FLKM4320 Utviklingsstudier: Makt og ulikhet Emneplan

This course deals with central theoretical and methodological issues relating to power and inequality in developing countries.

No prerequisite knowledge required.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge The student

• has thorough knowledge of important theoretical and empirical issues linked to inequality and power in the Global South

• has advanced research-based knowledge of global inequality and poverty

Skills The student

• is capable of explaining how theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches influence findings on the relationships between power and inequality in the Global South

• is capable of comparing and critically assessing theories and methods applied to studies of power and inequality

• is capable of analysing existing theories and perspectives with respect to connections between power and distribution in the Global South

General competence

The student

• is capable of transferring and adapting research questions and approaches from the analysis of power and distribution in developing regions to other geographical areas, including Norway and other OECD countries

• is capable of assessing, applying and disseminating new knowledge and academic perspectives related to the study of inequality and power

The course deals with important theories and concepts concerning inequality and power in developing countries, and theoretical analyses of processes that create, change and maintain inequality. Particular emphasis is placed on how power affects distribution through relations of class, gender, ethnicity, race, patron-client relationships and political-economic organisation.

The teaching consists of lectures and seminars. See the programme description for further details.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• The student must give a presentation lasting 15–30 minutes (individually or as part of a group) of an article, chapter in a book etc. at a plenary session during the course.

• 80 % attendance requirement

The purpose of the oral presentation is to encourage students to engage in more oral activity and improve their oral presentation skills, and to present the academic content to a live audience in an organised and effective manner. The oral presentation is intended to help the student to acquire the skills specified in the learning outcomes for the course.

The course is assessed on the basis of an individual written home exam over seven days, with a scope of 3,500 words +/- 10 %, followed by an oral exam lasting approx. 30 minutes. The oral exam is based on the written paper and reading list in course 3b. One grade is awarded for the home exam and the oral exam. The grade is set after the oral exam. 

Resit/rescheduled exams

Resit/rescheduled exams are organised in the same way as ordinary exams.

Right of appeal

If a student appeals the grade, both parts of the exam must be re-assessed together. A new oral exam will be held.

Examination support material is permitted for the home exam.

Letter grades ranging from A to F are used, with A being the highest grade and E the poorest pass grade, and F being a fail grade.

The exam is assessed by one internal and one external examiner.