Key Thinkers and Doers in Development (L2145)

15 credits, Level 4

Spring teaching

How did the world get like this?

This module examines thinkers and doers whose lives and work help explain the way we live now. Inequality and poverty arose by design – not chance – and stories of human rights abuses and failures in development have deep roots.

On this module, we explore key thinkers whose works have shaped the world and whose works help us to think about how to unravel global complexities. You’ll read original texts from the key thinkers and additional supporting texts.

The module gives you a broad understanding of different approaches to development thinkers and doers, and their current applicability under global capitalism.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.