Development studies

Jawad Hasin from First Batch of Development Studies Discipline, Khulna University Faculty, Development Studies

Interdisciplinary branch of social science

Not to be confused with Developmental psychology.

Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the early 1990s, and has been most widely taught and researched in developing countries and countries with a colonial history, such as the UK, where the discipline originated.[1] Students of development studies often choose careers in international organisations such as the United Nations, World Bank, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), media and journalism houses, private sector development consultancy firms, corporate social responsibility (CSR) bodies and research centers.

Last two decades have witnessed a massive transformation in the development discourse. Now development is understood as the improvement in the total quality of life. This paradigm shift has opened up new avenues for the involvement of various non-state actors such as NGOs, civil societies, donors and media alongside the community in the development process. This has created a huge demand for trained development practitioners in the job market. To cater to this demand, after Dhaka University, Khulna University, in Bangladesh has launched its Bachelor program in Development studies in 2011. The Discipline started its first academic program under the title of “Bachelor of Development Studies (BDS)”. The first batch of the BDS program was inducted during the session 2011-2012. Later in 2019 the Bachelor of Development Studies (BDS) program was renamed as BSS (Hons) in Development Studies. BSS (Hons) in Development Studies is an undergraduate degree program designed for students to train them in the various aspects and challenges of development and public policy today. The program is dedicated to create and disseminate knowledge on different aspects of development through world-class teaching. It prepares the future leaders, researchers and policymakers to identify and solve complex socioeconomic problems that hinder the process of progress towards development in developing countries like Bangladesh. The key aim of the discipline is to embellish students with greater command over conducting research, designing programs and policies for development interventions aligned to national development aspirations of Bangladesh to attain the SDGs. This is a multidisciplinary program designed with courses from Social, Natural, Engineering, Management and General Sciences. The program offers students the opportunity to investigate the causes and implications of poverty, inequality and unequal development interventions, as well as evaluate policy solutions for a more equitable and sustainable future. At undergraduate level, students are equipped with foundation of key concepts and skills that are necessary to grasp the essence of cross-cutting notion of development. This 4-year long program is divided into eight terms where each term lasts for about six months. Successful graduates of the program are expected to be highly qualified human resources who would be highly eligible to be hired in lucrative fields such as academia and research, policy making, administration, social work, national and international development Organizations, creative entrepreneurship etc.

## Professional bodies[edit]

Throughout the world, a number of professional bodies for development studies have been founded:[2]

* Europe: European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI)
* Latin America: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO)
* Asia: Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA)
* Africa: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA)
* Arabic world: Arab Institutes and Centers for Economic and Social Development Research (AICARDES)

The common umbrella organisation of these association is the Inter-regional Coordinating Committee of Development Associations (ICCDA). In the UK and Ireland, the Development Studies Association is a major source of information for research on and studying in development studies. Its mission is to connect and promote those working on development research.

## Disciplines of development studies[edit]

Development issues include:

* Adult education
* Area studies
* Anthropology
* Community development
* Demography
* Development aid
* Development communication
* Development theory
* Diaspora studies
* Ecology
* Economic development
* Economic History
* Environmental studies
* Geography
* Gender studies
* Governance
* History of economic thought
* Human rights
* Human security
* Indigenous rights
* Industrial relations
* Industrialization
* International business
* International development
* International relations
* Journalism
* Media Studies
* Migration studies
* Partnership
* Peace and conflict studies
* Pedagogy
* Philosophy
* Political philosophy
* Population studies
* Postcolonialism
* Psychology
* Public administration
* Public health
* Rural development
* Queer studies
* Sociology
* Social policy
* Social development
* Social work
* Sustainable development
* Urban studies
* Women's studies

## History[edit]

The emergence of development studies as an academic discipline in the second half of the twentieth century is in large part due to increasing concern about economic prospects for the third world after decolonisation. In the immediate post-war period, development economics, a branch of economics, arose out of previous studies in colonial economics. By the 1960s, an increasing number of development economists felt that economics alone could not fully address issues such as political effectiveness and educational provision.[3] Development studies arose as a result of this, initially aiming to integrate ideas of politics and economics. Since then, it has become an increasingly inter- and multi-disciplinary subject, encompassing a variety of social scientific fields.[4] In recent years the use of political economy analysis- the application of the analytical techniques of economics- to try and assess and explain political and social factors that either enhance or limit development has become increasingly widespread as a way of explaining the success or failure of reform processes. The era of modern development is commonly deemed to have commenced with the inauguration speech of Harry S. Truman in 1949.[5] In Point Four of his speech, with reference to Latin America and other poor nations, he said:

> More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery. Their food is inadequate. They are victims of disease. Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledge and the skill to relieve the suffering of these people.[6]

But development studies has since also taken an interest in lessons of past development experiences of Western countries. More recently, the emergence of human security – a new, people-oriented approach to understanding and addressing global security threats – has led to a growing recognition of a relationship between security and development. Human security argues that inequalities and insecurity in one state or region have consequences for global security and that it is thus in the interest of all states to address underlying development issues. This relationship with studies of human security is but one example of the interdisciplinary nature of development studies.

Global Research cooperation between researchers from countries in the Global North and the Global South, so called North-south research partnerships, allow development studies to consider more diverse perspectives on development studies and other strongly value driven issues. Thus, it can contribute new findings to the field of research.[7]

## See also[edit]

* Global South Development Magazine
* City development index
* Colonization
* Community development
* Development (disambiguation)
* Development Cooperation Issues
* Development Cooperation Stories
* Development Cooperation Testimonials
* Economic development
* Human rights
* Human security
* Industrialization
* International development
* North-South research partnerships
* Postdevelopment theory
* Right to development
* Social development
* Social work
* Sustainable development
* World-systems theory

## References[edit]

1. ^ Kothari, U. (ed), A Radical History of Development Studies: Individuals, Institutions and Ideologies – but see The Journal of Peasant Studies 34/1 (2007) for an alternative view.
2. ^ "About ICCDA". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
3. ^ Kothari, U. (ed), A Radical History of Development Studies: Individuals, Institutions and Ideologies
4. ^ Abbott, Lewis F. (2003) Theories of Industrial Modernization and Enterprise Development: A Review. ISR/Google Books, Second revised edition ISBN 978-0-906321-26-3
5. ^ Rist, G., The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith
6. ^ "Address by Harry S. Truman, 1949". Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13.
7. ^ Hofmänner, Alexandra (2021-02-02). "A short history of the KFPE 1994-2019". doi:10.5281/zenodo.4309902. `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help)

## Further reading[edit]

* Breuer, Martin. "Development" (2015). University Bielefeld: Center for InterAmerican Studies.
* Pradella, Lucia and Marois, Thomas, eds. (2015) Polarizing Development: Alternatives to Neoliberalism and the Crisis. Pluto Press.
* Sachs, Wolfgang, ed. (1992) The Development Dictionary: A Guide to Knowledge as Power. Zed Books.

## External links[edit]

* Global South Development Magazine
* Development Studies Internet Resources
* Studying Development – International Development Studies course directory

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