SOW-CAOSB27
Culture, development and globalisation
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleSOW-CAOSB27
Credits (ECTS)6
Category-
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Social Sciences; Anthropology and Development studies;
Lecturer(s)
Lecturer
dr. ir. J.J. Beuving
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. ir. J.J. Beuving
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2016
Period
PER1  (29/08/2016 to 06/11/2016)
Starting block
PER1
Course mode
full-time
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesYes
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims

Students acquire knowledge about, and insight in, the relation between the historical processes of modernization and globalization. In addition through theoretical discussions, and hands on applications in form of interactive group assignments, they learn to be critical about the meta-concepts of Culture and Development.

Content

Development and progress, by way of modernization, is highly regarded in the Western world. Our quasi religious faith in progress has not only driven us to faraway lands, it has also largely defined our self definition as well as our conceptualization of "the non-Western Other" and of culture; not only our own culture but also that of the societies we encountered. This course is a critical reflection on this process. It is about the relation between zeal of development concretized in modernization projects, the role of culture, and the thinking about culture.
Questions that we will seek to unravel and answer are: what does progress and development mean to western and non-western societies (to speak in reified terms)? Does the growing number of McDonalds-restaurants and Coca-Cola-drinkers imply the demise of local cultures or is it a sign of development, a sign of a new global culture? Is this global culture hybrid? Are the fundamentalist and populist movements reactions to this emerging global culture? These and similar questions will be entertained through the angle of globalization which offers a dynamic entrance into discussions of Culture and/in Development. Globalization will be defined as the increasing political, economic, and cultural interconnectedness of the world. Important therein are the technological links, money-flows, gendered and ethnicized labour-migration, international treaties, human rights discourse, and such.
Globalization understood as planetary interconnectedness will be historicized beginning the processes of colonization and (anti)colonial discourse, followed by a critical overview of modernity and modernization, and culminating with a discussion of late modernity and post-modern thinking. The last sessions will be dedicated to seeking to think "beyond post-modernity" and "beyond development."

Literature

• Book: Schech, S. and Haggis, J. 2001. Culture and Development. Oxford and Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers. More literature will be given at the beginning of the course

Teaching formats
12 lectures, 3 hours per week and case study

Levels
MAW.CAOS.B2

Test information
Take Home Exam and assignment

Prerequisites

• At least a full year of prior study preferable in the field of the social sciences, political sciences or management sciences, but the course is also open for second year students from other disciplines.
• Introduction CAOS I (CAOSB1010)

Contact information
Dr. ir. J.J. Beuving; j.beuving@maw.ru.nl

Required materials
Book
Schech, S. and Haggis, J. 2001. Culture and Development. Oxford and Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.
To be announced
More literature will be given at the beginning of the course

Instructional modes
Lecture
Attendance MandatoryYes

General
12 lectures, 3 hours per week and case study

Tests
Tentamen
Test weight1
OpportunitiesBlock PER1, Block PER3