Global development (Global Development Studies)

12.2.2026 - 31.7.2026

5 cr

Intermediate studies

The course introduces students to the theoretical perspectives of global development studies for studying extensive and long-term global processes with a focus on world-systems theory as well as world-ecology. For example, global development is examined through the following themes: concept of history; global history; world-system; world-ecology and capitalism; debt relations and the centre-periphery model; the rise of Europe; global inequality; the dollar hegemony and colonialism, post-colonialism, and decolonialism; the “pluriverse” and planetary welfare; and alternative theories of development and sustainable development. The course deals not only with the theory, history, and development of the world-system theory, but also seeks to understand our own worldview – how we perceive the reality around us.

Additional information

Global development (Global Development Studies), . period

How will you study

Additional information and registration

Price and registration period

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Additional information:

Dates

12.2.2026 - 31.7.2026

Fields

Social sciences

Scope

5 cr

1 component

Code

YK-213

What you need to know before the course

What you will learn

After completing the course, the student is able to 1) identify different concepts and notions of global development and theories about the world-system, 2) conceptualise the structures of the world-system and the social, economic, political, and ecological dimensions of broader developments both historically and in the present, 3) evaluate the conditions of global sustainable development and the options for solving the global problems of development and sustainability.

Learning material

Denemark, Robert A., Jonathan Friedman, Barry K. Gills, and George Modelski, eds. 2000. World System History: The Social Science of Long-Term Change. Routledge.

Frank, Andre Gunder, and Barry Gills, eds. 1993. The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand? Routledge.

Graeber, David. 2011. Debt: The First 5000 Years. Melville House Publishing.

Graeber, David, and David Wengrow. 2021. The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. Penguin Books.

Hudson, Michael. 2003. Super-Imperialism: The Origin and Fundamentals of U.S. World Dominance. second edition. Pluto Press.

Klein, Elise, and Carlos Eduardo Morreo, eds. 2019. Postdevelopment in Practice: Alternatives, Economies, Ontologies. Routledge.

Moore, Jason W., ed. 2016. Anthropocene or Capitalocene? Nature, History, and the Crisis of Capitalism. Kairos.

Pettifor, Ann. 2017. The Production of Money: How to Break the Power of Bankers. Verso.

Rist, Gilbert. 2019. History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. Fifth Edition. Zed Books.

Ziai, Aram. 2016. Development Discourse and Global History: From Colonialism to the Sustainable Development Goals. 1st ed. Routledge.

Additional information

Completion methods

a) The course is implemented as contact and/or online teaching, including literature and assignments

b) A book examination (students of other Programmes).

Annual completion methods will be specified in the teaching programme.

Assessment practices and criteria

Graded on a scale of 0 to 5. All completed components will be taken into account in assessment, while self-assessment is promoted.

Organiser

Helsingin yliopisto

Contact details

avoin-student@helsinki.fi

Belongs to themes:

Global diversity and equality