.5 pts |
This subject complements the Development Theories compulsory subject, which taken together will give students a strong grounding in both the theories and the practice of development. This subject interprets ‘intervention’ broadly to cover efforts (policies, programmes, projects, activities) that are understood by the actors concerned to be promoting of international and national development. This covers the efforts of the international development industry, but it is also interested in the interventions of national governments in the developing world, the role of emerging donors like China, India and the Gulf states and other agents of development including the private sector and social movements. It aims to show how intervening in development can involve a wide span of activities from the implementing of aid projects, to reforming the civil service, to campaigning for social justice, to improving the tax system. This subject aims to give students an introduction to the complexity and diversity of development settings and interventions and an understanding of why some forms of intervention have been more successful than others. |
| Gender Issues in Development · 12.5 pts |
As a fundamental cross-cutting theme in development theory and practice today, gender discourse and practices have gone beyond the exclusive focus on feminist activism in the 1970s. What began as a preoccupation with women's discrimination and disadvantage and the lack of their visibility in development initiatives became a broader concern with the nature of relations between men and women. Drawing on the scholarship in gender studies, development studies, political science, sociology and anthropology, the subject will examine key gender and development concepts and debates through case studies from the developing world. It will cover important themes in the gender and development literature such as power and inequalities, economic development and poverty, work and labour, and marriage and family as well as sexualities, masculinities, childhood, violence, and HIV/AIDS. Various dimensions of difference such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and religion intersect with gender and sexuality to form myriad lived experiences and perspectives. The subject will investigate these themes through an intersectional lens in order to address the complex realities we experience and embody. |
| Political Economy of Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject considers processes of development through a political economic perspective. The subject begins by considering the historical roots of political economy, and then focuses on key theoretical debates in the field. It then moves on to consider several contemporary development issues, highlighting the ways in which political economic analysis provides new, critical insight. Key topics to be considered include the following: wealth and inequality; feminist and queer critiques; labour and exploitation; political ecology and natural resources; the limitations of social policy; green and carbon economies; surplus and waste; the effects of globalisation and migration; sustainability and diverse economies. By the end of this subject, students should have a clear understanding for what political economic analysis adds to debates over contemporary development. |
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| Accordion | |
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| Internship in Development · 25 pts |
Internship in Development is an elective subject available to graduate students in Development and various cognate disciplines and fields of study. This subject aims to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills learnt in class and enhance their understanding of the current approaches to the broad field of development through a structured period of contributing as a temporary staff member in a government, non-government or private corporation inside or outside Australia. Students are able to select a host organisation to further develop their knowledge and skills in their chosen area of interest. The exposure to a different cultural, socio-political or organisational context provides students with vast opportunities to critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice, and the thus the nature of development as they have studied it and as they observe it to be approached or practiced during their internship placement. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete both minor thesis subjects and DEVT90041: Research Methods in Development. Note: the minor thesis requires enrolment over two consecutive semesters.
| Accordion | |
|---|---|
| Development Research Design & Assessment · 12.5 pts |
This subject will focus on understanding development research design and a variety of research methods for investigating development problems. The subject will also seek to build skills in assessing the evidence produced from development research, and identifying the strengths/weaknesses and validity of development research designs. The subject will give attention to the challenges of designing and ethically conducting research in developing contexts, and understanding of the various stages of research, particularly in identifying the most appropriate and feasible approaches for data collection and analysis. It will include sessions on qualitative research techniques, and a basic introduction to understanding and collecting quantitative data as well as mixed research methods. Students will gain insights into the debates between different disciplines on methodological approaches, and understanding the politics of knowledge in development research. |
| Development Studies Thesis Part 2 · 25 pts |
Refer to DEVT90054 Development Studies Thesis Part 1 for more details. |
| Development Studies Thesis Part 1 · 25 pts |
Students enrolled in this subject will undertake a piece of research in Development Studies approved by the course coordinator. The research will incorporate an analysis of relevant development theory and practice. Under the close guidance of a dedicated supervisor, students are expected to engage critically and independently with relevant intellectual debates and provide original insights into a particular social phenomenon or development issue. On completion of the subject, students will submit a 15,000-word minor thesis on their chosen research topic. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete these two subjects.
| Accordion | |
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| Development Project Management & Design · 12.5 pts |
This subject offers an introduction to development project management and design from interdisciplinary and critical perspectives. We begin by understanding the standard project cycle approach to project management. We focus on strategy, vision and mission formulation, as well as problem identification and analysis, objectives analysis, stakeholder analysis, formulation of projects and budgets, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. We will examine how different functions require different forms of program design and planning. Students will be familiarised with the 'Logframe Approach' and 'Theory of Change', which will be contrasted with ‘Learning Process’, 'Strengths Based' and 'Social enterprise' approaches to project design. Students will explore participation and empowerment as methodologies to address gender and other power inequalities specific to disadvantaged groups, and consider the ethics and motivations of field workers. Students will also be introduced to recent critiques of, and debates on, project management and development practice. Case studies of projects in developing countries, practical exercises including a group project, and critically reflective learning will be integral to the syllabus. |
| Monitoring and Evaluation in Development · 12.5 pts |
The importance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the management of projects and programs has been widely recognised within the development sector. Effective M&E acts as an anchor to keep the program moving in the right direction towards the goals and targets set at the planning stage. Historically, M&E was seen exclusively as a tool to make development organisations accountable to donors and conducted by foreign consultants who were largely unfamiliar with the context where development interventions took place. This approach has hampered development agencies’ efforts to obtain the right kind of information for effective M&E and project management. Within the new M&E paradigms emerging since the 1990s, an emphasis is placed on not only accountability but also learning, empowerment and capacity building of local communities. This subject aims to offer comparative insights into different M&E approaches in development as well as to impart practical skills to students so they may develop the technical proficiency in project/program M&E. The subject focuses on development projects and programs rather than policies or public sector management. Practical exercises will be an essential part of the subject. |
Between 37.5 and 75 credit points of elective subjects, depending on the capstone option selected.
| Accordion | |
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| International Development Infrastructure · 12.5 pts |
This subject is suitable for graduate students seeking to understand the donor or sovereign government driven international development sector of international development and humanitarian work and the considerations and challenges in delivering culturally appropriate sustainable infrastructure outcomes. This subject complements the theory and principles in ABPL90277 Humanitarian Construction and further explores the policy settings, political motivations, contextual and cultural considerations of this specific area of the international development sector. Through in-person class sessions, students will gain an appreciation of current theory, practices and approaches and undertake a series of group activities related to the delivery of infrastructure investment in this part of the international development sector. The subject has been designed to enable students to apply their technical discipline understanding and learnings from prior studies and work experience and to collaborate with interdisciplinary peers. Industry leaders, guest presenters and technical experts will share their experiences and project case studies for students to learn about the industry and to test and challenge their own personal values and perspectives when working in developing countries. The subject will offer built environment and other graduate students an insight into the principles, strategic objectives and priority areas of delivering quality infrastructure to build genuine and respectful partnerships with our international neighbours in the Asia Pacific region. Topics will include how to prepare, plan, program, design and construct sustainable infrastructure in differing cultural contexts as well as how to consider policy, governance, economic, environmental and social factors in order to sensitively manage and implement complex program requirements linked to specific outcomes in a development context. Finally, students will also develop an understanding of potential pathways and employment opportunities in the international development industry. |
| Human Rights in Southeast Asia · 12.5 pts |
This seminar will focus on human rights and its critics from a historical and comparative perspective. We will explore the factors that have given rise to radically different conception of rights and justice (i.e. political, economic, cultural, religious, ideological) and look at their implementation and the obstacles at the local, national, and international levels. What is the relationship and relevance of the international human rights movement to local notions of rights? What impact is this having on local gender relations and the relationships of women to their states and communities? Are human rights NGOs weakening or strengthening the nation-states in Southeast Asia. Are they sites of resistance or complicity? The seminar introduces students to different conceptions of rights, and social justice, including feminist critiques of rights discourse and of 'development', ethnographic studies on the relationship between attitudes towards bodily integrity and human rights, the debates about poverty, economic development and access to adequate health care as human rights. We shall draw upon a wide range of sources from theoretical works, philosophical and anthropological critiques of rights discourse, and NGO documents. On completion of the subject students should have a broad historical, comparative and critical perspective on the debates about rights and justice in Southeast Asia. This subject is usually taught two times a year. It is available either as a semester-long subject taught on the Parkville campus or as an overseas intensive subject in some years. ASIA90001 at the University of Indonesia will be taught intensively on location at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. The subject will consist mainly of seminars held at the Faculty, with some field visits in Jakarta. There is a pre-teaching requirement for this subject, during which time students will be required to access subject materials on the LMS, and attend a pre-departure briefing on campus. |
| Civil Society and Social Change in China · 12.5 pts |
The emergence of civil society and nongovernmental organisations in China reflects the rise of new social and political issues that have proven challenging for the Chinese state to address effectively. This subject examines the conditions under which certain ideas, organisational forms, and associational practices have taken hold as well as the ways they have been contested, transformed, and adapted. It explores various social problems – like the rise of gender inequality, labour rights, LGBT concerns, environmental problems, and others – that civil society organisations in China have sought to tackle and examines the broader context in which civil society actors work. |
| China and the Environment · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides an introduction to the key environmental challenges in contemporary China and to China’s environmental governance. The subject is structured around four topics: water resources, land resources, air pollution, and energy and climate change. For each of these topics lectures and tutorials will analyse impacts, policy and governance arrangements, citizen and NGO involvement, government and media discourse, and international linkages. Students will be introduced to key theoretical debates in China studies, development studies and human geography to help them understand the complexities of China’s environmental challenges. Using the environment as a lens, students will gain an understanding of politics and state-society relations in contemporary China. |
| Contemporary China · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides a broad-based overview of contemporary China, exploring key features of the country's increasingly complex and dynamic society. Topics covered include the economy, environmental challenges, political processes, cultural change, civil society, and China’s engagement with the global community. |
| The Political Ecology of Development · 12.5 pts |
The subject will help students understand human-environment relationships and key development issues using a political ecology perspective, with cases from developing and developed countries. Political ecologists use a variety of approaches to understand complex human-environment problems, and these are applied to concrete situations. We critically analyze a number of development initiatives that are reconstituting human-environment relationships and, in some cases, promoting new forms of ‘environmental governance’. The range of topics covered does change, and some indicative ones are; supporting rural livelihoods; water management; conservation policy; urban environmental governance; the environmental outcomes of corporate misdeeds; global land grabbing; and environmental movements. Through a seminar presentation, reading, and participation, students will learn how different institutions, and the politics surrounding them, impose constraints upon, and present opportunities for, the promotion of sustainable and equitable development. |
| Development Policy: Independent Project · 12.5 pts |
This subject involves the study of selected key issues in the field of development studies. It is intended that the subject will assist students in broadening their understanding of development processes and update their knowledge of current debates amongst development theorists and practitioners. This will be achieved by students taking advantage of subjects and/or lectures offered, or through intensive one-off courses offered by visitors with specialist expertise. |
| Civil Society, NGOs and the State · 12.5 pts |
Over the course of the last thirty years, an 'associational revolution' has swept the world, as more and more civil society organisations have taken over tasks formerly assigned to states, formed cross-border advocacy campaigns to hold both states and corporations accountable for labour, environmental, and human rights violations, and formulated alternative development policies that run counter to the paradigms espoused by the World Bank and other multilateral lending organizations. While some argue that this associational revolution promises more participatory, expedient, and decentralized forms of transnational governance, others contend that it reflects little more than the ongoing privatisation of the public sphere at the hands of transnational capital. In this course, we evaluate these and alternative perspectives by exploring transformations in the structure of the global political-economy over the past thirty years; looking closely at the roles played by a variety of NGOs and CBOs as part of more multi-layered regimes of 'global governance'; analysing the shifts in state structures that have made these regimes possible; and teasing apart the ongoing tensions between various factions of what some have called, an emerging 'global civil society'. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. |
| Advocacy in Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject focuses on the practice of advocacy in development. The subject explores how development practitioners can meaningfully contribute to and support grassroots activism and social movements; in areas including gender justice, social inclusion, access to education and healthcare, and environmental justice. We examine the different forms advocacy actions can take, from small local initiatives to improve access to services, to campaigns to influence national and international policy. The subject engages with debates about the roles of local and international actors, and the strengths and limitations of ‘inside vs outside’ (or collaborative vs. confrontational) advocacy in different political and cultural contexts. Students will examine the strengths and limitations of different advocacy strategies and tactics, and consider how these can be combined to influence change. They will be invited to critically reflect on their own roles as advocates and development practitioners. The subject will include case studies from advocacy practice in Australia and internationally, including participatory action research, community arts, civil society networks, and policy influence. Students will select their own case study of an advocacy issue to analyse in their final research essay. |
| Practising Community-led Development · 12.5 pts |
A range of strategies, tools and methods are available to development practitioners who work directly with communities. This subject focusses on the use of those methods, along with the strategies and skills required for effective community-led development practice. It is taught through workshop sessions that encourage a high level of interaction between students as they engage in participatory learning methods and group work. We start with the foundations of community-led development practice, including project governance and decision-making, cross-cultural considerations and the scope and nature of project achievements when viewed from a community perspective. We build on these foundations by examining examples and case studies (including from Aboriginal organisations in Australia) that illustrate ways of working effectively with the community, including partnership building, engagement with government and other stakeholders and ethical considerations in working with communities. We move on to consider how best to communicate about projects to build partnerships and attract support, using the Men's Shed movement in Australia as an example. A central component of the subject is that students will explore and apply in workshop settings a range of key participatory tools and methods. Workshop content will frequently refer to examples from diverse projects and programs. The content of the subject will address specific challenges in community-led in development practice and ways in which practitioners can navigate the complexities of the work they do. |
| Political Economy of Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject considers processes of development through a political economic perspective. The subject begins by considering the historical roots of political economy, and then focuses on key theoretical debates in the field. It then moves on to consider several contemporary development issues, highlighting the ways in which political economic analysis provides new, critical insight. Key topics to be considered include the following: wealth and inequality; feminist and queer critiques; labour and exploitation; political ecology and natural resources; the limitations of social policy; green and carbon economies; surplus and waste; the effects of globalisation and migration; sustainability and diverse economies. By the end of this subject, students should have a clear understanding for what political economic analysis adds to debates over contemporary development. |
| Disaster and Humanitarian Aid · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores emergency relief in crisis situations, including both ‘natural’ disasters and armed conflict (or combinations thereof). We will discuss the dynamics of different kinds of disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, armed conflict and displacement, as well as ‘complex emergencies’ where ‘natural’ disasters intermesh with man-made dynamics. Central to ‘natural’ and man-made disasters is the question of vulnerability and resilience: contrary to what international media images tend to suggest, the first response to disaster is always local, and the resilience of the people affected is determining for longer-term outcomes. But international responses can of course play a major role. The subject will therefore explore: international humanitarian principles, policies, and guidelines; the everyday life of humanitarian work; and the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian aid: how it gets entangled with local political economies; how it gets embroiled in dynamics of conflict; and how it can in fact become part of the problem. We will also examine differences and interlinkages between humanitarian and development interventions, as well as the supposed humanitarian-development ‘continuum’ – the idea that humanitarianism is something that occurs in times of crisis, and that this then gives way to development once the situation is back to ‘normal’. As we will see, disasters are not at all exceptional. They are a normal part of human life; and with the impact of development and climate change, human exposure to disasters is only increasing. Instead of thinking of disasters as unique and exceptional events, shouldn't we be thinking about ‘living with risk’? And, if so, how can that be done? |
| Global Urban Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to investigate global processes of urbanisation, focusing particularly on issues of globalisation, capitalism, inequality, colonialism, informality, migration, gender, and state power. More specifically, this subject seeks to develop critical insight into how urban development (and underdevelopment) is linked through global processes, and how contemporary urban landscapes are produced through broader political economic, historical, socio-cultural, and environmental processes. The subject includes historical context in addition to contemporary case studies, and analysis is focused on cities in both the global South and North. Specific topics to be considered include the following: urban poverty and informality; labour and economic production; segregation and marginalisation; gender and urban development; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerability; urban governance and state power; policing and public security; colonial legacies and race in cities; migration and global climate change. |
| Development and Inequality · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the relationship between development and inequality by taking India as a central example to investigate two inter-related questions: how do different patterns of development shape inequality and how do existing regimes of inequality limit development? Adopting an intersectional approach to inequality and a multi-dimensional approach to development to answer these questions, we analyse the paradox of persistently high rates of poverty and deepening inequalities within an economy that has registered the world’s second-highest economic growth rates for the last two and a half decades. We consider whether the example of India suggests the need to revise existing paradigms of development thinking. We explore how various development strategies in India have ameliorated or exacerbated the disadvantage of women, lower castes, Indigenous peoples and religious minorities. This subject aims to give students an understanding of how and why approaches to development have changed over time (in India and globally) as well as the skills to analyse how different development approaches (including state-led industrialisation, rights-based welfare and a business-friendly political economy) impact poverty and inequality. |
| Migration and Development · 12.5 pts |
Migration is a powerful driver of social change across the contemporary world. This subject explores the key issues and debates at the intersection of migration and development, drawing on conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work in economics, development studies, gender studies, human geography, anthropology, sociology, demography, and political science. Through class debates and practical exercises, students will engage critically with the conceptual models and theoretical frameworks used to analyse migration and its impacts on development. Core concepts - including transnationalism, neoliberalism, forced migration, global care chains, governmentality, and global householding - will be examined and critiqued. The subject also considers the economic, social, and cultural implications of migration for development processes at both micro and macro levels, assessing its relationship to broader debates on globalisation, poverty, gender, and social change. |
| Development in Latin America · 12.5 pts |
This subject aims to provide a critical overview of ‘Development’ in Latin America. It seeks to engage critical perspectives concerning uneven development, processes of inequality and marginalisation, and patterns of globalisation in Latin America. By grounding theoretical arguments in contemporary empirical contexts (i.e., countries in Latin America), the subject attempts to make sense of current development issues in Latin America. Topics to be explored include the following: histories of development and postcolonial critiques; theories of development from Latin American scholars; urbanisation, poverty, and informality; gender and development; post-development critiques in Latin America; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerabilities; identity, race, and indigeneity; contemporary governance and state power in development initiatives. |
| Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation · 12.5 pts |
This subject develops the skills to understand and assess the social impacts of development, including international development projects, resource management, and proposed infrastructure or new policies. We do this in two ways: by looking at how to assess the impacts of proposed projects, and through evaluation techniques for existing developments or projects. In each case we develop practical skills and interdisciplinary techniques to appraise and evaluate impacts. These techniques draw from anthropology, development studies, and the policy sciences, and move beyond simple summative assessments and financial accounting. We consider the social and environmental contexts in which any form of appraisal is embedded, and the capacities of different actors (from the state to NGOs and community groups) to avert or mitigate negative impacts through learning, negotiation, and citizen participation. Examples, some presented by guest speakers, are drawn from Australia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. At the completion of the subject students will have developed the conceptual skills to understand the impacts of development; be familiar with the range of methodologies and techniques used in impact assessment; understand development evaluation; and will be able to apply this in critical evaluation of the impact of projects and programmes. |
| Environmental Politics and Policy · 12.5 pts |
This subject engages with critical concepts and issues related to environmental politics and policy. Special attention is paid to the political dimensions of policy development and implementation, with reference to national and international domains. Students will be introduced to relevant theories, cases, and tools for policy makers and environmental activists. Students will consider a variety of case studies including climate change, ozone depletion, water management, land conflict, forest preservation, waste and 'sustainability planning'. Case studies will be drawn from Australia, Southeast Asia, and other global contexts. The subject is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Students will gain a practical understanding of issues confronting policymakers and other political actors in relation to a range of environment problems and solutions. |
| The Politics of Food · 12.5 pts |
Formerly FOOD90026 This subject examines the politics of the global food system, and will focus on the policies, structures, power relations and political debates surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of food. The impacts of food production and consumption on food security, health, the environment, animal welfare, and the livelihoods of producers, will be critically explored. Key theoretical frameworks and concepts for understanding the dominant paradigms and dynamics of the food system will be discussed and evaluated. Integrated policies and strategies for creating more sustainable and equitable food systems, and alternative paradigms and practices of production, distribution and consumption, will also be critically examined. This subject will primarily draw on theories and methodologies from the sociology and politics of food and agriculture, food policy, and the political economy and political ecology of food. The topics and debates covered include:
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| Gender, Globalisation and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the relationships between gender, globalisation and development, illustrated principally through case studies, policy documents, and ethnographic texts. It also draws theoretical perspectives and insights from a number of social science and humanities disciplines as well. On completion of the subject students should have an understanding of problems of writing about gender and difference: debates on modernity, globalisation, and development: gender, colonialism and postcolonialism; gender, politics, and the state; masculinities, femininities and sexualities; gender and labour; gender and development agencies; gender, religion and development; gender, sexuality, rights and transnational migration. |
| Digital Politics · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the complex relationship between digital media and politics, broadly defined to include a range of political processes, roles and responsibilities. Using timely political case studies, students will analyse the different mechanisms by which these two systems influence each. They will learn to read the different affordances of digital media and assess how the logical operation of these tools preferences certain types of politics over others. Students will develop a critical understanding of how digital media is changing political communication, preparing themselves for careers in politics, advocacy, campaigning and journalism. Topics will include: the political transparency of software; the relationship between politics, social media companies and the press; how to campaign and how to effect political change through digital communication. |
| Social Enterprise Incubator · 12.5 pts |
This experiential learning subject introduces students to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, while equipping students with a practical understanding of social enterprise as a model to tackle social and/or environmental problems through trade. Working in small teams, students are introduced to a range of design thinking and social innovation frameworks. They draw on these frameworks to iteratively conceptualise, ‘pitch’, refine and develop a social enterprise ‘business model’ that appropriately responds to the needs of communities and society. To nurture and support development of ideas, the subject draws on real-world case studies as well as industry guests from the social enterprise ecosystem including social entrepreneurs, people with ‘lived-experience’, social finance and impact investment intermediaries, incubators and accelerators and leading scholars and thinkers in the field. Upon completing this subject, students will develop a critical understanding of the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship and how to develop a ‘business model’ for financially sustainable social impact. By doing so, the subject also offers a unique opportunity for students to apply conceptual knowledge and project management and business skills to real-world social and/or environmental challenges. |
| Communities and Ecosystem Management · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the ways people know and interact with nature in the context of ecosystem management. Through a series of local and global case studies, students will critically reflect on real world examples, grounded in ideas and theories drawn from social sciences. By exploring dimensions of power, knowledge, and values, students will analyse the ways in which communities participate, drive, and determine what healthy ecosystems mean. Tensions between government, corporate and community aspirations will be drawn out through the case study examples. This subject has a particular emphasis on Indigenous knowledges, self-determination and conceptualisations of Country. The field trip will provide students an opportunity to hear from communities directly about their connections to, and applications of caring for Country. Students will gain insights into different nature framings and perspectives. |
| Trade Policy Politics & Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the politics and governance of international trade. It explores the domestic and international dimensions of trade policy-making and the growing complexity of the "trade agenda" in national and international politics. It examines theories of trade and protection and theories of trade policy-making. It examines the evolution of the multilateral trade system since World War Two and the contemporary and future challenges that confront the system. The subject examines some of the perennial problems in the governance of the global trade system, as well as new issues and concerns, such as trade and the environment, trade and development, and agenda-setting and decision-making in the WTO. Finally, the subject explores the emergence of regional trade blocs and "free trade agreements" and their consequences for the multilateral trade system. |
| Politics and Business in post-Mao China · 12.5 pts |
Over the past two decades, the role of the Chinese state in the country's economic development has changed considerably. The state planning agencies no longer decide what and how much should the country's enterprises produce. Many of the old and inefficient state-owned enterprises have been transformed into market-driven businesses. Some of these companies (still state-controlled) have become global players in sectors such as oil and gas. The so-called non-state companies also occupy an important place in the country's economy. Ideology is no longer an important factor in decision-making and capitalists are welcome to join the communist party. This course will examine the relationship between the growing power of business and the political process in China. We"ll look at how the emergent class of professional managers and entrepreneurs attempts to convert its economic status into political advantage. A number of theoretical frameworks will be used to explore this relationship, including neo-traditionalism/clientelism, democratisation (civil society) and state corporatism. Students will also be encouraged to compare China's experience with that of other transitional societies. |
| International Organisations · 12.5 pts |
This subject is about the role of international organisations in global politics and governance. States have established these formal institutions to better cooperate in addressing global economic, environmental, and security problems, but there is considerable debate in international relations scholarship about their efficacy. In this subject, we will critically assess the world’s foremost international organisations, notably the United Nations and its many specialised agencies, international financial institutions including the World Bank and World Trade Organization, and regional organisations, such as the European Union and NATO. We will ask: to what extent do these organisations only reflect the interests of powerful member states? To what extent can they address global inequality and empower marginalised peoples? Do they enable or constrain efforts toward a more sustainable world? These questions and others will lead us to a better understanding of the factors that shape these organisations, the ways in which they operate, and the impact they have in global politics. |
| Asia-Pacific: Zone of Conflict or Peace? · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines important issues in international relations in the Asia Pacific, drawing on theory and evidence about domestic and international politics. The topics for study normally include the China-US-Japan triangle, the Taiwan and Korean conflicts, the international context of conflicts relating to Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific, and Australian engagement in the Asia-Pacific. |
| Disability in Policy and Practice · 12.5 pts |
Disability inclusion is now a global health and development priority. This includes translating 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal commitments to disability inclusion, and leaving no one behind, into practice. Without disability inclusion we cannot end poverty for all and achieve universal health coverage. Ensuring the inclusion of people with disability in health and development processes, systems, and programs is increasingly required under law in both lower and higher income settings. An understanding of disability inclusive policy and practice is becoming essential knowledge for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. An estimated 16% of the world’s population has a disability, with 80% of people with disability living in resource poor contexts. People with disability are systematically excluded from social, economic, and political participation. In turn, people with disability are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer health outcomes, lower education attainment, and be negatively impacted by climate risk than people without disability. In this short course, you will learn to critically analyse the factors that contribute to these inequities and develop strategies for improving policy and practice. Drawing on practitioner experience, including from people with disability themselves, this course will provide you with a foundation for critically considering issues of equity, representation, intersectionality, and meaningful participation. We will draw on real world examples from multiple sectors, including health, employment, education, and disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response. If you are working, or considering working, in global health and development, including in government, non-government, or United Nations agencies, this subject provides an essential foundation. This course can be taken by students in postgraduate courses, including public health, development studies, and social studies, or through the University of Melbourne Community Access Program (CAP). |
| Primary Health Care, Jamkhed, India · 12.5 pts |
The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India has won global acclaim and provided inspiration for the seminal Declaration of Alma Ata (1978). It remains one of the world’s most influential and innovative comprehensive community health and development programs. In this 3 week residential subject, students will learn about the Jamkhed Model while living in the resource-poor context of central Maharashtra, India. Students will engage with and critically analyse the Jamkhed approach to community health and development via: field visits to villages and project sites; seminars and discussions with project staff, lay volunteers, local health and development professionals and researchers; and interactive observations and teaching with university staff. Students of this subject will gain a thorough understanding of the context and history of comprehensive primary health care as a movement, and its applications within the Indian context. Students will acquire detailed knowledge of how the CRHP has applied a community-based, integrated multi-sectoral action, utilising a deep understanding of local culture and needs to address a wide range of issues. These include mortality and morbidity, poverty, gender inequity, and water and sanitation. Students will learn how to apply these principles in the design of programs seeking to address a variety of global health problems and contexts. Enrolment in this subject requires direct application to The Nossal Institute for Global Health, please proceed to the Nossal Institute website for further information and access to online application at https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/nossal-institute-for-global-health/study/PHC-Jamkhed/ |
| Health Program Design & Implementation · 12.5 pts |
An increasing global focus on program effectiveness and efficiency has brought renewed attention to the role of evidence in designing and implementing health programs. Students of this subject will engage with the discipline of implementation science, and will investigate a range of current theories and approaches to program design, including: Theory of Change; program logic models; logical frameworks; complexity theory; behaviour change theories; emergent design; participatory/co-design approaches; and approaches to scale-up. Facilitated by experts with applied field experience in program design and implementation in Australia and other global contexts, students will learn via practical, staged exercises to draft strategic program plans. A range of case studies on current health challenges and interventions will build students’ knowledge and skills in evidence-based health program design and implementation. Cross-cutting issues in program design will also be considered and applied to case studies, particularly the issues of participation and inclusion. Students will be asked to consider evidence requirements and real-world compromises in programmatic research and planning within Australian and other global settings. This subject will equip students with the knowledge and skills to operationalise their program design skills through best practice approaches to program implementation. Health Program Design & Implementation is a block mode intensive subject. It has a combination of online content which can studied in each student’s own time, combined with live seminars and workshops held on six days across the two week period. Selection of study mode (online or on campus) determines the mode of attending these seminars and workshops. Students are expected to commit approximately 40 hours to learning each week. |
| Pandemic Preparedness and Response · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response from a multidisciplinary perspective using frameworks and developing skills that are often transferrable to other large-scale health emergencies. Focusing on varied pandemic examples, including but not limited to: SARS, MERS, Zika, Rabies, Swine and Avian Influenza, Ebola, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, the subject provides students with a multi-sectoral framework through which to appraise a range of prevention, preparedness, and response efforts across diverse country contexts. Students will learn how to conceptualise effective pandemic preventions, preparedness, and response efforts as stemming from the intersection of global systems including human and animal health, political, economic, cultural, and environmental systems. A wide range of pandemic and country case studies are presented, with particular attention to equity and inclusion in terms of the diverse and specific needs of, and impacts on, varied populations. The subject emphasises lessons learnt that can be translated into future and ongoing pandemic and other health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response efforts, as well as highlighting key unresolved issues which need attention. This dual-delivery subject will be delivered by a multidisciplinary team of experts from Australia and around the world. Topics covered include multi-sectoral preparedness efforts; One Health, climate change and pandemics; outbreak risk assessment and surveillance; health system resilience and surge capacity; maintaining essential health services; communication for health emergencies and pandemics; community engagement; non-pharmaceutical interventions; dimensions of equity and vulnerability in pandemics; technological advancements and emerging paradigms post COVID; and the politics and economics of pandemics. |
| Global Issues in Indigenous Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject enables students to compare the policy developments involved in politically, legally and constitutionally recognising Indigenous rights and sovereignty in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, with a particular focus on the negotiation of treaties. Starting with a focus on the Victorian experience, students will identify the most pertinent issues that should be considered by the Victorian Government in negotiating a treaty or treaties with Aboriginal peoples. Comparative cases will include the Treaty of Waitangi in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the modern treaty process in Canada, specifically in the province of British Columbia. Students will consider how these treaty processes have hindered and/or facilitated effective policy development and Indigenous governance. With the assistance of public policy academics and practitioners, participants will construct their own case study of citizen-state relationships focusing on debates around rights, sovereignty, decolonisation, self-determination, access to services and economic development and propose some key recommendations for future reforms. |
Gender and Development Specialisation 150 point program
1.5 year full time / 3 years part time. All students must complete one capstone option.
Students must complete 62.5 points of compulsory subjects.
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| Development Theories · 12.5 pts |
This subject forms an introduction to the main theories of development and considers key issues in development such as globalisation, development aid, and development in the new post-Cold War context. This subject seeks to foster skills in critical thinking, communication and group work. Students should become adept at synthesising complex theories and ideas and be able to engage in and critically assess a range of contemporary debates in development. |
| Gender Issues in Development · 12.5 pts |
As a fundamental cross-cutting theme in development theory and practice today, gender discourse and practices have gone beyond the exclusive focus on feminist activism in the 1970s. What began as a preoccupation with women's discrimination and disadvantage and the lack of their visibility in development initiatives became a broader concern with the nature of relations between men and women. Drawing on the scholarship in gender studies, development studies, political science, sociology and anthropology, the subject will examine key gender and development concepts and debates through case studies from the developing world. It will cover important themes in the gender and development literature such as power and inequalities, economic development and poverty, work and labour, and marriage and family as well as sexualities, masculinities, childhood, violence, and HIV/AIDS. Various dimensions of difference such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and religion intersect with gender and sexuality to form myriad lived experiences and perspectives. The subject will investigate these themes through an intersectional lens in order to address the complex realities we experience and embody. |
| Development Systems and Interventions · 12.5 pts |
This subject complements the Development Theories compulsory subject, which taken together will give students a strong grounding in both the theories and the practice of development. This subject interprets ‘intervention’ broadly to cover efforts (policies, programmes, projects, activities) that are understood by the actors concerned to be promoting of international and national development. This covers the efforts of the international development industry, but it is also interested in the interventions of national governments in the developing world, the role of emerging donors like China, India and the Gulf states and other agents of development including the private sector and social movements. It aims to show how intervening in development can involve a wide span of activities from the implementing of aid projects, to reforming the civil service, to campaigning for social justice, to improving the tax system. This subject aims to give students an introduction to the complexity and diversity of development settings and interventions and an understanding of why some forms of intervention have been more successful than others. |
| Gender Analysis in Development Practice · 12.5 pts |
This subject will use a decolonial, intersectional feminist approach to address the following core questions: How can development programs redress gender inequalities? What are the challenges in applying an intersectional, decolonial feminist approach to development programs and practice? What are the prospects for the re-politicisation of the ‘gender mainstreaming’ agenda? The subject will offer students the opportunity to undertake a critical and inter-disciplinary review of five decades of gender analysis in development programmes and practice. By undertaking practical scenario exercises and analysing case studies of projects in developing countries, students will learn tools and skills in gender analysis frameworks, gender mainstreaming, gender budgets, care analysis, programming with men and boys, and organising collective action. |
| Rethinking Rights and Global Development · 12.5 pts |
Are human rights universal? Has increased attention to human rights since the 1990s resulted in a neglect of the material conditions of poverty as political and civil rights are prioritised over social and economic rights? Is it useful to think of women having specific rights distinct from those of other humans? Do all women share the same concerns? This subject explores these questions relating to human rights and women’s rights from postcolonial and intersectional feminist perspectives. We analyse how these debates play out in development practice, particularly in ‘rights-based approaches’ to development. We consider different histories of human rights in the activities of the United Nations, in anti-colonial struggles, and in post-colonial demands for a ‘right to development’. We focus particularly on women’s rights in the contexts of sexual and reproductive health, land rights, the right to education, and the rights of sex workers. We also consider the gendered dimensions of struggles for the recognition of the human rights of people of colour, Indigenous peoples, LGBT people and people with disabilities. Throughout this subject, students are encouraged to ask, ‘whose interests do human and women’s rights serve?’ This subject aims to equip students with skills to critically analyse the power relations that underpin human rights discourse and practice. |
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| Internship in Development · 25 pts |
Internship in Development is an elective subject available to graduate students in Development and various cognate disciplines and fields of study. This subject aims to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills learnt in class and enhance their understanding of the current approaches to the broad field of development through a structured period of contributing as a temporary staff member in a government, non-government or private corporation inside or outside Australia. Students are able to select a host organisation to further develop their knowledge and skills in their chosen area of interest. The exposure to a different cultural, socio-political or organisational context provides students with vast opportunities to critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice, and the thus the nature of development as they have studied it and as they observe it to be approached or practiced during their internship placement. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete both minor thesis subjects and DEVT90041: Research Methods in Development. Note: the minor thesis requires enrolment over two consecutive semesters.
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| Development Research Design & Assessment · 12.5 pts |
This subject will focus on understanding development research design and a variety of research methods for investigating development problems. The subject will also seek to build skills in assessing the evidence produced from development research, and identifying the strengths/weaknesses and validity of development research designs. The subject will give attention to the challenges of designing and ethically conducting research in developing contexts, and understanding of the various stages of research, particularly in identifying the most appropriate and feasible approaches for data collection and analysis. It will include sessions on qualitative research techniques, and a basic introduction to understanding and collecting quantitative data as well as mixed research methods. Students will gain insights into the debates between different disciplines on methodological approaches, and understanding the politics of knowledge in development research. |
| Gender and Development Thesis Part 1 · 25 pts |
Students enrolled in this subject will undertake a piece of research in Gender and Development approved by the course coordinator. The research will incorporate an analysis of relevant development theory and practice through the gendered lens. Under the close guidance of a dedicated supervisor, students are expected to engage critically and independently with relevant intellectual debates and provide original insights into a particular gender and development phenomenon or issue. In particular, they are required to demonstrate their in-depth understanding of key feminist critiques of development theories and gender analysis skills. On completion of the subject, students will submit a 15,000-word minor thesis on their chosen research topic. |
| Gender and Development Thesis Part 2 · 25 pts |
Refer to GEND90011 Gender and Development Thesis for details. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete these two subjects.
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| Development Project Management & Design · 12.5 pts |
This subject offers an introduction to development project management and design from interdisciplinary and critical perspectives. We begin by understanding the standard project cycle approach to project management. We focus on strategy, vision and mission formulation, as well as problem identification and analysis, objectives analysis, stakeholder analysis, formulation of projects and budgets, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. We will examine how different functions require different forms of program design and planning. Students will be familiarised with the 'Logframe Approach' and 'Theory of Change', which will be contrasted with ‘Learning Process’, 'Strengths Based' and 'Social enterprise' approaches to project design. Students will explore participation and empowerment as methodologies to address gender and other power inequalities specific to disadvantaged groups, and consider the ethics and motivations of field workers. Students will also be introduced to recent critiques of, and debates on, project management and development practice. Case studies of projects in developing countries, practical exercises including a group project, and critically reflective learning will be integral to the syllabus. |
| Monitoring and Evaluation in Development · 12.5 pts |
The importance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the management of projects and programs has been widely recognised within the development sector. Effective M&E acts as an anchor to keep the program moving in the right direction towards the goals and targets set at the planning stage. Historically, M&E was seen exclusively as a tool to make development organisations accountable to donors and conducted by foreign consultants who were largely unfamiliar with the context where development interventions took place. This approach has hampered development agencies’ efforts to obtain the right kind of information for effective M&E and project management. Within the new M&E paradigms emerging since the 1990s, an emphasis is placed on not only accountability but also learning, empowerment and capacity building of local communities. This subject aims to offer comparative insights into different M&E approaches in development as well as to impart practical skills to students so they may develop the technical proficiency in project/program M&E. The subject focuses on development projects and programs rather than policies or public sector management. Practical exercises will be an essential part of the subject. |
Between 25 and 62.5 credit points of elective subjects, depending on the capstone option selected.
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| International Development Infrastructure · 12.5 pts |
This subject is suitable for graduate students seeking to understand the donor or sovereign government driven international development sector of international development and humanitarian work and the considerations and challenges in delivering culturally appropriate sustainable infrastructure outcomes. This subject complements the theory and principles in ABPL90277 Humanitarian Construction and further explores the policy settings, political motivations, contextual and cultural considerations of this specific area of the international development sector. Through in-person class sessions, students will gain an appreciation of current theory, practices and approaches and undertake a series of group activities related to the delivery of infrastructure investment in this part of the international development sector. The subject has been designed to enable students to apply their technical discipline understanding and learnings from prior studies and work experience and to collaborate with interdisciplinary peers. Industry leaders, guest presenters and technical experts will share their experiences and project case studies for students to learn about the industry and to test and challenge their own personal values and perspectives when working in developing countries. The subject will offer built environment and other graduate students an insight into the principles, strategic objectives and priority areas of delivering quality infrastructure to build genuine and respectful partnerships with our international neighbours in the Asia Pacific region. Topics will include how to prepare, plan, program, design and construct sustainable infrastructure in differing cultural contexts as well as how to consider policy, governance, economic, environmental and social factors in order to sensitively manage and implement complex program requirements linked to specific outcomes in a development context. Finally, students will also develop an understanding of potential pathways and employment opportunities in the international development industry. |
| Human Rights in Southeast Asia · 12.5 pts |
This seminar will focus on human rights and its critics from a historical and comparative perspective. We will explore the factors that have given rise to radically different conception of rights and justice (i.e. political, economic, cultural, religious, ideological) and look at their implementation and the obstacles at the local, national, and international levels. What is the relationship and relevance of the international human rights movement to local notions of rights? What impact is this having on local gender relations and the relationships of women to their states and communities? Are human rights NGOs weakening or strengthening the nation-states in Southeast Asia. Are they sites of resistance or complicity? The seminar introduces students to different conceptions of rights, and social justice, including feminist critiques of rights discourse and of 'development', ethnographic studies on the relationship between attitudes towards bodily integrity and human rights, the debates about poverty, economic development and access to adequate health care as human rights. We shall draw upon a wide range of sources from theoretical works, philosophical and anthropological critiques of rights discourse, and NGO documents. On completion of the subject students should have a broad historical, comparative and critical perspective on the debates about rights and justice in Southeast Asia. This subject is usually taught two times a year. It is available either as a semester-long subject taught on the Parkville campus or as an overseas intensive subject in some years. ASIA90001 at the University of Indonesia will be taught intensively on location at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. The subject will consist mainly of seminars held at the Faculty, with some field visits in Jakarta. There is a pre-teaching requirement for this subject, during which time students will be required to access subject materials on the LMS, and attend a pre-departure briefing on campus. |
| Civil Society and Social Change in China · 12.5 pts |
The emergence of civil society and nongovernmental organisations in China reflects the rise of new social and political issues that have proven challenging for the Chinese state to address effectively. This subject examines the conditions under which certain ideas, organisational forms, and associational practices have taken hold as well as the ways they have been contested, transformed, and adapted. It explores various social problems – like the rise of gender inequality, labour rights, LGBT concerns, environmental problems, and others – that civil society organisations in China have sought to tackle and examines the broader context in which civil society actors work. |
| China and the Environment · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides an introduction to the key environmental challenges in contemporary China and to China’s environmental governance. The subject is structured around four topics: water resources, land resources, air pollution, and energy and climate change. For each of these topics lectures and tutorials will analyse impacts, policy and governance arrangements, citizen and NGO involvement, government and media discourse, and international linkages. Students will be introduced to key theoretical debates in China studies, development studies and human geography to help them understand the complexities of China’s environmental challenges. Using the environment as a lens, students will gain an understanding of politics and state-society relations in contemporary China. |
| Contemporary China · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides a broad-based overview of contemporary China, exploring key features of the country's increasingly complex and dynamic society. Topics covered include the economy, environmental challenges, political processes, cultural change, civil society, and China’s engagement with the global community. |
| The Political Ecology of Development · 12.5 pts |
The subject will help students understand human-environment relationships and key development issues using a political ecology perspective, with cases from developing and developed countries. Political ecologists use a variety of approaches to understand complex human-environment problems, and these are applied to concrete situations. We critically analyze a number of development initiatives that are reconstituting human-environment relationships and, in some cases, promoting new forms of ‘environmental governance’. The range of topics covered does change, and some indicative ones are; supporting rural livelihoods; water management; conservation policy; urban environmental governance; the environmental outcomes of corporate misdeeds; global land grabbing; and environmental movements. Through a seminar presentation, reading, and participation, students will learn how different institutions, and the politics surrounding them, impose constraints upon, and present opportunities for, the promotion of sustainable and equitable development. |
| Development Policy: Independent Project · 12.5 pts |
This subject involves the study of selected key issues in the field of development studies. It is intended that the subject will assist students in broadening their understanding of development processes and update their knowledge of current debates amongst development theorists and practitioners. This will be achieved by students taking advantage of subjects and/or lectures offered, or through intensive one-off courses offered by visitors with specialist expertise. |
| Civil Society, NGOs and the State · 12.5 pts |
Over the course of the last thirty years, an 'associational revolution' has swept the world, as more and more civil society organisations have taken over tasks formerly assigned to states, formed cross-border advocacy campaigns to hold both states and corporations accountable for labour, environmental, and human rights violations, and formulated alternative development policies that run counter to the paradigms espoused by the World Bank and other multilateral lending organizations. While some argue that this associational revolution promises more participatory, expedient, and decentralized forms of transnational governance, others contend that it reflects little more than the ongoing privatisation of the public sphere at the hands of transnational capital. In this course, we evaluate these and alternative perspectives by exploring transformations in the structure of the global political-economy over the past thirty years; looking closely at the roles played by a variety of NGOs and CBOs as part of more multi-layered regimes of 'global governance'; analysing the shifts in state structures that have made these regimes possible; and teasing apart the ongoing tensions between various factions of what some have called, an emerging 'global civil society'. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. |
| Advocacy in Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject focuses on the practice of advocacy in development. The subject explores how development practitioners can meaningfully contribute to and support grassroots activism and social movements; in areas including gender justice, social inclusion, access to education and healthcare, and environmental justice. We examine the different forms advocacy actions can take, from small local initiatives to improve access to services, to campaigns to influence national and international policy. The subject engages with debates about the roles of local and international actors, and the strengths and limitations of ‘inside vs outside’ (or collaborative vs. confrontational) advocacy in different political and cultural contexts. Students will examine the strengths and limitations of different advocacy strategies and tactics, and consider how these can be combined to influence change. They will be invited to critically reflect on their own roles as advocates and development practitioners. The subject will include case studies from advocacy practice in Australia and internationally, including participatory action research, community arts, civil society networks, and policy influence. Students will select their own case study of an advocacy issue to analyse in their final research essay. |
| Practising Community-led Development · 12.5 pts |
A range of strategies, tools and methods are available to development practitioners who work directly with communities. This subject focusses on the use of those methods, along with the strategies and skills required for effective community-led development practice. It is taught through workshop sessions that encourage a high level of interaction between students as they engage in participatory learning methods and group work. We start with the foundations of community-led development practice, including project governance and decision-making, cross-cultural considerations and the scope and nature of project achievements when viewed from a community perspective. We build on these foundations by examining examples and case studies (including from Aboriginal organisations in Australia) that illustrate ways of working effectively with the community, including partnership building, engagement with government and other stakeholders and ethical considerations in working with communities. We move on to consider how best to communicate about projects to build partnerships and attract support, using the Men's Shed movement in Australia as an example. A central component of the subject is that students will explore and apply in workshop settings a range of key participatory tools and methods. Workshop content will frequently refer to examples from diverse projects and programs. The content of the subject will address specific challenges in community-led in development practice and ways in which practitioners can navigate the complexities of the work they do. |
| Political Economy of Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject considers processes of development through a political economic perspective. The subject begins by considering the historical roots of political economy, and then focuses on key theoretical debates in the field. It then moves on to consider several contemporary development issues, highlighting the ways in which political economic analysis provides new, critical insight. Key topics to be considered include the following: wealth and inequality; feminist and queer critiques; labour and exploitation; political ecology and natural resources; the limitations of social policy; green and carbon economies; surplus and waste; the effects of globalisation and migration; sustainability and diverse economies. By the end of this subject, students should have a clear understanding for what political economic analysis adds to debates over contemporary development. |
| Disaster and Humanitarian Aid · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores emergency relief in crisis situations, including both ‘natural’ disasters and armed conflict (or combinations thereof). We will discuss the dynamics of different kinds of disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, armed conflict and displacement, as well as ‘complex emergencies’ where ‘natural’ disasters intermesh with man-made dynamics. Central to ‘natural’ and man-made disasters is the question of vulnerability and resilience: contrary to what international media images tend to suggest, the first response to disaster is always local, and the resilience of the people affected is determining for longer-term outcomes. But international responses can of course play a major role. The subject will therefore explore: international humanitarian principles, policies, and guidelines; the everyday life of humanitarian work; and the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian aid: how it gets entangled with local political economies; how it gets embroiled in dynamics of conflict; and how it can in fact become part of the problem. We will also examine differences and interlinkages between humanitarian and development interventions, as well as the supposed humanitarian-development ‘continuum’ – the idea that humanitarianism is something that occurs in times of crisis, and that this then gives way to development once the situation is back to ‘normal’. As we will see, disasters are not at all exceptional. They are a normal part of human life; and with the impact of development and climate change, human exposure to disasters is only increasing. Instead of thinking of disasters as unique and exceptional events, shouldn't we be thinking about ‘living with risk’? And, if so, how can that be done? |
| Global Urban Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to investigate global processes of urbanisation, focusing particularly on issues of globalisation, capitalism, inequality, colonialism, informality, migration, gender, and state power. More specifically, this subject seeks to develop critical insight into how urban development (and underdevelopment) is linked through global processes, and how contemporary urban landscapes are produced through broader political economic, historical, socio-cultural, and environmental processes. The subject includes historical context in addition to contemporary case studies, and analysis is focused on cities in both the global South and North. Specific topics to be considered include the following: urban poverty and informality; labour and economic production; segregation and marginalisation; gender and urban development; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerability; urban governance and state power; policing and public security; colonial legacies and race in cities; migration and global climate change. |
| Development and Inequality · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the relationship between development and inequality by taking India as a central example to investigate two inter-related questions: how do different patterns of development shape inequality and how do existing regimes of inequality limit development? Adopting an intersectional approach to inequality and a multi-dimensional approach to development to answer these questions, we analyse the paradox of persistently high rates of poverty and deepening inequalities within an economy that has registered the world’s second-highest economic growth rates for the last two and a half decades. We consider whether the example of India suggests the need to revise existing paradigms of development thinking. We explore how various development strategies in India have ameliorated or exacerbated the disadvantage of women, lower castes, Indigenous peoples and religious minorities. This subject aims to give students an understanding of how and why approaches to development have changed over time (in India and globally) as well as the skills to analyse how different development approaches (including state-led industrialisation, rights-based welfare and a business-friendly political economy) impact poverty and inequality. |
| Migration and Development · 12.5 pts |
Migration is a powerful driver of social change across the contemporary world. This subject explores the key issues and debates at the intersection of migration and development, drawing on conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work in economics, development studies, gender studies, human geography, anthropology, sociology, demography, and political science. Through class debates and practical exercises, students will engage critically with the conceptual models and theoretical frameworks used to analyse migration and its impacts on development. Core concepts - including transnationalism, neoliberalism, forced migration, global care chains, governmentality, and global householding - will be examined and critiqued. The subject also considers the economic, social, and cultural implications of migration for development processes at both micro and macro levels, assessing its relationship to broader debates on globalisation, poverty, gender, and social change. |
| Development in Latin America · 12.5 pts |
This subject aims to provide a critical overview of ‘Development’ in Latin America. It seeks to engage critical perspectives concerning uneven development, processes of inequality and marginalisation, and patterns of globalisation in Latin America. By grounding theoretical arguments in contemporary empirical contexts (i.e., countries in Latin America), the subject attempts to make sense of current development issues in Latin America. Topics to be explored include the following: histories of development and postcolonial critiques; theories of development from Latin American scholars; urbanisation, poverty, and informality; gender and development; post-development critiques in Latin America; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerabilities; identity, race, and indigeneity; contemporary governance and state power in development initiatives. |
| Social Policy and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject investigates the linkages between social policy and development within lower-middle income countries. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas (UMOS) Subject in Indonesia, with a special focus on social policy in Indonesia. By learning 'in-country', the subject draws from the experience of Indonesia to understand the roles played by different actors (government, civil society organisations, international organisations, the private sector, and communities) in responding to complex social policy issues related to poverty, welfare and wellbeing. This includes considerations of environmental change; access to livelihoods, employment, health and education opportunities; and the ways that challenges and opportunities may vary for different social and identity groupings. The subject examines examples of multi-stakeholder approaches to responding to complex social policy challenges in large states like Indonesia, often through collaboration and innovation. The subject also explores debates on the relationship between social and economic development and the implications for social policy in multi-level and decentralised governance structures. Students learn from their experience examining these issues in Indonesia during the teaching period and apply this in their first assessment. The broader readings for the subject also examine similar social policy issues in other countries in the Asia Pacific. Students then use both their Indonesia experience and broader learning from the reading and their own research to investigate similar social policy challenges and responses in other country contexts in the Asia-Pacific for their second assessment. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas Subject in Indonesia with our partner institution the University of Gadjah Mada. The subject will involve Masters students from both Melbourne and Masters students and staff from our Indonesian partner university. This provides an exciting opportunity for students from each University to learn with and from each other to gain deeper knowledge on tackling inequalities and understanding real-world development challenges and responses through social policy in lower-middle income countries. The subject also uses teaching mediums that connects students with experts in the field in Indonesia. There is a quota for this subject. For further information and to apply: https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/students/overseas-experience#graduate-subjects. |
| Contested Development and Culture · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores development epistemes and practices and how they reflect cultural frames, concerns with different ways of seeing and organising the world, and, how they come into conflict and dialogue. It explores how development is situated within different cultural, economic and political contexts and reflects contested views and perspectives. The subject draws together examples of different ways of thinking and approaching development, the impacts of development and where culture and conflict are situated in the visions and ideologues of societal transformation, progress and modernity. We consider how new and alternative approaches emerge, tensions between local-global agenda setting and how they are built on or might lead to contestation and debate through case studies and illustrative material from Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and explore themes such as localisation, decolonisation, gender, equity, justice and inclusive and sustainable development. |
| Conflict, Security and Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to provide a grounding in analytical approaches to the political economy of conflict, security and development. To achieve this aim, we draw on the notion of the 'continuum of violence’ to show how differing forms of violence are connected in complex ways throughout the various processes of development. The subject examines the foundational theories of conflict and violence, including gender perspectives, debates about the origins of human violence, and the role of violence in historical change. Against this background, we explore a range of competing theories and claims in development theory to trace ways assumptions have influenced ideas regarding the causes and dynamics of conflict . Further, the subject looks critically at contemporary efforts to address insecurity and conflict through conflict mediation, ‘state building’, and post conflict stabilization/reconstruction. We also examine empirical trends in relation to conflict, and the varied responses, to areas that include insecurity/violent conflict; the difficulties of data collection; and the importance of categorization and boundaries to matters of conflict and development. |
| Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation · 12.5 pts |
This subject develops the skills to understand and assess the social impacts of development, including international development projects, resource management, and proposed infrastructure or new policies. We do this in two ways: by looking at how to assess the impacts of proposed projects, and through evaluation techniques for existing developments or projects. In each case we develop practical skills and interdisciplinary techniques to appraise and evaluate impacts. These techniques draw from anthropology, development studies, and the policy sciences, and move beyond simple summative assessments and financial accounting. We consider the social and environmental contexts in which any form of appraisal is embedded, and the capacities of different actors (from the state to NGOs and community groups) to avert or mitigate negative impacts through learning, negotiation, and citizen participation. Examples, some presented by guest speakers, are drawn from Australia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. At the completion of the subject students will have developed the conceptual skills to understand the impacts of development; be familiar with the range of methodologies and techniques used in impact assessment; understand development evaluation; and will be able to apply this in critical evaluation of the impact of projects and programmes. |
| Environmental Politics and Policy · 12.5 pts |
This subject engages with critical concepts and issues related to environmental politics and policy. Special attention is paid to the political dimensions of policy development and implementation, with reference to national and international domains. Students will be introduced to relevant theories, cases, and tools for policy makers and environmental activists. Students will consider a variety of case studies including climate change, ozone depletion, water management, land conflict, forest preservation, waste and 'sustainability planning'. Case studies will be drawn from Australia, Southeast Asia, and other global contexts. The subject is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Students will gain a practical understanding of issues confronting policymakers and other political actors in relation to a range of environment problems and solutions. |
| The Politics of Food · 12.5 pts |
Formerly FOOD90026 This subject examines the politics of the global food system, and will focus on the policies, structures, power relations and political debates surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of food. The impacts of food production and consumption on food security, health, the environment, animal welfare, and the livelihoods of producers, will be critically explored. Key theoretical frameworks and concepts for understanding the dominant paradigms and dynamics of the food system will be discussed and evaluated. Integrated policies and strategies for creating more sustainable and equitable food systems, and alternative paradigms and practices of production, distribution and consumption, will also be critically examined. This subject will primarily draw on theories and methodologies from the sociology and politics of food and agriculture, food policy, and the political economy and political ecology of food. The topics and debates covered include:
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| Gender, Globalisation and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the relationships between gender, globalisation and development, illustrated principally through case studies, policy documents, and ethnographic texts. It also draws theoretical perspectives and insights from a number of social science and humanities disciplines as well. On completion of the subject students should have an understanding of problems of writing about gender and difference: debates on modernity, globalisation, and development: gender, colonialism and postcolonialism; gender, politics, and the state; masculinities, femininities and sexualities; gender and labour; gender and development agencies; gender, religion and development; gender, sexuality, rights and transnational migration. |
| Digital Politics · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the complex relationship between digital media and politics, broadly defined to include a range of political processes, roles and responsibilities. Using timely political case studies, students will analyse the different mechanisms by which these two systems influence each. They will learn to read the different affordances of digital media and assess how the logical operation of these tools preferences certain types of politics over others. Students will develop a critical understanding of how digital media is changing political communication, preparing themselves for careers in politics, advocacy, campaigning and journalism. Topics will include: the political transparency of software; the relationship between politics, social media companies and the press; how to campaign and how to effect political change through digital communication. |
| Social Enterprise Incubator · 12.5 pts |
This experiential learning subject introduces students to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, while equipping students with a practical understanding of social enterprise as a model to tackle social and/or environmental problems through trade. Working in small teams, students are introduced to a range of design thinking and social innovation frameworks. They draw on these frameworks to iteratively conceptualise, ‘pitch’, refine and develop a social enterprise ‘business model’ that appropriately responds to the needs of communities and society. To nurture and support development of ideas, the subject draws on real-world case studies as well as industry guests from the social enterprise ecosystem including social entrepreneurs, people with ‘lived-experience’, social finance and impact investment intermediaries, incubators and accelerators and leading scholars and thinkers in the field. Upon completing this subject, students will develop a critical understanding of the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship and how to develop a ‘business model’ for financially sustainable social impact. By doing so, the subject also offers a unique opportunity for students to apply conceptual knowledge and project management and business skills to real-world social and/or environmental challenges. |
| Communities and Ecosystem Management · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the ways people know and interact with nature in the context of ecosystem management. Through a series of local and global case studies, students will critically reflect on real world examples, grounded in ideas and theories drawn from social sciences. By exploring dimensions of power, knowledge, and values, students will analyse the ways in which communities participate, drive, and determine what healthy ecosystems mean. Tensions between government, corporate and community aspirations will be drawn out through the case study examples. This subject has a particular emphasis on Indigenous knowledges, self-determination and conceptualisations of Country. The field trip will provide students an opportunity to hear from communities directly about their connections to, and applications of caring for Country. Students will gain insights into different nature framings and perspectives. |
| Trade Policy Politics & Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the politics and governance of international trade. It explores the domestic and international dimensions of trade policy-making and the growing complexity of the "trade agenda" in national and international politics. It examines theories of trade and protection and theories of trade policy-making. It examines the evolution of the multilateral trade system since World War Two and the contemporary and future challenges that confront the system. The subject examines some of the perennial problems in the governance of the global trade system, as well as new issues and concerns, such as trade and the environment, trade and development, and agenda-setting and decision-making in the WTO. Finally, the subject explores the emergence of regional trade blocs and "free trade agreements" and their consequences for the multilateral trade system. |
| Politics and Business in post-Mao China · 12.5 pts |
Over the past two decades, the role of the Chinese state in the country's economic development has changed considerably. The state planning agencies no longer decide what and how much should the country's enterprises produce. Many of the old and inefficient state-owned enterprises have been transformed into market-driven businesses. Some of these companies (still state-controlled) have become global players in sectors such as oil and gas. The so-called non-state companies also occupy an important place in the country's economy. Ideology is no longer an important factor in decision-making and capitalists are welcome to join the communist party. This course will examine the relationship between the growing power of business and the political process in China. We"ll look at how the emergent class of professional managers and entrepreneurs attempts to convert its economic status into political advantage. A number of theoretical frameworks will be used to explore this relationship, including neo-traditionalism/clientelism, democratisation (civil society) and state corporatism. Students will also be encouraged to compare China's experience with that of other transitional societies. |
| International Organisations · 12.5 pts |
This subject is about the role of international organisations in global politics and governance. States have established these formal institutions to better cooperate in addressing global economic, environmental, and security problems, but there is considerable debate in international relations scholarship about their efficacy. In this subject, we will critically assess the world’s foremost international organisations, notably the United Nations and its many specialised agencies, international financial institutions including the World Bank and World Trade Organization, and regional organisations, such as the European Union and NATO. We will ask: to what extent do these organisations only reflect the interests of powerful member states? To what extent can they address global inequality and empower marginalised peoples? Do they enable or constrain efforts toward a more sustainable world? These questions and others will lead us to a better understanding of the factors that shape these organisations, the ways in which they operate, and the impact they have in global politics. |
| Asia-Pacific: Zone of Conflict or Peace? · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines important issues in international relations in the Asia Pacific, drawing on theory and evidence about domestic and international politics. The topics for study normally include the China-US-Japan triangle, the Taiwan and Korean conflicts, the international context of conflicts relating to Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific, and Australian engagement in the Asia-Pacific. |
| Disability in Policy and Practice · 12.5 pts |
Disability inclusion is now a global health and development priority. This includes translating 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal commitments to disability inclusion, and leaving no one behind, into practice. Without disability inclusion we cannot end poverty for all and achieve universal health coverage. Ensuring the inclusion of people with disability in health and development processes, systems, and programs is increasingly required under law in both lower and higher income settings. An understanding of disability inclusive policy and practice is becoming essential knowledge for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. An estimated 16% of the world’s population has a disability, with 80% of people with disability living in resource poor contexts. People with disability are systematically excluded from social, economic, and political participation. In turn, people with disability are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer health outcomes, lower education attainment, and be negatively impacted by climate risk than people without disability. In this short course, you will learn to critically analyse the factors that contribute to these inequities and develop strategies for improving policy and practice. Drawing on practitioner experience, including from people with disability themselves, this course will provide you with a foundation for critically considering issues of equity, representation, intersectionality, and meaningful participation. We will draw on real world examples from multiple sectors, including health, employment, education, and disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response. If you are working, or considering working, in global health and development, including in government, non-government, or United Nations agencies, this subject provides an essential foundation. This course can be taken by students in postgraduate courses, including public health, development studies, and social studies, or through the University of Melbourne Community Access Program (CAP). |
| Primary Health Care, Jamkhed, India · 12.5 pts |
The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India has won global acclaim and provided inspiration for the seminal Declaration of Alma Ata (1978). It remains one of the world’s most influential and innovative comprehensive community health and development programs. In this 3 week residential subject, students will learn about the Jamkhed Model while living in the resource-poor context of central Maharashtra, India. Students will engage with and critically analyse the Jamkhed approach to community health and development via: field visits to villages and project sites; seminars and discussions with project staff, lay volunteers, local health and development professionals and researchers; and interactive observations and teaching with university staff. Students of this subject will gain a thorough understanding of the context and history of comprehensive primary health care as a movement, and its applications within the Indian context. Students will acquire detailed knowledge of how the CRHP has applied a community-based, integrated multi-sectoral action, utilising a deep understanding of local culture and needs to address a wide range of issues. These include mortality and morbidity, poverty, gender inequity, and water and sanitation. Students will learn how to apply these principles in the design of programs seeking to address a variety of global health problems and contexts. Enrolment in this subject requires direct application to The Nossal Institute for Global Health, please proceed to the Nossal Institute website for further information and access to online application at https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/nossal-institute-for-global-health/study/PHC-Jamkhed/ |
| Health Program Design & Implementation · 12.5 pts |
An increasing global focus on program effectiveness and efficiency has brought renewed attention to the role of evidence in designing and implementing health programs. Students of this subject will engage with the discipline of implementation science, and will investigate a range of current theories and approaches to program design, including: Theory of Change; program logic models; logical frameworks; complexity theory; behaviour change theories; emergent design; participatory/co-design approaches; and approaches to scale-up. Facilitated by experts with applied field experience in program design and implementation in Australia and other global contexts, students will learn via practical, staged exercises to draft strategic program plans. A range of case studies on current health challenges and interventions will build students’ knowledge and skills in evidence-based health program design and implementation. Cross-cutting issues in program design will also be considered and applied to case studies, particularly the issues of participation and inclusion. Students will be asked to consider evidence requirements and real-world compromises in programmatic research and planning within Australian and other global settings. This subject will equip students with the knowledge and skills to operationalise their program design skills through best practice approaches to program implementation. Health Program Design & Implementation is a block mode intensive subject. It has a combination of online content which can studied in each student’s own time, combined with live seminars and workshops held on six days across the two week period. Selection of study mode (online or on campus) determines the mode of attending these seminars and workshops. Students are expected to commit approximately 40 hours to learning each week. |
| Pandemic Preparedness and Response · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response from a multidisciplinary perspective using frameworks and developing skills that are often transferrable to other large-scale health emergencies. Focusing on varied pandemic examples, including but not limited to: SARS, MERS, Zika, Rabies, Swine and Avian Influenza, Ebola, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, the subject provides students with a multi-sectoral framework through which to appraise a range of prevention, preparedness, and response efforts across diverse country contexts. Students will learn how to conceptualise effective pandemic preventions, preparedness, and response efforts as stemming from the intersection of global systems including human and animal health, political, economic, cultural, and environmental systems. A wide range of pandemic and country case studies are presented, with particular attention to equity and inclusion in terms of the diverse and specific needs of, and impacts on, varied populations. The subject emphasises lessons learnt that can be translated into future and ongoing pandemic and other health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response efforts, as well as highlighting key unresolved issues which need attention. This dual-delivery subject will be delivered by a multidisciplinary team of experts from Australia and around the world. Topics covered include multi-sectoral preparedness efforts; One Health, climate change and pandemics; outbreak risk assessment and surveillance; health system resilience and surge capacity; maintaining essential health services; communication for health emergencies and pandemics; community engagement; non-pharmaceutical interventions; dimensions of equity and vulnerability in pandemics; technological advancements and emerging paradigms post COVID; and the politics and economics of pandemics. |
100 point program
1 year full time / 2 years part time. All students must complete one capstone option.
Students must complete 25 points of compulsory subjects.
| Accordion | |
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| Development Theories · 12.5 pts |
This subject forms an introduction to the main theories of development and considers key issues in development such as globalisation, development aid, and development in the new post-Cold War context. This subject seeks to foster skills in critical thinking, communication and group work. Students should become adept at synthesising complex theories and ideas and be able to engage in and critically assess a range of contemporary debates in development. |
| Development Systems and Interventions · 12.5 pts |
This subject complements the Development Theories compulsory subject, which taken together will give students a strong grounding in both the theories and the practice of development. This subject interprets ‘intervention’ broadly to cover efforts (policies, programmes, projects, activities) that are understood by the actors concerned to be promoting of international and national development. This covers the efforts of the international development industry, but it is also interested in the interventions of national governments in the developing world, the role of emerging donors like China, India and the Gulf states and other agents of development including the private sector and social movements. It aims to show how intervening in development can involve a wide span of activities from the implementing of aid projects, to reforming the civil service, to campaigning for social justice, to improving the tax system. This subject aims to give students an introduction to the complexity and diversity of development settings and interventions and an understanding of why some forms of intervention have been more successful than others. |
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| Accordion | |
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| Internship in Development · 25 pts |
Internship in Development is an elective subject available to graduate students in Development and various cognate disciplines and fields of study. This subject aims to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills learnt in class and enhance their understanding of the current approaches to the broad field of development through a structured period of contributing as a temporary staff member in a government, non-government or private corporation inside or outside Australia. Students are able to select a host organisation to further develop their knowledge and skills in their chosen area of interest. The exposure to a different cultural, socio-political or organisational context provides students with vast opportunities to critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice, and the thus the nature of development as they have studied it and as they observe it to be approached or practiced during their internship placement. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete both minor thesis subjects and DEVT90041: Research Methods in Development. Note: the minor thesis requires enrolment over two consecutive semesters.
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| Development Studies Thesis Part 1 · 25 pts |
Students enrolled in this subject will undertake a piece of research in Development Studies approved by the course coordinator. The research will incorporate an analysis of relevant development theory and practice. Under the close guidance of a dedicated supervisor, students are expected to engage critically and independently with relevant intellectual debates and provide original insights into a particular social phenomenon or development issue. On completion of the subject, students will submit a 15,000-word minor thesis on their chosen research topic. |
| Development Studies Thesis Part 2 · 25 pts |
Refer to DEVT90054 Development Studies Thesis Part 1 for more details. |
| Development Research Design & Assessment · 12.5 pts |
This subject will focus on understanding development research design and a variety of research methods for investigating development problems. The subject will also seek to build skills in assessing the evidence produced from development research, and identifying the strengths/weaknesses and validity of development research designs. The subject will give attention to the challenges of designing and ethically conducting research in developing contexts, and understanding of the various stages of research, particularly in identifying the most appropriate and feasible approaches for data collection and analysis. It will include sessions on qualitative research techniques, and a basic introduction to understanding and collecting quantitative data as well as mixed research methods. Students will gain insights into the debates between different disciplines on methodological approaches, and understanding the politics of knowledge in development research. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete these two subjects.
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| Development Project Management & Design · 12.5 pts |
This subject offers an introduction to development project management and design from interdisciplinary and critical perspectives. We begin by understanding the standard project cycle approach to project management. We focus on strategy, vision and mission formulation, as well as problem identification and analysis, objectives analysis, stakeholder analysis, formulation of projects and budgets, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. We will examine how different functions require different forms of program design and planning. Students will be familiarised with the 'Logframe Approach' and 'Theory of Change', which will be contrasted with ‘Learning Process’, 'Strengths Based' and 'Social enterprise' approaches to project design. Students will explore participation and empowerment as methodologies to address gender and other power inequalities specific to disadvantaged groups, and consider the ethics and motivations of field workers. Students will also be introduced to recent critiques of, and debates on, project management and development practice. Case studies of projects in developing countries, practical exercises including a group project, and critically reflective learning will be integral to the syllabus. |
| Monitoring and Evaluation in Development · 12.5 pts |
The importance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the management of projects and programs has been widely recognised within the development sector. Effective M&E acts as an anchor to keep the program moving in the right direction towards the goals and targets set at the planning stage. Historically, M&E was seen exclusively as a tool to make development organisations accountable to donors and conducted by foreign consultants who were largely unfamiliar with the context where development interventions took place. This approach has hampered development agencies’ efforts to obtain the right kind of information for effective M&E and project management. Within the new M&E paradigms emerging since the 1990s, an emphasis is placed on not only accountability but also learning, empowerment and capacity building of local communities. This subject aims to offer comparative insights into different M&E approaches in development as well as to impart practical skills to students so they may develop the technical proficiency in project/program M&E. The subject focuses on development projects and programs rather than policies or public sector management. Practical exercises will be an essential part of the subject. |
Between 12.5 and 50 credit points of elective subjects, depending on the capstone option selected.
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| International Development Infrastructure · 12.5 pts |
This subject is suitable for graduate students seeking to understand the donor or sovereign government driven international development sector of international development and humanitarian work and the considerations and challenges in delivering culturally appropriate sustainable infrastructure outcomes. This subject complements the theory and principles in ABPL90277 Humanitarian Construction and further explores the policy settings, political motivations, contextual and cultural considerations of this specific area of the international development sector. Through in-person class sessions, students will gain an appreciation of current theory, practices and approaches and undertake a series of group activities related to the delivery of infrastructure investment in this part of the international development sector. The subject has been designed to enable students to apply their technical discipline understanding and learnings from prior studies and work experience and to collaborate with interdisciplinary peers. Industry leaders, guest presenters and technical experts will share their experiences and project case studies for students to learn about the industry and to test and challenge their own personal values and perspectives when working in developing countries. The subject will offer built environment and other graduate students an insight into the principles, strategic objectives and priority areas of delivering quality infrastructure to build genuine and respectful partnerships with our international neighbours in the Asia Pacific region. Topics will include how to prepare, plan, program, design and construct sustainable infrastructure in differing cultural contexts as well as how to consider policy, governance, economic, environmental and social factors in order to sensitively manage and implement complex program requirements linked to specific outcomes in a development context. Finally, students will also develop an understanding of potential pathways and employment opportunities in the international development industry. |
| Human Rights in Southeast Asia · 12.5 pts |
This seminar will focus on human rights and its critics from a historical and comparative perspective. We will explore the factors that have given rise to radically different conception of rights and justice (i.e. political, economic, cultural, religious, ideological) and look at their implementation and the obstacles at the local, national, and international levels. What is the relationship and relevance of the international human rights movement to local notions of rights? What impact is this having on local gender relations and the relationships of women to their states and communities? Are human rights NGOs weakening or strengthening the nation-states in Southeast Asia. Are they sites of resistance or complicity? The seminar introduces students to different conceptions of rights, and social justice, including feminist critiques of rights discourse and of 'development', ethnographic studies on the relationship between attitudes towards bodily integrity and human rights, the debates about poverty, economic development and access to adequate health care as human rights. We shall draw upon a wide range of sources from theoretical works, philosophical and anthropological critiques of rights discourse, and NGO documents. On completion of the subject students should have a broad historical, comparative and critical perspective on the debates about rights and justice in Southeast Asia. This subject is usually taught two times a year. It is available either as a semester-long subject taught on the Parkville campus or as an overseas intensive subject in some years. ASIA90001 at the University of Indonesia will be taught intensively on location at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. The subject will consist mainly of seminars held at the Faculty, with some field visits in Jakarta. There is a pre-teaching requirement for this subject, during which time students will be required to access subject materials on the LMS, and attend a pre-departure briefing on campus. |
| Civil Society and Social Change in China · 12.5 pts |
The emergence of civil society and nongovernmental organisations in China reflects the rise of new social and political issues that have proven challenging for the Chinese state to address effectively. This subject examines the conditions under which certain ideas, organisational forms, and associational practices have taken hold as well as the ways they have been contested, transformed, and adapted. It explores various social problems – like the rise of gender inequality, labour rights, LGBT concerns, environmental problems, and others – that civil society organisations in China have sought to tackle and examines the broader context in which civil society actors work. |
| China and the Environment · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides an introduction to the key environmental challenges in contemporary China and to China’s environmental governance. The subject is structured around four topics: water resources, land resources, air pollution, and energy and climate change. For each of these topics lectures and tutorials will analyse impacts, policy and governance arrangements, citizen and NGO involvement, government and media discourse, and international linkages. Students will be introduced to key theoretical debates in China studies, development studies and human geography to help them understand the complexities of China’s environmental challenges. Using the environment as a lens, students will gain an understanding of politics and state-society relations in contemporary China. |
| Contemporary China · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides a broad-based overview of contemporary China, exploring key features of the country's increasingly complex and dynamic society. Topics covered include the economy, environmental challenges, political processes, cultural change, civil society, and China’s engagement with the global community. |
| Violence, Trauma and Reconciliation · 12.5 pts |
Mass violence inflicted by states and groups have a prolonged effect on communities and nations. This subject considers the forms of trauma people experience as a response to these forms of violence and explores how this trauma propels calls for apologies, truth commissions, retribution and torture. The subject employs psychoanalytic theory and practice to consider what it means to be traumatised and what it means to seek remedies from law, and uses examples of cross-cultural lawful practice to interrogate ideas of violence and trauma. Legal practices, apologies and demands for reconciliation will be discussed as methods of responding to the rage, pain and mourning that trauma demands. The course will be divided into 4 sections dealing with – trauma and violence, torture, testimony and reconciliation. In these sections we will look at events in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Australia and Nazi Germany, where legal mechanisms, apologies and vengeance have been utilised as responses to events such as genocide, terrorist acts, hostile occupation, and war. Note – some of the content of this course may be distressing. |
| The Political Ecology of Development · 12.5 pts |
The subject will help students understand human-environment relationships and key development issues using a political ecology perspective, with cases from developing and developed countries. Political ecologists use a variety of approaches to understand complex human-environment problems, and these are applied to concrete situations. We critically analyze a number of development initiatives that are reconstituting human-environment relationships and, in some cases, promoting new forms of ‘environmental governance’. The range of topics covered does change, and some indicative ones are; supporting rural livelihoods; water management; conservation policy; urban environmental governance; the environmental outcomes of corporate misdeeds; global land grabbing; and environmental movements. Through a seminar presentation, reading, and participation, students will learn how different institutions, and the politics surrounding them, impose constraints upon, and present opportunities for, the promotion of sustainable and equitable development. |
| Development Policy: Independent Project · 12.5 pts |
This subject involves the study of selected key issues in the field of development studies. It is intended that the subject will assist students in broadening their understanding of development processes and update their knowledge of current debates amongst development theorists and practitioners. This will be achieved by students taking advantage of subjects and/or lectures offered, or through intensive one-off courses offered by visitors with specialist expertise. |
| Civil Society, NGOs and the State · 12.5 pts |
Over the course of the last thirty years, an 'associational revolution' has swept the world, as more and more civil society organisations have taken over tasks formerly assigned to states, formed cross-border advocacy campaigns to hold both states and corporations accountable for labour, environmental, and human rights violations, and formulated alternative development policies that run counter to the paradigms espoused by the World Bank and other multilateral lending organizations. While some argue that this associational revolution promises more participatory, expedient, and decentralized forms of transnational governance, others contend that it reflects little more than the ongoing privatisation of the public sphere at the hands of transnational capital. In this course, we evaluate these and alternative perspectives by exploring transformations in the structure of the global political-economy over the past thirty years; looking closely at the roles played by a variety of NGOs and CBOs as part of more multi-layered regimes of 'global governance'; analysing the shifts in state structures that have made these regimes possible; and teasing apart the ongoing tensions between various factions of what some have called, an emerging 'global civil society'. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. |
| Advocacy in Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject focuses on the practice of advocacy in development. The subject explores how development practitioners can meaningfully contribute to and support grassroots activism and social movements; in areas including gender justice, social inclusion, access to education and healthcare, and environmental justice. We examine the different forms advocacy actions can take, from small local initiatives to improve access to services, to campaigns to influence national and international policy. The subject engages with debates about the roles of local and international actors, and the strengths and limitations of ‘inside vs outside’ (or collaborative vs. confrontational) advocacy in different political and cultural contexts. Students will examine the strengths and limitations of different advocacy strategies and tactics, and consider how these can be combined to influence change. They will be invited to critically reflect on their own roles as advocates and development practitioners. The subject will include case studies from advocacy practice in Australia and internationally, including participatory action research, community arts, civil society networks, and policy influence. Students will select their own case study of an advocacy issue to analyse in their final research essay. |
| Practising Community-led Development · 12.5 pts |
A range of strategies, tools and methods are available to development practitioners who work directly with communities. This subject focusses on the use of those methods, along with the strategies and skills required for effective community-led development practice. It is taught through workshop sessions that encourage a high level of interaction between students as they engage in participatory learning methods and group work. We start with the foundations of community-led development practice, including project governance and decision-making, cross-cultural considerations and the scope and nature of project achievements when viewed from a community perspective. We build on these foundations by examining examples and case studies (including from Aboriginal organisations in Australia) that illustrate ways of working effectively with the community, including partnership building, engagement with government and other stakeholders and ethical considerations in working with communities. We move on to consider how best to communicate about projects to build partnerships and attract support, using the Men's Shed movement in Australia as an example. A central component of the subject is that students will explore and apply in workshop settings a range of key participatory tools and methods. Workshop content will frequently refer to examples from diverse projects and programs. The content of the subject will address specific challenges in community-led in development practice and ways in which practitioners can navigate the complexities of the work they do. |
| Political Economy of Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject considers processes of development through a political economic perspective. The subject begins by considering the historical roots of political economy, and then focuses on key theoretical debates in the field. It then moves on to consider several contemporary development issues, highlighting the ways in which political economic analysis provides new, critical insight. Key topics to be considered include the following: wealth and inequality; feminist and queer critiques; labour and exploitation; political ecology and natural resources; the limitations of social policy; green and carbon economies; surplus and waste; the effects of globalisation and migration; sustainability and diverse economies. By the end of this subject, students should have a clear understanding for what political economic analysis adds to debates over contemporary development. |
| Development Systems and Interventions · 12.5 pts |
This subject complements the Development Theories compulsory subject, which taken together will give students a strong grounding in both the theories and the practice of development. This subject interprets ‘intervention’ broadly to cover efforts (policies, programmes, projects, activities) that are understood by the actors concerned to be promoting of international and national development. This covers the efforts of the international development industry, but it is also interested in the interventions of national governments in the developing world, the role of emerging donors like China, India and the Gulf states and other agents of development including the private sector and social movements. It aims to show how intervening in development can involve a wide span of activities from the implementing of aid projects, to reforming the civil service, to campaigning for social justice, to improving the tax system. This subject aims to give students an introduction to the complexity and diversity of development settings and interventions and an understanding of why some forms of intervention have been more successful than others. |
| Disaster and Humanitarian Aid · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores emergency relief in crisis situations, including both ‘natural’ disasters and armed conflict (or combinations thereof). We will discuss the dynamics of different kinds of disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, armed conflict and displacement, as well as ‘complex emergencies’ where ‘natural’ disasters intermesh with man-made dynamics. Central to ‘natural’ and man-made disasters is the question of vulnerability and resilience: contrary to what international media images tend to suggest, the first response to disaster is always local, and the resilience of the people affected is determining for longer-term outcomes. But international responses can of course play a major role. The subject will therefore explore: international humanitarian principles, policies, and guidelines; the everyday life of humanitarian work; and the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian aid: how it gets entangled with local political economies; how it gets embroiled in dynamics of conflict; and how it can in fact become part of the problem. We will also examine differences and interlinkages between humanitarian and development interventions, as well as the supposed humanitarian-development ‘continuum’ – the idea that humanitarianism is something that occurs in times of crisis, and that this then gives way to development once the situation is back to ‘normal’. As we will see, disasters are not at all exceptional. They are a normal part of human life; and with the impact of development and climate change, human exposure to disasters is only increasing. Instead of thinking of disasters as unique and exceptional events, shouldn't we be thinking about ‘living with risk’? And, if so, how can that be done? |
| Global Urban Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to investigate global processes of urbanisation, focusing particularly on issues of globalisation, capitalism, inequality, colonialism, informality, migration, gender, and state power. More specifically, this subject seeks to develop critical insight into how urban development (and underdevelopment) is linked through global processes, and how contemporary urban landscapes are produced through broader political economic, historical, socio-cultural, and environmental processes. The subject includes historical context in addition to contemporary case studies, and analysis is focused on cities in both the global South and North. Specific topics to be considered include the following: urban poverty and informality; labour and economic production; segregation and marginalisation; gender and urban development; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerability; urban governance and state power; policing and public security; colonial legacies and race in cities; migration and global climate change. |
| Development and Inequality · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the relationship between development and inequality by taking India as a central example to investigate two inter-related questions: how do different patterns of development shape inequality and how do existing regimes of inequality limit development? Adopting an intersectional approach to inequality and a multi-dimensional approach to development to answer these questions, we analyse the paradox of persistently high rates of poverty and deepening inequalities within an economy that has registered the world’s second-highest economic growth rates for the last two and a half decades. We consider whether the example of India suggests the need to revise existing paradigms of development thinking. We explore how various development strategies in India have ameliorated or exacerbated the disadvantage of women, lower castes, Indigenous peoples and religious minorities. This subject aims to give students an understanding of how and why approaches to development have changed over time (in India and globally) as well as the skills to analyse how different development approaches (including state-led industrialisation, rights-based welfare and a business-friendly political economy) impact poverty and inequality. |
| Migration and Development · 12.5 pts |
Migration is a powerful driver of social change across the contemporary world. This subject explores the key issues and debates at the intersection of migration and development, drawing on conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work in economics, development studies, gender studies, human geography, anthropology, sociology, demography, and political science. Through class debates and practical exercises, students will engage critically with the conceptual models and theoretical frameworks used to analyse migration and its impacts on development. Core concepts - including transnationalism, neoliberalism, forced migration, global care chains, governmentality, and global householding - will be examined and critiqued. The subject also considers the economic, social, and cultural implications of migration for development processes at both micro and macro levels, assessing its relationship to broader debates on globalisation, poverty, gender, and social change. |
| Development in Latin America · 12.5 pts |
This subject aims to provide a critical overview of ‘Development’ in Latin America. It seeks to engage critical perspectives concerning uneven development, processes of inequality and marginalisation, and patterns of globalisation in Latin America. By grounding theoretical arguments in contemporary empirical contexts (i.e., countries in Latin America), the subject attempts to make sense of current development issues in Latin America. Topics to be explored include the following: histories of development and postcolonial critiques; theories of development from Latin American scholars; urbanisation, poverty, and informality; gender and development; post-development critiques in Latin America; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerabilities; identity, race, and indigeneity; contemporary governance and state power in development initiatives. |
| Social Policy and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject investigates the linkages between social policy and development within lower-middle income countries. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas (UMOS) Subject in Indonesia, with a special focus on social policy in Indonesia. By learning 'in-country', the subject draws from the experience of Indonesia to understand the roles played by different actors (government, civil society organisations, international organisations, the private sector, and communities) in responding to complex social policy issues related to poverty, welfare and wellbeing. This includes considerations of environmental change; access to livelihoods, employment, health and education opportunities; and the ways that challenges and opportunities may vary for different social and identity groupings. The subject examines examples of multi-stakeholder approaches to responding to complex social policy challenges in large states like Indonesia, often through collaboration and innovation. The subject also explores debates on the relationship between social and economic development and the implications for social policy in multi-level and decentralised governance structures. Students learn from their experience examining these issues in Indonesia during the teaching period and apply this in their first assessment. The broader readings for the subject also examine similar social policy issues in other countries in the Asia Pacific. Students then use both their Indonesia experience and broader learning from the reading and their own research to investigate similar social policy challenges and responses in other country contexts in the Asia-Pacific for their second assessment. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas Subject in Indonesia with our partner institution the University of Gadjah Mada. The subject will involve Masters students from both Melbourne and Masters students and staff from our Indonesian partner university. This provides an exciting opportunity for students from each University to learn with and from each other to gain deeper knowledge on tackling inequalities and understanding real-world development challenges and responses through social policy in lower-middle income countries. The subject also uses teaching mediums that connects students with experts in the field in Indonesia. There is a quota for this subject. For further information and to apply: https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/students/overseas-experience#graduate-subjects. |
| Contested Development and Culture · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores development epistemes and practices and how they reflect cultural frames, concerns with different ways of seeing and organising the world, and, how they come into conflict and dialogue. It explores how development is situated within different cultural, economic and political contexts and reflects contested views and perspectives. The subject draws together examples of different ways of thinking and approaching development, the impacts of development and where culture and conflict are situated in the visions and ideologues of societal transformation, progress and modernity. We consider how new and alternative approaches emerge, tensions between local-global agenda setting and how they are built on or might lead to contestation and debate through case studies and illustrative material from Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and explore themes such as localisation, decolonisation, gender, equity, justice and inclusive and sustainable development. |
| Conflict, Security and Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to provide a grounding in analytical approaches to the political economy of conflict, security and development. To achieve this aim, we draw on the notion of the 'continuum of violence’ to show how differing forms of violence are connected in complex ways throughout the various processes of development. The subject examines the foundational theories of conflict and violence, including gender perspectives, debates about the origins of human violence, and the role of violence in historical change. Against this background, we explore a range of competing theories and claims in development theory to trace ways assumptions have influenced ideas regarding the causes and dynamics of conflict . Further, the subject looks critically at contemporary efforts to address insecurity and conflict through conflict mediation, ‘state building’, and post conflict stabilization/reconstruction. We also examine empirical trends in relation to conflict, and the varied responses, to areas that include insecurity/violent conflict; the difficulties of data collection; and the importance of categorization and boundaries to matters of conflict and development. |
| Rethinking Rights and Global Development · 12.5 pts |
Are human rights universal? Has increased attention to human rights since the 1990s resulted in a neglect of the material conditions of poverty as political and civil rights are prioritised over social and economic rights? Is it useful to think of women having specific rights distinct from those of other humans? Do all women share the same concerns? This subject explores these questions relating to human rights and women’s rights from postcolonial and intersectional feminist perspectives. We analyse how these debates play out in development practice, particularly in ‘rights-based approaches’ to development. We consider different histories of human rights in the activities of the United Nations, in anti-colonial struggles, and in post-colonial demands for a ‘right to development’. We focus particularly on women’s rights in the contexts of sexual and reproductive health, land rights, the right to education, and the rights of sex workers. We also consider the gendered dimensions of struggles for the recognition of the human rights of people of colour, Indigenous peoples, LGBT people and people with disabilities. Throughout this subject, students are encouraged to ask, ‘whose interests do human and women’s rights serve?’ This subject aims to equip students with skills to critically analyse the power relations that underpin human rights discourse and practice. |
| Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation · 12.5 pts |
This subject develops the skills to understand and assess the social impacts of development, including international development projects, resource management, and proposed infrastructure or new policies. We do this in two ways: by looking at how to assess the impacts of proposed projects, and through evaluation techniques for existing developments or projects. In each case we develop practical skills and interdisciplinary techniques to appraise and evaluate impacts. These techniques draw from anthropology, development studies, and the policy sciences, and move beyond simple summative assessments and financial accounting. We consider the social and environmental contexts in which any form of appraisal is embedded, and the capacities of different actors (from the state to NGOs and community groups) to avert or mitigate negative impacts through learning, negotiation, and citizen participation. Examples, some presented by guest speakers, are drawn from Australia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. At the completion of the subject students will have developed the conceptual skills to understand the impacts of development; be familiar with the range of methodologies and techniques used in impact assessment; understand development evaluation; and will be able to apply this in critical evaluation of the impact of projects and programmes. |
| Environmental Politics and Policy · 12.5 pts |
This subject engages with critical concepts and issues related to environmental politics and policy. Special attention is paid to the political dimensions of policy development and implementation, with reference to national and international domains. Students will be introduced to relevant theories, cases, and tools for policy makers and environmental activists. Students will consider a variety of case studies including climate change, ozone depletion, water management, land conflict, forest preservation, waste and 'sustainability planning'. Case studies will be drawn from Australia, Southeast Asia, and other global contexts. The subject is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Students will gain a practical understanding of issues confronting policymakers and other political actors in relation to a range of environment problems and solutions. |
| The Politics of Food · 12.5 pts |
Formerly FOOD90026 This subject examines the politics of the global food system, and will focus on the policies, structures, power relations and political debates surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of food. The impacts of food production and consumption on food security, health, the environment, animal welfare, and the livelihoods of producers, will be critically explored. Key theoretical frameworks and concepts for understanding the dominant paradigms and dynamics of the food system will be discussed and evaluated. Integrated policies and strategies for creating more sustainable and equitable food systems, and alternative paradigms and practices of production, distribution and consumption, will also be critically examined. This subject will primarily draw on theories and methodologies from the sociology and politics of food and agriculture, food policy, and the political economy and political ecology of food. The topics and debates covered include:
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| Gender, Globalisation and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the relationships between gender, globalisation and development, illustrated principally through case studies, policy documents, and ethnographic texts. It also draws theoretical perspectives and insights from a number of social science and humanities disciplines as well. On completion of the subject students should have an understanding of problems of writing about gender and difference: debates on modernity, globalisation, and development: gender, colonialism and postcolonialism; gender, politics, and the state; masculinities, femininities and sexualities; gender and labour; gender and development agencies; gender, religion and development; gender, sexuality, rights and transnational migration. |
| Digital Politics · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the complex relationship between digital media and politics, broadly defined to include a range of political processes, roles and responsibilities. Using timely political case studies, students will analyse the different mechanisms by which these two systems influence each. They will learn to read the different affordances of digital media and assess how the logical operation of these tools preferences certain types of politics over others. Students will develop a critical understanding of how digital media is changing political communication, preparing themselves for careers in politics, advocacy, campaigning and journalism. Topics will include: the political transparency of software; the relationship between politics, social media companies and the press; how to campaign and how to effect political change through digital communication. |
| Social Enterprise Incubator · 12.5 pts |
This experiential learning subject introduces students to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, while equipping students with a practical understanding of social enterprise as a model to tackle social and/or environmental problems through trade. Working in small teams, students are introduced to a range of design thinking and social innovation frameworks. They draw on these frameworks to iteratively conceptualise, ‘pitch’, refine and develop a social enterprise ‘business model’ that appropriately responds to the needs of communities and society. To nurture and support development of ideas, the subject draws on real-world case studies as well as industry guests from the social enterprise ecosystem including social entrepreneurs, people with ‘lived-experience’, social finance and impact investment intermediaries, incubators and accelerators and leading scholars and thinkers in the field. Upon completing this subject, students will develop a critical understanding of the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship and how to develop a ‘business model’ for financially sustainable social impact. By doing so, the subject also offers a unique opportunity for students to apply conceptual knowledge and project management and business skills to real-world social and/or environmental challenges. |
| Communities and Ecosystem Management · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the ways people know and interact with nature in the context of ecosystem management. Through a series of local and global case studies, students will critically reflect on real world examples, grounded in ideas and theories drawn from social sciences. By exploring dimensions of power, knowledge, and values, students will analyse the ways in which communities participate, drive, and determine what healthy ecosystems mean. Tensions between government, corporate and community aspirations will be drawn out through the case study examples. This subject has a particular emphasis on Indigenous knowledges, self-determination and conceptualisations of Country. The field trip will provide students an opportunity to hear from communities directly about their connections to, and applications of caring for Country. Students will gain insights into different nature framings and perspectives. |
| Trade Policy Politics & Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the politics and governance of international trade. It explores the domestic and international dimensions of trade policy-making and the growing complexity of the "trade agenda" in national and international politics. It examines theories of trade and protection and theories of trade policy-making. It examines the evolution of the multilateral trade system since World War Two and the contemporary and future challenges that confront the system. The subject examines some of the perennial problems in the governance of the global trade system, as well as new issues and concerns, such as trade and the environment, trade and development, and agenda-setting and decision-making in the WTO. Finally, the subject explores the emergence of regional trade blocs and "free trade agreements" and their consequences for the multilateral trade system. |
| Politics and Business in post-Mao China · 12.5 pts |
Over the past two decades, the role of the Chinese state in the country's economic development has changed considerably. The state planning agencies no longer decide what and how much should the country's enterprises produce. Many of the old and inefficient state-owned enterprises have been transformed into market-driven businesses. Some of these companies (still state-controlled) have become global players in sectors such as oil and gas. The so-called non-state companies also occupy an important place in the country's economy. Ideology is no longer an important factor in decision-making and capitalists are welcome to join the communist party. This course will examine the relationship between the growing power of business and the political process in China. We"ll look at how the emergent class of professional managers and entrepreneurs attempts to convert its economic status into political advantage. A number of theoretical frameworks will be used to explore this relationship, including neo-traditionalism/clientelism, democratisation (civil society) and state corporatism. Students will also be encouraged to compare China's experience with that of other transitional societies. |
| International Organisations · 12.5 pts |
This subject is about the role of international organisations in global politics and governance. States have established these formal institutions to better cooperate in addressing global economic, environmental, and security problems, but there is considerable debate in international relations scholarship about their efficacy. In this subject, we will critically assess the world’s foremost international organisations, notably the United Nations and its many specialised agencies, international financial institutions including the World Bank and World Trade Organization, and regional organisations, such as the European Union and NATO. We will ask: to what extent do these organisations only reflect the interests of powerful member states? To what extent can they address global inequality and empower marginalised peoples? Do they enable or constrain efforts toward a more sustainable world? These questions and others will lead us to a better understanding of the factors that shape these organisations, the ways in which they operate, and the impact they have in global politics. |
| Asia-Pacific: Zone of Conflict or Peace? · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines important issues in international relations in the Asia Pacific, drawing on theory and evidence about domestic and international politics. The topics for study normally include the China-US-Japan triangle, the Taiwan and Korean conflicts, the international context of conflicts relating to Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific, and Australian engagement in the Asia-Pacific. |
| Disability in Policy and Practice · 12.5 pts |
Disability inclusion is now a global health and development priority. This includes translating 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal commitments to disability inclusion, and leaving no one behind, into practice. Without disability inclusion we cannot end poverty for all and achieve universal health coverage. Ensuring the inclusion of people with disability in health and development processes, systems, and programs is increasingly required under law in both lower and higher income settings. An understanding of disability inclusive policy and practice is becoming essential knowledge for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. An estimated 16% of the world’s population has a disability, with 80% of people with disability living in resource poor contexts. People with disability are systematically excluded from social, economic, and political participation. In turn, people with disability are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer health outcomes, lower education attainment, and be negatively impacted by climate risk than people without disability. In this short course, you will learn to critically analyse the factors that contribute to these inequities and develop strategies for improving policy and practice. Drawing on practitioner experience, including from people with disability themselves, this course will provide you with a foundation for critically considering issues of equity, representation, intersectionality, and meaningful participation. We will draw on real world examples from multiple sectors, including health, employment, education, and disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response. If you are working, or considering working, in global health and development, including in government, non-government, or United Nations agencies, this subject provides an essential foundation. This course can be taken by students in postgraduate courses, including public health, development studies, and social studies, or through the University of Melbourne Community Access Program (CAP). |
| Primary Health Care, Jamkhed, India · 12.5 pts |
The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India has won global acclaim and provided inspiration for the seminal Declaration of Alma Ata (1978). It remains one of the world’s most influential and innovative comprehensive community health and development programs. In this 3 week residential subject, students will learn about the Jamkhed Model while living in the resource-poor context of central Maharashtra, India. Students will engage with and critically analyse the Jamkhed approach to community health and development via: field visits to villages and project sites; seminars and discussions with project staff, lay volunteers, local health and development professionals and researchers; and interactive observations and teaching with university staff. Students of this subject will gain a thorough understanding of the context and history of comprehensive primary health care as a movement, and its applications within the Indian context. Students will acquire detailed knowledge of how the CRHP has applied a community-based, integrated multi-sectoral action, utilising a deep understanding of local culture and needs to address a wide range of issues. These include mortality and morbidity, poverty, gender inequity, and water and sanitation. Students will learn how to apply these principles in the design of programs seeking to address a variety of global health problems and contexts. Enrolment in this subject requires direct application to The Nossal Institute for Global Health, please proceed to the Nossal Institute website for further information and access to online application at https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/nossal-institute-for-global-health/study/PHC-Jamkhed/ |
| Health Program Design & Implementation · 12.5 pts |
An increasing global focus on program effectiveness and efficiency has brought renewed attention to the role of evidence in designing and implementing health programs. Students of this subject will engage with the discipline of implementation science, and will investigate a range of current theories and approaches to program design, including: Theory of Change; program logic models; logical frameworks; complexity theory; behaviour change theories; emergent design; participatory/co-design approaches; and approaches to scale-up. Facilitated by experts with applied field experience in program design and implementation in Australia and other global contexts, students will learn via practical, staged exercises to draft strategic program plans. A range of case studies on current health challenges and interventions will build students’ knowledge and skills in evidence-based health program design and implementation. Cross-cutting issues in program design will also be considered and applied to case studies, particularly the issues of participation and inclusion. Students will be asked to consider evidence requirements and real-world compromises in programmatic research and planning within Australian and other global settings. This subject will equip students with the knowledge and skills to operationalise their program design skills through best practice approaches to program implementation. Health Program Design & Implementation is a block mode intensive subject. It has a combination of online content which can studied in each student’s own time, combined with live seminars and workshops held on six days across the two week period. Selection of study mode (online or on campus) determines the mode of attending these seminars and workshops. Students are expected to commit approximately 40 hours to learning each week. |
Gender and Development Specialisation 100 point program
1 year full time / 2 years part time. All students must complete one capstone option.
Students must complete 37.5 points of compulsory subjects.
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| Development Theories · 12.5 pts |
This subject forms an introduction to the main theories of development and considers key issues in development such as globalisation, development aid, and development in the new post-Cold War context. This subject seeks to foster skills in critical thinking, communication and group work. Students should become adept at synthesising complex theories and ideas and be able to engage in and critically assess a range of contemporary debates in development. |
| Gender Issues in Development · 12.5 pts |
As a fundamental cross-cutting theme in development theory and practice today, gender discourse and practices have gone beyond the exclusive focus on feminist activism in the 1970s. What began as a preoccupation with women's discrimination and disadvantage and the lack of their visibility in development initiatives became a broader concern with the nature of relations between men and women. Drawing on the scholarship in gender studies, development studies, political science, sociology and anthropology, the subject will examine key gender and development concepts and debates through case studies from the developing world. It will cover important themes in the gender and development literature such as power and inequalities, economic development and poverty, work and labour, and marriage and family as well as sexualities, masculinities, childhood, violence, and HIV/AIDS. Various dimensions of difference such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and religion intersect with gender and sexuality to form myriad lived experiences and perspectives. The subject will investigate these themes through an intersectional lens in order to address the complex realities we experience and embody. |
| Gender Analysis in Development Practice · 12.5 pts |
This subject will use a decolonial, intersectional feminist approach to address the following core questions: How can development programs redress gender inequalities? What are the challenges in applying an intersectional, decolonial feminist approach to development programs and practice? What are the prospects for the re-politicisation of the ‘gender mainstreaming’ agenda? The subject will offer students the opportunity to undertake a critical and inter-disciplinary review of five decades of gender analysis in development programmes and practice. By undertaking practical scenario exercises and analysing case studies of projects in developing countries, students will learn tools and skills in gender analysis frameworks, gender mainstreaming, gender budgets, care analysis, programming with men and boys, and organising collective action. |
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| Internship in Development · 25 pts |
Internship in Development is an elective subject available to graduate students in Development and various cognate disciplines and fields of study. This subject aims to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills learnt in class and enhance their understanding of the current approaches to the broad field of development through a structured period of contributing as a temporary staff member in a government, non-government or private corporation inside or outside Australia. Students are able to select a host organisation to further develop their knowledge and skills in their chosen area of interest. The exposure to a different cultural, socio-political or organisational context provides students with vast opportunities to critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice, and the thus the nature of development as they have studied it and as they observe it to be approached or practiced during their internship placement. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete both minor thesis subjects and DEVT90041: Research Methods in Development. Note: the minor thesis requires enrolment over two consecutive semesters.
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| Gender and Development Thesis Part 1 · 25 pts |
Students enrolled in this subject will undertake a piece of research in Gender and Development approved by the course coordinator. The research will incorporate an analysis of relevant development theory and practice through the gendered lens. Under the close guidance of a dedicated supervisor, students are expected to engage critically and independently with relevant intellectual debates and provide original insights into a particular gender and development phenomenon or issue. In particular, they are required to demonstrate their in-depth understanding of key feminist critiques of development theories and gender analysis skills. On completion of the subject, students will submit a 15,000-word minor thesis on their chosen research topic. |
| Gender and Development Thesis Part 2 · 25 pts |
Refer to GEND90011 Gender and Development Thesis for details. |
| Development Research Design & Assessment · 12.5 pts |
This subject will focus on understanding development research design and a variety of research methods for investigating development problems. The subject will also seek to build skills in assessing the evidence produced from development research, and identifying the strengths/weaknesses and validity of development research designs. The subject will give attention to the challenges of designing and ethically conducting research in developing contexts, and understanding of the various stages of research, particularly in identifying the most appropriate and feasible approaches for data collection and analysis. It will include sessions on qualitative research techniques, and a basic introduction to understanding and collecting quantitative data as well as mixed research methods. Students will gain insights into the debates between different disciplines on methodological approaches, and understanding the politics of knowledge in development research. |
Students taking this capstone stream must complete these two subjects.
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| Development Project Management & Design · 12.5 pts |
This subject offers an introduction to development project management and design from interdisciplinary and critical perspectives. We begin by understanding the standard project cycle approach to project management. We focus on strategy, vision and mission formulation, as well as problem identification and analysis, objectives analysis, stakeholder analysis, formulation of projects and budgets, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. We will examine how different functions require different forms of program design and planning. Students will be familiarised with the 'Logframe Approach' and 'Theory of Change', which will be contrasted with ‘Learning Process’, 'Strengths Based' and 'Social enterprise' approaches to project design. Students will explore participation and empowerment as methodologies to address gender and other power inequalities specific to disadvantaged groups, and consider the ethics and motivations of field workers. Students will also be introduced to recent critiques of, and debates on, project management and development practice. Case studies of projects in developing countries, practical exercises including a group project, and critically reflective learning will be integral to the syllabus. |
| Monitoring and Evaluation in Development · 12.5 pts |
The importance of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the management of projects and programs has been widely recognised within the development sector. Effective M&E acts as an anchor to keep the program moving in the right direction towards the goals and targets set at the planning stage. Historically, M&E was seen exclusively as a tool to make development organisations accountable to donors and conducted by foreign consultants who were largely unfamiliar with the context where development interventions took place. This approach has hampered development agencies’ efforts to obtain the right kind of information for effective M&E and project management. Within the new M&E paradigms emerging since the 1990s, an emphasis is placed on not only accountability but also learning, empowerment and capacity building of local communities. This subject aims to offer comparative insights into different M&E approaches in development as well as to impart practical skills to students so they may develop the technical proficiency in project/program M&E. The subject focuses on development projects and programs rather than policies or public sector management. Practical exercises will be an essential part of the subject. |
A maximum of 37.5 credit points of elective subjects, depending on the capstone option selected.
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| International Development Infrastructure · 12.5 pts |
This subject is suitable for graduate students seeking to understand the donor or sovereign government driven international development sector of international development and humanitarian work and the considerations and challenges in delivering culturally appropriate sustainable infrastructure outcomes. This subject complements the theory and principles in ABPL90277 Humanitarian Construction and further explores the policy settings, political motivations, contextual and cultural considerations of this specific area of the international development sector. Through in-person class sessions, students will gain an appreciation of current theory, practices and approaches and undertake a series of group activities related to the delivery of infrastructure investment in this part of the international development sector. The subject has been designed to enable students to apply their technical discipline understanding and learnings from prior studies and work experience and to collaborate with interdisciplinary peers. Industry leaders, guest presenters and technical experts will share their experiences and project case studies for students to learn about the industry and to test and challenge their own personal values and perspectives when working in developing countries. The subject will offer built environment and other graduate students an insight into the principles, strategic objectives and priority areas of delivering quality infrastructure to build genuine and respectful partnerships with our international neighbours in the Asia Pacific region. Topics will include how to prepare, plan, program, design and construct sustainable infrastructure in differing cultural contexts as well as how to consider policy, governance, economic, environmental and social factors in order to sensitively manage and implement complex program requirements linked to specific outcomes in a development context. Finally, students will also develop an understanding of potential pathways and employment opportunities in the international development industry. |
| Human Rights in Southeast Asia · 12.5 pts |
This seminar will focus on human rights and its critics from a historical and comparative perspective. We will explore the factors that have given rise to radically different conception of rights and justice (i.e. political, economic, cultural, religious, ideological) and look at their implementation and the obstacles at the local, national, and international levels. What is the relationship and relevance of the international human rights movement to local notions of rights? What impact is this having on local gender relations and the relationships of women to their states and communities? Are human rights NGOs weakening or strengthening the nation-states in Southeast Asia. Are they sites of resistance or complicity? The seminar introduces students to different conceptions of rights, and social justice, including feminist critiques of rights discourse and of 'development', ethnographic studies on the relationship between attitudes towards bodily integrity and human rights, the debates about poverty, economic development and access to adequate health care as human rights. We shall draw upon a wide range of sources from theoretical works, philosophical and anthropological critiques of rights discourse, and NGO documents. On completion of the subject students should have a broad historical, comparative and critical perspective on the debates about rights and justice in Southeast Asia. This subject is usually taught two times a year. It is available either as a semester-long subject taught on the Parkville campus or as an overseas intensive subject in some years. ASIA90001 at the University of Indonesia will be taught intensively on location at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. The subject will consist mainly of seminars held at the Faculty, with some field visits in Jakarta. There is a pre-teaching requirement for this subject, during which time students will be required to access subject materials on the LMS, and attend a pre-departure briefing on campus. |
| Civil Society and Social Change in China · 12.5 pts |
The emergence of civil society and nongovernmental organisations in China reflects the rise of new social and political issues that have proven challenging for the Chinese state to address effectively. This subject examines the conditions under which certain ideas, organisational forms, and associational practices have taken hold as well as the ways they have been contested, transformed, and adapted. It explores various social problems – like the rise of gender inequality, labour rights, LGBT concerns, environmental problems, and others – that civil society organisations in China have sought to tackle and examines the broader context in which civil society actors work. |
| China and the Environment · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides an introduction to the key environmental challenges in contemporary China and to China’s environmental governance. The subject is structured around four topics: water resources, land resources, air pollution, and energy and climate change. For each of these topics lectures and tutorials will analyse impacts, policy and governance arrangements, citizen and NGO involvement, government and media discourse, and international linkages. Students will be introduced to key theoretical debates in China studies, development studies and human geography to help them understand the complexities of China’s environmental challenges. Using the environment as a lens, students will gain an understanding of politics and state-society relations in contemporary China. |
| Contemporary China · 12.5 pts |
This subject provides a broad-based overview of contemporary China, exploring key features of the country's increasingly complex and dynamic society. Topics covered include the economy, environmental challenges, political processes, cultural change, civil society, and China’s engagement with the global community. |
| Violence, Trauma and Reconciliation · 12.5 pts |
Mass violence inflicted by states and groups have a prolonged effect on communities and nations. This subject considers the forms of trauma people experience as a response to these forms of violence and explores how this trauma propels calls for apologies, truth commissions, retribution and torture. The subject employs psychoanalytic theory and practice to consider what it means to be traumatised and what it means to seek remedies from law, and uses examples of cross-cultural lawful practice to interrogate ideas of violence and trauma. Legal practices, apologies and demands for reconciliation will be discussed as methods of responding to the rage, pain and mourning that trauma demands. The course will be divided into 4 sections dealing with – trauma and violence, torture, testimony and reconciliation. In these sections we will look at events in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Australia and Nazi Germany, where legal mechanisms, apologies and vengeance have been utilised as responses to events such as genocide, terrorist acts, hostile occupation, and war. Note – some of the content of this course may be distressing. |
| The Political Ecology of Development · 12.5 pts |
The subject will help students understand human-environment relationships and key development issues using a political ecology perspective, with cases from developing and developed countries. Political ecologists use a variety of approaches to understand complex human-environment problems, and these are applied to concrete situations. We critically analyze a number of development initiatives that are reconstituting human-environment relationships and, in some cases, promoting new forms of ‘environmental governance’. The range of topics covered does change, and some indicative ones are; supporting rural livelihoods; water management; conservation policy; urban environmental governance; the environmental outcomes of corporate misdeeds; global land grabbing; and environmental movements. Through a seminar presentation, reading, and participation, students will learn how different institutions, and the politics surrounding them, impose constraints upon, and present opportunities for, the promotion of sustainable and equitable development. |
| Development Policy: Independent Project · 12.5 pts |
This subject involves the study of selected key issues in the field of development studies. It is intended that the subject will assist students in broadening their understanding of development processes and update their knowledge of current debates amongst development theorists and practitioners. This will be achieved by students taking advantage of subjects and/or lectures offered, or through intensive one-off courses offered by visitors with specialist expertise. |
| Civil Society, NGOs and the State · 12.5 pts |
Over the course of the last thirty years, an 'associational revolution' has swept the world, as more and more civil society organisations have taken over tasks formerly assigned to states, formed cross-border advocacy campaigns to hold both states and corporations accountable for labour, environmental, and human rights violations, and formulated alternative development policies that run counter to the paradigms espoused by the World Bank and other multilateral lending organizations. While some argue that this associational revolution promises more participatory, expedient, and decentralized forms of transnational governance, others contend that it reflects little more than the ongoing privatisation of the public sphere at the hands of transnational capital. In this course, we evaluate these and alternative perspectives by exploring transformations in the structure of the global political-economy over the past thirty years; looking closely at the roles played by a variety of NGOs and CBOs as part of more multi-layered regimes of 'global governance'; analysing the shifts in state structures that have made these regimes possible; and teasing apart the ongoing tensions between various factions of what some have called, an emerging 'global civil society'. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. |
| Advocacy in Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject focuses on the practice of advocacy in development. The subject explores how development practitioners can meaningfully contribute to and support grassroots activism and social movements; in areas including gender justice, social inclusion, access to education and healthcare, and environmental justice. We examine the different forms advocacy actions can take, from small local initiatives to improve access to services, to campaigns to influence national and international policy. The subject engages with debates about the roles of local and international actors, and the strengths and limitations of ‘inside vs outside’ (or collaborative vs. confrontational) advocacy in different political and cultural contexts. Students will examine the strengths and limitations of different advocacy strategies and tactics, and consider how these can be combined to influence change. They will be invited to critically reflect on their own roles as advocates and development practitioners. The subject will include case studies from advocacy practice in Australia and internationally, including participatory action research, community arts, civil society networks, and policy influence. Students will select their own case study of an advocacy issue to analyse in their final research essay. |
| Practising Community-led Development · 12.5 pts |
A range of strategies, tools and methods are available to development practitioners who work directly with communities. This subject focusses on the use of those methods, along with the strategies and skills required for effective community-led development practice. It is taught through workshop sessions that encourage a high level of interaction between students as they engage in participatory learning methods and group work. We start with the foundations of community-led development practice, including project governance and decision-making, cross-cultural considerations and the scope and nature of project achievements when viewed from a community perspective. We build on these foundations by examining examples and case studies (including from Aboriginal organisations in Australia) that illustrate ways of working effectively with the community, including partnership building, engagement with government and other stakeholders and ethical considerations in working with communities. We move on to consider how best to communicate about projects to build partnerships and attract support, using the Men's Shed movement in Australia as an example. A central component of the subject is that students will explore and apply in workshop settings a range of key participatory tools and methods. Workshop content will frequently refer to examples from diverse projects and programs. The content of the subject will address specific challenges in community-led in development practice and ways in which practitioners can navigate the complexities of the work they do. |
| Political Economy of Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject considers processes of development through a political economic perspective. The subject begins by considering the historical roots of political economy, and then focuses on key theoretical debates in the field. It then moves on to consider several contemporary development issues, highlighting the ways in which political economic analysis provides new, critical insight. Key topics to be considered include the following: wealth and inequality; feminist and queer critiques; labour and exploitation; political ecology and natural resources; the limitations of social policy; green and carbon economies; surplus and waste; the effects of globalisation and migration; sustainability and diverse economies. By the end of this subject, students should have a clear understanding for what political economic analysis adds to debates over contemporary development. |
| Development Systems and Interventions · 12.5 pts |
This subject complements the Development Theories compulsory subject, which taken together will give students a strong grounding in both the theories and the practice of development. This subject interprets ‘intervention’ broadly to cover efforts (policies, programmes, projects, activities) that are understood by the actors concerned to be promoting of international and national development. This covers the efforts of the international development industry, but it is also interested in the interventions of national governments in the developing world, the role of emerging donors like China, India and the Gulf states and other agents of development including the private sector and social movements. It aims to show how intervening in development can involve a wide span of activities from the implementing of aid projects, to reforming the civil service, to campaigning for social justice, to improving the tax system. This subject aims to give students an introduction to the complexity and diversity of development settings and interventions and an understanding of why some forms of intervention have been more successful than others. |
| Disaster and Humanitarian Aid · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores emergency relief in crisis situations, including both ‘natural’ disasters and armed conflict (or combinations thereof). We will discuss the dynamics of different kinds of disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, armed conflict and displacement, as well as ‘complex emergencies’ where ‘natural’ disasters intermesh with man-made dynamics. Central to ‘natural’ and man-made disasters is the question of vulnerability and resilience: contrary to what international media images tend to suggest, the first response to disaster is always local, and the resilience of the people affected is determining for longer-term outcomes. But international responses can of course play a major role. The subject will therefore explore: international humanitarian principles, policies, and guidelines; the everyday life of humanitarian work; and the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian aid: how it gets entangled with local political economies; how it gets embroiled in dynamics of conflict; and how it can in fact become part of the problem. We will also examine differences and interlinkages between humanitarian and development interventions, as well as the supposed humanitarian-development ‘continuum’ – the idea that humanitarianism is something that occurs in times of crisis, and that this then gives way to development once the situation is back to ‘normal’. As we will see, disasters are not at all exceptional. They are a normal part of human life; and with the impact of development and climate change, human exposure to disasters is only increasing. Instead of thinking of disasters as unique and exceptional events, shouldn't we be thinking about ‘living with risk’? And, if so, how can that be done? |
| Global Urban Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to investigate global processes of urbanisation, focusing particularly on issues of globalisation, capitalism, inequality, colonialism, informality, migration, gender, and state power. More specifically, this subject seeks to develop critical insight into how urban development (and underdevelopment) is linked through global processes, and how contemporary urban landscapes are produced through broader political economic, historical, socio-cultural, and environmental processes. The subject includes historical context in addition to contemporary case studies, and analysis is focused on cities in both the global South and North. Specific topics to be considered include the following: urban poverty and informality; labour and economic production; segregation and marginalisation; gender and urban development; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerability; urban governance and state power; policing and public security; colonial legacies and race in cities; migration and global climate change. |
| Development and Inequality · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the relationship between development and inequality by taking India as a central example to investigate two inter-related questions: how do different patterns of development shape inequality and how do existing regimes of inequality limit development? Adopting an intersectional approach to inequality and a multi-dimensional approach to development to answer these questions, we analyse the paradox of persistently high rates of poverty and deepening inequalities within an economy that has registered the world’s second-highest economic growth rates for the last two and a half decades. We consider whether the example of India suggests the need to revise existing paradigms of development thinking. We explore how various development strategies in India have ameliorated or exacerbated the disadvantage of women, lower castes, Indigenous peoples and religious minorities. This subject aims to give students an understanding of how and why approaches to development have changed over time (in India and globally) as well as the skills to analyse how different development approaches (including state-led industrialisation, rights-based welfare and a business-friendly political economy) impact poverty and inequality. |
| Migration and Development · 12.5 pts |
Migration is a powerful driver of social change across the contemporary world. This subject explores the key issues and debates at the intersection of migration and development, drawing on conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work in economics, development studies, gender studies, human geography, anthropology, sociology, demography, and political science. Through class debates and practical exercises, students will engage critically with the conceptual models and theoretical frameworks used to analyse migration and its impacts on development. Core concepts - including transnationalism, neoliberalism, forced migration, global care chains, governmentality, and global householding - will be examined and critiqued. The subject also considers the economic, social, and cultural implications of migration for development processes at both micro and macro levels, assessing its relationship to broader debates on globalisation, poverty, gender, and social change. |
| Development in Latin America · 12.5 pts |
This subject aims to provide a critical overview of ‘Development’ in Latin America. It seeks to engage critical perspectives concerning uneven development, processes of inequality and marginalisation, and patterns of globalisation in Latin America. By grounding theoretical arguments in contemporary empirical contexts (i.e., countries in Latin America), the subject attempts to make sense of current development issues in Latin America. Topics to be explored include the following: histories of development and postcolonial critiques; theories of development from Latin American scholars; urbanisation, poverty, and informality; gender and development; post-development critiques in Latin America; collective mobilisation and social movements; political ecology and environmental vulnerabilities; identity, race, and indigeneity; contemporary governance and state power in development initiatives. |
| Social Policy and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject investigates the linkages between social policy and development within lower-middle income countries. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas (UMOS) Subject in Indonesia, with a special focus on social policy in Indonesia. By learning 'in-country', the subject draws from the experience of Indonesia to understand the roles played by different actors (government, civil society organisations, international organisations, the private sector, and communities) in responding to complex social policy issues related to poverty, welfare and wellbeing. This includes considerations of environmental change; access to livelihoods, employment, health and education opportunities; and the ways that challenges and opportunities may vary for different social and identity groupings. The subject examines examples of multi-stakeholder approaches to responding to complex social policy challenges in large states like Indonesia, often through collaboration and innovation. The subject also explores debates on the relationship between social and economic development and the implications for social policy in multi-level and decentralised governance structures. Students learn from their experience examining these issues in Indonesia during the teaching period and apply this in their first assessment. The broader readings for the subject also examine similar social policy issues in other countries in the Asia Pacific. Students then use both their Indonesia experience and broader learning from the reading and their own research to investigate similar social policy challenges and responses in other country contexts in the Asia-Pacific for their second assessment. The November availability of this subject is taught as a University of Melbourne Overseas Subject in Indonesia with our partner institution the University of Gadjah Mada. The subject will involve Masters students from both Melbourne and Masters students and staff from our Indonesian partner university. This provides an exciting opportunity for students from each University to learn with and from each other to gain deeper knowledge on tackling inequalities and understanding real-world development challenges and responses through social policy in lower-middle income countries. The subject also uses teaching mediums that connects students with experts in the field in Indonesia. There is a quota for this subject. For further information and to apply: https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/students/overseas-experience#graduate-subjects. |
| Contested Development and Culture · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores development epistemes and practices and how they reflect cultural frames, concerns with different ways of seeing and organising the world, and, how they come into conflict and dialogue. It explores how development is situated within different cultural, economic and political contexts and reflects contested views and perspectives. The subject draws together examples of different ways of thinking and approaching development, the impacts of development and where culture and conflict are situated in the visions and ideologues of societal transformation, progress and modernity. We consider how new and alternative approaches emerge, tensions between local-global agenda setting and how they are built on or might lead to contestation and debate through case studies and illustrative material from Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and explore themes such as localisation, decolonisation, gender, equity, justice and inclusive and sustainable development. |
| Conflict, Security and Development · 12.5 pts |
The aim of this subject is to provide a grounding in analytical approaches to the political economy of conflict, security and development. To achieve this aim, we draw on the notion of the 'continuum of violence’ to show how differing forms of violence are connected in complex ways throughout the various processes of development. The subject examines the foundational theories of conflict and violence, including gender perspectives, debates about the origins of human violence, and the role of violence in historical change. Against this background, we explore a range of competing theories and claims in development theory to trace ways assumptions have influenced ideas regarding the causes and dynamics of conflict . Further, the subject looks critically at contemporary efforts to address insecurity and conflict through conflict mediation, ‘state building’, and post conflict stabilization/reconstruction. We also examine empirical trends in relation to conflict, and the varied responses, to areas that include insecurity/violent conflict; the difficulties of data collection; and the importance of categorization and boundaries to matters of conflict and development. |
| Rethinking Rights and Global Development · 12.5 pts |
Are human rights universal? Has increased attention to human rights since the 1990s resulted in a neglect of the material conditions of poverty as political and civil rights are prioritised over social and economic rights? Is it useful to think of women having specific rights distinct from those of other humans? Do all women share the same concerns? This subject explores these questions relating to human rights and women’s rights from postcolonial and intersectional feminist perspectives. We analyse how these debates play out in development practice, particularly in ‘rights-based approaches’ to development. We consider different histories of human rights in the activities of the United Nations, in anti-colonial struggles, and in post-colonial demands for a ‘right to development’. We focus particularly on women’s rights in the contexts of sexual and reproductive health, land rights, the right to education, and the rights of sex workers. We also consider the gendered dimensions of struggles for the recognition of the human rights of people of colour, Indigenous peoples, LGBT people and people with disabilities. Throughout this subject, students are encouraged to ask, ‘whose interests do human and women’s rights serve?’ This subject aims to equip students with skills to critically analyse the power relations that underpin human rights discourse and practice. |
| Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation · 12.5 pts |
This subject develops the skills to understand and assess the social impacts of development, including international development projects, resource management, and proposed infrastructure or new policies. We do this in two ways: by looking at how to assess the impacts of proposed projects, and through evaluation techniques for existing developments or projects. In each case we develop practical skills and interdisciplinary techniques to appraise and evaluate impacts. These techniques draw from anthropology, development studies, and the policy sciences, and move beyond simple summative assessments and financial accounting. We consider the social and environmental contexts in which any form of appraisal is embedded, and the capacities of different actors (from the state to NGOs and community groups) to avert or mitigate negative impacts through learning, negotiation, and citizen participation. Examples, some presented by guest speakers, are drawn from Australia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. At the completion of the subject students will have developed the conceptual skills to understand the impacts of development; be familiar with the range of methodologies and techniques used in impact assessment; understand development evaluation; and will be able to apply this in critical evaluation of the impact of projects and programmes. |
| Environmental Politics and Policy · 12.5 pts |
This subject engages with critical concepts and issues related to environmental politics and policy. Special attention is paid to the political dimensions of policy development and implementation, with reference to national and international domains. Students will be introduced to relevant theories, cases, and tools for policy makers and environmental activists. Students will consider a variety of case studies including climate change, ozone depletion, water management, land conflict, forest preservation, waste and 'sustainability planning'. Case studies will be drawn from Australia, Southeast Asia, and other global contexts. The subject is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Students will gain a practical understanding of issues confronting policymakers and other political actors in relation to a range of environment problems and solutions. |
| The Politics of Food · 12.5 pts |
Formerly FOOD90026 This subject examines the politics of the global food system, and will focus on the policies, structures, power relations and political debates surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of food. The impacts of food production and consumption on food security, health, the environment, animal welfare, and the livelihoods of producers, will be critically explored. Key theoretical frameworks and concepts for understanding the dominant paradigms and dynamics of the food system will be discussed and evaluated. Integrated policies and strategies for creating more sustainable and equitable food systems, and alternative paradigms and practices of production, distribution and consumption, will also be critically examined. This subject will primarily draw on theories and methodologies from the sociology and politics of food and agriculture, food policy, and the political economy and political ecology of food. The topics and debates covered include:
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| Gender, Globalisation and Development · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the relationships between gender, globalisation and development, illustrated principally through case studies, policy documents, and ethnographic texts. It also draws theoretical perspectives and insights from a number of social science and humanities disciplines as well. On completion of the subject students should have an understanding of problems of writing about gender and difference: debates on modernity, globalisation, and development: gender, colonialism and postcolonialism; gender, politics, and the state; masculinities, femininities and sexualities; gender and labour; gender and development agencies; gender, religion and development; gender, sexuality, rights and transnational migration. |
| Digital Politics · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the complex relationship between digital media and politics, broadly defined to include a range of political processes, roles and responsibilities. Using timely political case studies, students will analyse the different mechanisms by which these two systems influence each. They will learn to read the different affordances of digital media and assess how the logical operation of these tools preferences certain types of politics over others. Students will develop a critical understanding of how digital media is changing political communication, preparing themselves for careers in politics, advocacy, campaigning and journalism. Topics will include: the political transparency of software; the relationship between politics, social media companies and the press; how to campaign and how to effect political change through digital communication. |
| Social Enterprise Incubator · 12.5 pts |
This experiential learning subject introduces students to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, while equipping students with a practical understanding of social enterprise as a model to tackle social and/or environmental problems through trade. Working in small teams, students are introduced to a range of design thinking and social innovation frameworks. They draw on these frameworks to iteratively conceptualise, ‘pitch’, refine and develop a social enterprise ‘business model’ that appropriately responds to the needs of communities and society. To nurture and support development of ideas, the subject draws on real-world case studies as well as industry guests from the social enterprise ecosystem including social entrepreneurs, people with ‘lived-experience’, social finance and impact investment intermediaries, incubators and accelerators and leading scholars and thinkers in the field. Upon completing this subject, students will develop a critical understanding of the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship and how to develop a ‘business model’ for financially sustainable social impact. By doing so, the subject also offers a unique opportunity for students to apply conceptual knowledge and project management and business skills to real-world social and/or environmental challenges. |
| Communities and Ecosystem Management · 12.5 pts |
This subject explores the ways people know and interact with nature in the context of ecosystem management. Through a series of local and global case studies, students will critically reflect on real world examples, grounded in ideas and theories drawn from social sciences. By exploring dimensions of power, knowledge, and values, students will analyse the ways in which communities participate, drive, and determine what healthy ecosystems mean. Tensions between government, corporate and community aspirations will be drawn out through the case study examples. This subject has a particular emphasis on Indigenous knowledges, self-determination and conceptualisations of Country. The field trip will provide students an opportunity to hear from communities directly about their connections to, and applications of caring for Country. Students will gain insights into different nature framings and perspectives. |
| Trade Policy Politics & Governance · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines the politics and governance of international trade. It explores the domestic and international dimensions of trade policy-making and the growing complexity of the "trade agenda" in national and international politics. It examines theories of trade and protection and theories of trade policy-making. It examines the evolution of the multilateral trade system since World War Two and the contemporary and future challenges that confront the system. The subject examines some of the perennial problems in the governance of the global trade system, as well as new issues and concerns, such as trade and the environment, trade and development, and agenda-setting and decision-making in the WTO. Finally, the subject explores the emergence of regional trade blocs and "free trade agreements" and their consequences for the multilateral trade system. |
| Politics and Business in post-Mao China · 12.5 pts |
Over the past two decades, the role of the Chinese state in the country's economic development has changed considerably. The state planning agencies no longer decide what and how much should the country's enterprises produce. Many of the old and inefficient state-owned enterprises have been transformed into market-driven businesses. Some of these companies (still state-controlled) have become global players in sectors such as oil and gas. The so-called non-state companies also occupy an important place in the country's economy. Ideology is no longer an important factor in decision-making and capitalists are welcome to join the communist party. This course will examine the relationship between the growing power of business and the political process in China. We"ll look at how the emergent class of professional managers and entrepreneurs attempts to convert its economic status into political advantage. A number of theoretical frameworks will be used to explore this relationship, including neo-traditionalism/clientelism, democratisation (civil society) and state corporatism. Students will also be encouraged to compare China's experience with that of other transitional societies. |
| International Organisations · 12.5 pts |
This subject is about the role of international organisations in global politics and governance. States have established these formal institutions to better cooperate in addressing global economic, environmental, and security problems, but there is considerable debate in international relations scholarship about their efficacy. In this subject, we will critically assess the world’s foremost international organisations, notably the United Nations and its many specialised agencies, international financial institutions including the World Bank and World Trade Organization, and regional organisations, such as the European Union and NATO. We will ask: to what extent do these organisations only reflect the interests of powerful member states? To what extent can they address global inequality and empower marginalised peoples? Do they enable or constrain efforts toward a more sustainable world? These questions and others will lead us to a better understanding of the factors that shape these organisations, the ways in which they operate, and the impact they have in global politics. |
| Asia-Pacific: Zone of Conflict or Peace? · 12.5 pts |
This subject examines important issues in international relations in the Asia Pacific, drawing on theory and evidence about domestic and international politics. The topics for study normally include the China-US-Japan triangle, the Taiwan and Korean conflicts, the international context of conflicts relating to Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific, and Australian engagement in the Asia-Pacific. |
| Disability in Policy and Practice · 12.5 pts |
Disability inclusion is now a global health and development priority. This includes translating 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal commitments to disability inclusion, and leaving no one behind, into practice. Without disability inclusion we cannot end poverty for all and achieve universal health coverage. Ensuring the inclusion of people with disability in health and development processes, systems, and programs is increasingly required under law in both lower and higher income settings. An understanding of disability inclusive policy and practice is becoming essential knowledge for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. An estimated 16% of the world’s population has a disability, with 80% of people with disability living in resource poor contexts. People with disability are systematically excluded from social, economic, and political participation. In turn, people with disability are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer health outcomes, lower education attainment, and be negatively impacted by climate risk than people without disability. In this short course, you will learn to critically analyse the factors that contribute to these inequities and develop strategies for improving policy and practice. Drawing on practitioner experience, including from people with disability themselves, this course will provide you with a foundation for critically considering issues of equity, representation, intersectionality, and meaningful participation. We will draw on real world examples from multiple sectors, including health, employment, education, and disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response. If you are working, or considering working, in global health and development, including in government, non-government, or United Nations agencies, this subject provides an essential foundation. This course can be taken by students in postgraduate courses, including public health, development studies, and social studies, or through the University of Melbourne Community Access Program (CAP). |
| Primary Health Care, Jamkhed, India · 12.5 pts |
The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India has won global acclaim and provided inspiration for the seminal Declaration of Alma Ata (1978). It remains one of the world’s most influential and innovative comprehensive community health and development programs. In this 3 week residential subject, students will learn about the Jamkhed Model while living in the resource-poor context of central Maharashtra, India. Students will engage with and critically analyse the Jamkhed approach to community health and development via: field visits to villages and project sites; seminars and discussions with project staff, lay volunteers, local health and development professionals and researchers; and interactive observations and teaching with university staff. Students of this subject will gain a thorough understanding of the context and history of comprehensive primary health care as a movement, and its applications within the Indian context. Students will acquire detailed knowledge of how the CRHP has applied a community-based, integrated multi-sectoral action, utilising a deep understanding of local culture and needs to address a wide range of issues. These include mortality and morbidity, poverty, gender inequity, and water and sanitation. Students will learn how to apply these principles in the design of programs seeking to address a variety of global health problems and contexts. Enrolment in this subject requires direct application to The Nossal Institute for Global Health, please proceed to the Nossal Institute website for further information and access to online application at https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/nossal-institute-for-global-health/study/PHC-Jamkhed/ |
| Health Program Design & Implementation · 12.5 pts |
An increasing global focus on program effectiveness and efficiency has brought renewed attention to the role of evidence in designing and implementing health programs. Students of this subject will engage with the discipline of implementation science, and will investigate a range of current theories and approaches to program design, including: Theory of Change; program logic models; logical frameworks; complexity theory; behaviour change theories; emergent design; participatory/co-design approaches; and approaches to scale-up. Facilitated by experts with applied field experience in program design and implementation in Australia and other global contexts, students will learn via practical, staged exercises to draft strategic program plans. A range of case studies on current health challenges and interventions will build students’ knowledge and skills in evidence-based health program design and implementation. Cross-cutting issues in program design will also be considered and applied to case studies, particularly the issues of participation and inclusion. Students will be asked to consider evidence requirements and real-world compromises in programmatic research and planning within Australian and other global settings. This subject will equip students with the knowledge and skills to operationalise their program design skills through best practice approaches to program implementation. Health Program Design & Implementation is a block mode intensive subject. It has a combination of online content which can studied in each student’s own time, combined with live seminars and workshops held on six days across the two week period. Selection of study mode (online or on campus) determines the mode of attending these seminars and workshops. Students are expected to commit approximately 40 hours to learning each week. |