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Development Studies

Mission

Development Studies is an interdisciplinary concentration whose main mission is to provide students with the knowledge, critical perspectives and skills they need to reflexively engage with the issues and problems of international development, especially as they relate to the Global South. Drawing on a range of disciplines, from anthropology to economics, from comparative literature to engineering, concentrators design their own programs, combining courses that offer local and historical knowledge with those that explore transnational dimensions of development. During the senior year, all concentrators complete a capstone experience tailored to their interests in some aspect of international development and for which they benefit from extensive faculty support.

The rigor and creativity of this academic experience is evidenced by the fact that many concentrators published parts of their senior capstone in peer-reviewed academic and policy journals, while others received competitive thesis awards or used their training to develop concrete initiatives in the practice of development. In sum, if you wish to pursue your interest in international development through a combination of maximum flexibility and maximum rigor make an appointment. We have done this for decades.

NOTEs & aNNOUNCEMENTS


2013 DS CAPSTONE Presentations


Watch >>
Welcome; Health and Education in Development
Hannah Cockrell                
Community-Based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness: Reducing under-five morbidity and mortality in Rwanda

Elizabeth Karin              
Easing the Burden of Trauma: An In-Depth Look at Informal Community-Based Pre-Hospital Care System

Linh Dao                       
Space for Creativity: A Cultural Critique on Conditions of Creativity within Vietnamese Schools

Watch>> 		Gender and Development
Jocelyn Bell
Midriffs, Beedis, and Cussing: Bollywood's Portrayal of Traditional Hinduism and the Prostitution Stigma

Rachael Pack                      
Media Representation of Women in Sport: Faster, Stronger, Sexier? The Covert Discrimination of Female Athletes by American Media

Brooke Carmada                               
Media Framing of Homosexuality in South Africa and Uganda

Watch>> 		Populations in Movement
Robert Schlagel                   
Farmhand and Farmer: Exploring the Legal Environment that Conditions this Precarious Relationship (Thesis); This is not a Unique Story (Video Documentary)

Katherine Jacobson           
Burundian Resettled Refugees in Providence, RI: A Question of Identity

Michael Johnson
Democracy & Displacement: Contesting Land Acquisition in India's National Capital Region

Watch>> 		Development and Governance
Olivia Petrocco
Sharing, Stealing and Secrecy: Understanding the Changing Definition of Property and Global Governance through the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Josephine Korijn
Embracing Uncertainty in the Social Finance Field

Hayley Crown               
Examining Women's Empowerment in the Context of International Aid

Kathryn Cohen
Transformation from the Hollows: The Resource-Intervention Chain and its Implications for Collective Action and Social Transformation



apr 16

Pre-approved course list available

Approved electives for the fall '13 semester have been posted.


dec 13

DS Workshop-
Research Grants and Scholarships


nov 7

Development Studies Workshop: Research Grants and Fellowships

Do you want to conduct research for your Development Studies capstone project? Worried about how you’ll fund it? Come to this workshop!!

When: Friday, Nov. 30, 2012; 12-1pm
Where: McKinney Conference Room, Watson Institute for International Studies