Global Development (317-0-20)
Instructors
James L Mahoney
847/491-2626
Scott Hall, Room 402, Evanston Campus
Office Hours: http://www.polisci.northwestern.edu/people/core-faculty/james-mahoney.html
James Mahoney is a comparative-historical researcher with interests in socioeconomic development, political regimes, and methodology. His most recent books are Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective (2010) and Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency, and Power (2010; co-edited with Kathleen Thelen). He is also the author of The Legacies of Liberalism: Path Dependence and Political Regimes in Central America (2001) and co-editor of Comparative-Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences (2003; with Dietrich Rueschemeyer). His article publications feature work on political and socioeconomic development in Latin America, path dependence in historical sociology, and causal inference in small-N analysis. Mahoney is a past President of the APSA Section for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, and he is Chair of the ASA Section for Comparative and Historical Sociology.
Meeting Info
555 Clark B01: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
This course explores the economic and social changes that have constituted "development," and that have radically transformed human society. The course focuses on both the historical experience of Europe and the contemporary experience of countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In the historical discussion, we explore the birth of the "nation state" as the basic organizing unit of the international system; the transition from agrarian to industrial economic systems; and the expansion of European colonialism across the globe. In our discussion of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, we consider the legacies of colonialism for development; the ways in which countries have attempted to promote economic development and industrialization; and issues of inequality and human welfare in an increasingly globally connected world.
This course is taught with POLI_SCI 352-0-20
Learning Objectives
Students will learn about the historical experience of Europe and "the people without history" as well as the contemporary experience of countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In the historical discussion, we explore the evolution of human society from antiquity to the modern nation-state; the transition from agrarian to industrial economic systems; and the expansion of European colonialism across the globe. In our discussion of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, we consider the legacies of colonialism for development; the ways in which countries have attempted to promote economic development and industrialization; and issues of inequality and human welfare in an increasingly globally connected world.
Teaching Method
Lecture
Evaluation Method
Midterm exam, research paper, and final exam. Attendance at lecture is required.
Class Materials (Required)
This course will have required books/other materials.
Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (New York: Harper, 2015). ISBN: 978-0062316097
Robert H. Bates, Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Agricultural Policies (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981). ISBN: 9780520282568
Class Attributes
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area