International Development - Global Issues, Power & Players

This course provides an overview and introduction to the global issues, powers and players at the heart of international development. As an overview to the macro features, challenges and practices of the world of humanitarian and development aid, the course helps students build a platform for understanding the field’s numerous dimensions and complexity. History, worldviews, approaches and actors are explored across the international development spectrum, as are the patterns and lenses of several Christian perspectives. Understanding is built around the nature and dynamics of poverty and power, and their relationships to the spectrum of development approaches and practices, along with the roles of international agencies, governments, and civil society players in working with the marginalized and vulnerable. Students engage in the sectoral, technical and thematic challenges faced by development organizations in a range of settings.