Key Thinkers and Doers in Development (L2145)

15 credits, Level 4

Spring teaching

How did the world get like this? Inequality and poverty arose by design, not chance, and stories of human rights abuses and failures in development have deep roots.

On this module, you’ll explore the key thinkers and doers whose lives and works have shaped the world, helped us to think about how to
unravel global complexities and explain the way we live now. You’ll read original texts from these key thinkers and doers, alongside additional supporting texts.

You'll gain a broad understanding of different approaches to development thinkers and doers, and their current applicability under global capitalism.

Teaching

50%: Lecture
50%: Seminar

Assessment

30%: Coursework (Essay)
70%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: