Decoding the broad field of Development Studies for you
Hello, and welcome to the blog of the What’s Next in Social Sciences podcast!
The world is roughly divided into first world and third world countries or the global North and the global South, or simply developed and developing countries. If you think about it carefully, what does that even mean? Does that mean the developed countries are not growing, evolving or changing in any way? Of course not. Development is a complex phenomenon that cannot be simply defined in any one sense. Understanding its varied nature through a wide range of perspectives can help us understand how to make society better. And that is what any course in Development or Development Studies aims to help you do.
A society can be Pareto optimal and still perfectly disgusting.
Nobel-winning Economist Amartya Sen said that. Development studies will help you understand the overt and deeper meanings of this powerful statement. The kind of topics covered would include the definitions of development, history of development of various countries, the history of capitalism, the industrial revolution, macroeconomics, the different types of economic models of development proposed by scholars, understanding the study of societies and the influence of cultural systems and meanings, various political systems and the role of public policy, study of industry and labour, and environmental sustainability in development. These are just a sample. Each course differs from another, and you must check it’s syllabus before choosing to apply.
Episode 4 is an introduction to Development Studies, where Nirupama and Archana take us through the basics, job opportunities, and recommendations of scholars to follow.
The additional resources for this episode are a few readings and videos for a basic understanding of development, and a list of global DS courses:
- Top University globally for DS: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2020/development-studies
- On pursuing DS in India (the list of courses is not exhaustive): https://www.mindler.com/careerlibrary/Social-Sciences-Humanities/career-in-development-studies-in-india
- The paper quoted in the episode:
3. A transcript of an interview with Amartya Sen:
4. A short interview with Jean Dreze:
5. A short interview with Sen on the Asian development model & welfare state :
