Course syllabus

Development Studies Programme

   DEVELOP 701
   Development Praxis

(15 points)

SEMESTER 2 - 2018

Mondays 9-11 am, Room 114-G01
(Commerce A Building, Room G01)

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Lecturer:

Dr. Jesse Hession Grayman

Office: HSB 836B

Email: j.grayman@auckland.ac.nz

Office hours:  by appointment (no walk-ins)

                                                                                                                                        

1. Scope and Approach

 

The aim of this course is to provide students with analytical abilities and practical skills to understand various aspects of development work. The focus is on creating a critical awareness of the tools and techniques used by development practitioners and to apply these tools in the context of a group project writing a tender application.

 

By the end of this semester, students should know:

1. the relationship between development theory and practice
2. the key ideological arguments used in justifying different development practices
3. how to locate these arguments in a critical discussion of particular development tools and projects

 

By the end of this semester, students should be able to:

1. find and critically evaluate a range of tools for practising development
2. apply some of these tools in a practical development context of writing a project tender
3. present orally and in writing a project proposal appropriate for a graduate audience
4. work effectively in a small group

 

2. Coursework

 

Critical Essay (25%): 1300-1500 words

Tender Assignment I (15%): In-Class Group Presentation

Tender Assignment II (45%): Written Group Project Proposal

Tender Assignment III (5%): Reflective Response Paper

Participation (10%): Participation in class discussions, workshops, and team meetings

 

Critical Essay (25%) DUE 6 August

 

In this essay, which should be about 1300-1500 words long, you are to assess the range of development tools used by a development organization of your choice. You need to

1. provide a brief profile of the organization and the development ideology that underpins their work
2. identify the range of development tools they use
3. comment on the relationship between the development tools used and the development ideology of the agency

 

In-Class Group Presentation (15%) DUE 1 Oct

Each group will make an oral presentation of their draft tender to the class (length of the presentation will depend on the number of groups).

 

Group Project Proposal (45%) DUE 15 Oct

Working in small groups, each group will produce a written tender application.

 

Reflective Response Paper (5%) DUE 15 Oct

Each student is required to write and submit a memo, not exceeding two single-spaced pages, discussing your experience working with your team. Discuss what you learned in the process of collaboration, how you divided up the workload, how you dealt with differing views and interpretations, and what could be improved. This memo should not be read by the other members of your team.

 

Participation (10%) Throughout the Semester

In addition to class discussions built around assigned readings, a significant part of this course is spent working with your assigned team to develop your tender application and power point presentation. This happens through in-class workshops and out-of-class meetings. Your participation will be assessed based on attendance, preparation and engagement in these workshops and meetings.

 

3. Expectations

This course is designed to introduce students to the art of development practice. Class time provides opportunities for you to focus on particular topics relevant to development practice. Each week I or a guest speaker will present a brief overview of critical issues relating to the weekly topic and then you will work in your teams to draw on the readings and your preparations to address specific aspects of your tender. This format will allow you to articulate theory and practice and to think critically how the issues discussed can be applied to your project. My expectations are as follows:

 

1. Submitted work is your and your group’s work;
2. That you participate in all of your group’s mutually agreed-upon meetings and fulfil allocated tasks in a timely manner
3. ii) Sources of ideas and quotes will be appropriately referenced

iii)        Advertised submission dates are non-negotiable (with the exception of serious illness, family bereavement or other compelling reason).

 

Late submissions without prior written permission of the instructor will normally be penalized in the following way:

1 day late = 15% penalty

2 days late = 20% penalty

3 days late = 25% penalty

4 days late = 30% penalty

5 days late = 35% penalty

6 or more days late (work will not be marked)

Please note: weekends and public holidays are not included in the lateness penalty

 

Feedback:  Students will have opportunities to provide feedback on course content and conduct throughout the semester, including a mid-semester formative evaluation during Week 7 and an end-of-semester course evaluation. Students are also encouraged to ask questions about course expectations, or provide feedback, in class or privately, either by appointment or by email. The instructor will provide detailed, handwritten feedback on the hard-copies of student assignments, not electronically.

 

Inclusive Learning:  Students are urged to discuss privately any impairment-related requirements face-to-face and/or in written form with the course lecturer.

 

4. Lecture Schedule (Mondays 9–11am)

 

Week	Date	Topic
1	16 Jul	Introduction
2	23 Jul	What is Development Praxis?
3	30 Jul	Projects, Tools, Ideologies
4	6 Aug	Designing the Foundations  Critical Essay Due
5	13 Aug	Participatory Development Processes
6	20 Aug	Logframes
		MID SEMESTER BREAK - No class on 27 Aug & 3 Sep
7	10 Sep	Monitoring & Evaluation and Impact Assessment
8	17 Sep	Budgeting
9	24 Sep	Presentation Preparation – No class
10	1 Oct	Group Presentations of Draft Tender
11	8 Oct	Final Tender Preparations – No class
12	15 Oct	No class - Tender Due & Reflective Response Paper Due

 

5. 
   Reading List

The readings are available on the TALIS course readings page via the CANVAS course platform. Some documents will be available in the ‘Files’ folder on CANVAS.

 

6. Additional Resources

 

You are you encouraged to read widely. The following journals may be useful:

 

• Development and Change
• Development in Practice
• Development Policy Review
• The Journal of Development Studies
• Oxford Development Studies
• Population and Development Review
• Sustainable Development
• Third World Quarterly
• World Development

 

Also check out various newspapers and magazines online which pay attention to development issues. Of recent active interest, I have provided links at the bottom of the reading list on CANVAS/TALIS to Medium.com’s new ‘The Development Set’ series (https://medium.com/the-development-set), and The Guardian’s ‘Development Pros’ series (http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network), including their sub-set of fun articles under the header of ‘Secret Aid Worker’ (http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/series/secret-aid-worker).

 

Development organisation websites often have publication pages of their own, which I would generally categorise as “professional publications” or “grey literature.” Google Scholar and other search engines are quite powerful for doing literature reviews. Academic social networking sites such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate.net are increasingly useful as well for finding literature close to your interests.

 

With all sources, the challenge is to read critically. This means considering the context of the text (who wrote it, why, and where); analysing the structure of the paper (what is the author trying to do - argue/prove/disprove/report - what new ideas are being presented); paying attention to references (study the bibliography); and thinking about how the text is useful to you.