GEG-30016 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
AND
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATION
Module Information
Module Tutor: Dr Deirdre McKay
Room 1.028 William Smith Building
 3601
E-mail: d.c.mckay@ keele.ac.uk
Structure:
Credit value:
10 lecture/seminar sessions
15
Routes: Approved module for:
Geography Major/Minor
Geography Single Honours
Human Geography Dual Honours/Major/Minor
Environment and Sustainability
Assessment:
One 4000 word coursework exercise (80%)
One group presentation (20%)
One 500 – 700 word coursework plan (formative only) (see below)
Indicative workload breakdown:
10 x 1 hours lectures/10 x 1 hours seminars
20 hours seminar and presentation preparation/40 hours independent study
15 hours essay plan preparation/55 hours essay preparation
Key assessment details:
Coursework plans: These plans are intended to provide helpful feedback as you
develop your major piece of coursework. They will be marked via the KLE so your
individual feedback will made available as soon as possible.
Coursework: (80%) Students will choose EITHER a review essay (on an agreed book,
with a suggested list provided in the module handbook) OR a consultancy report (on a
suggested or agreed topic.)
Presentation: (20%) Group presentations (groups of @ 5) will be timetabled in
seminars between Weeks 4 and 10, depending on numbers on the module. The
suggested presentation topics are related to the sessions and essay topics, but students
are free to propose their own topics.
1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Are economic development and environmental concerns always opposed? Why doesn't
environmental conservation seem to work? And what areas should be conservation
priorities to sustain global ecosystems? What does international development
assistance do for the people who depend most directly on their local environments for
their livelihoods? This module helps students find their own answers to some of these
1
pressing questions by introducing them to development geography. Students explore
key ideas from this subdiscipline including political ecology - the study of
environments as products of social action - and performative economy - the idea of
'economy' as an abstract realm we bring into being by describing it. Their own
examinations of in-depth case studies of economy and ecology enable students to come
to original conclusions about the probity and feasibility of different pathways towards
- and definitions of - 'development.'
This module aims to provide students with an understanding of economic
development and environmental transformation through an exploration of current
debates in Human Geography. It introduces students to some of the key issues within
the sub-discipline of development geography as well as allied debates in political and
economic geography. The module aims to familiarize students with geographical
understandings of economic and environmental history. It introduces the sectoral,
area-based, and conceptual approaches that characterize much development
geography research through case-studies of global economic and environmental
concerns. Assessing case-study material drawn from across the developing world will
develop the skills necessary for students to evaluate and critique explanations of the
diversity of global development outcomes.
2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the module you should have and be able to demonstrate:

systematic understanding, based on detailed knowledge of case studies, of
conceptual approaches to economic development and environmental
transformation

ability to identify and critically evaluate different theories of economic
development and environmental transformation, especially in relation to the
ways these theories explain spatial inequalities among and with nation states
and global region and to describe and critique the empirical basis on which
these differing theories were developed

ability to select and interpret the relevant literature concerning current
debates in development geography; to prepare and present in written form a
reasoned argument evaluating research methodologies and differing and
contested interpretations of development outcomes, and to place these
interpretations in the context of wider and on-going debates in Human
Geography and the social sciences
3. MODULE DESIGN AND APPROACH
The module is designed to enhance your skills in critical thinking and analysis, to give
you further experience of managing a larger writing project – either a review essay or
consultancy report - to set specifications, and to build your confidence as an
independent researcher. The lecture/seminar and presentation sessions are all
directed to helping you to develop both the broad understanding of the development
geography field and the ability to identify key relevant themes that will enable you to
produce excellent coursework.
Since the bulk of the assessment (80%) rests on a significant piece of independent
coursework submitted at the end of the module, you need to manage your time in
order to make the most of your lectures and seminars to build towards this. Formative
feedback on a detailed and focussed plan for this work will help you clarify things you
2
may not have understood about either the best way to approach your topic or
question, the structure set by the specifications required of you, or the most
appropriate academic sources to reference as you develop your arguments.
The module has a lecture/seminar structure. The balance between lecture and seminar
will vary from session to session depending on the topic and resources available,
student interest and preparation.

Lectures will introduce key concepts, themes and topics, usually with a
powerpoint presentation, but sometimes by way of an illustration with a
website or video. There will also be additional web and video material made
available over the KLE for your independent study and research. You will be
expected to make connections between topics and approaches fairly
independently and, if you do not understand how themes or ideas are related,
to use the seminar sessions to ask questions and open up debate.

Seminars will incorporate student participation and interpretation of key
topics and readings, encouraging debate on what are contested approaches and
issues. Of course, once you’ve chosen a coursework topic, not all of the
remaining lectures and seminars will immediately seem relevant to you. You
are expected to think analytically and conceptually to make them so! The
seminar session for each lecture is the venue where you can figure out what
specific concepts, ideas or approaches might mean for your own ideas and
arguments. It is your responsibility to ask your classmates and lecturer if you
are struggling to connect a particular day’s themes to your coursework
interests.

Seminar groups: Depending on the cohort size, we will be doing small-group
discussions and small-group reading exercises in the seminars, reporting back
to the class as a whole where appropriate. Students will be expected to form
seminar working-groups/presentation groups by the end of Week 2. Grouping
will enable required readings to be divided among working group
members to facilitate discussion. To get the most out of these sessions,
someone in your group will need to prepare – read, annotate, and reflect
on – key readings in advance. This person will present a summary of the key
points to their for discussion. The readings engage the themes that will form
the basis for seminar activities - group discussion, brainstorming answers to
set questions, preparing for and staging debates exploring contrasting
interpretations or theories, and/or making comment on short videos or
websites. All these seminar activities will improve your understanding of key
concepts and debates and build your skills in critical analysis of books and
journal articles in order to strengthen your arguments in your coursework.

Presentations: The student presentations running from Week 4 to Week 10
are a vital contribution to the seminar activities. They are an opportunity to
undertake collaborate group work and to present on a human geography topic
at an advanced level. Both group work and presenting skills are useful to
acquire and enhance, but can be a challenge for some students. We will try to
create a supportive atmosphere to enable you to explore what works for you
and expect, in return, you will encourage your classmates and respect their
abilities and efforts.
3
3. LECTURE AND SEMINAR SESSIONS
The module is divided into two sections of five sessions each: Development Concepts
and Environmental Concerns and Key Themes in Development Geography.
The topics to be covered in each session are:
Development Concepts and Environmental Concerns
1
Introduction
2
Debating the Meanings of Development
3
Linking Global Economics to Local Environments
4
Conservation Politics
5
Ethical Trade and Eco-tourism
Key Themes in Development Geography
6
Institutions and Governance: States and the Development Industry
7
Thinking of Development by Sector? Water Management
8
Rights, Enclosures and Land Grabs
9
Alternative Economies?
10
Conclusion and Essay Surgery
4. READINGS
KEY TEXTS – All available electronically through the Keele Library AND on loan.
Haynes, J. ed. (2005) Palgrave Advances in Development Studies, Palgrave. (JF60.82)
and E-book.
Willis, K. (2011) Theories and Practices of Development, 2nd ed., Routledge. (HD 75.
W4) and E-book.
McKay, D. (2012) Global Filipinos, Indiana (HD5856 .P4M2) and E-book.
Potter, R. (2012) Key Concepts in Development Geography, Sage. (GF41. P6)
Sachs, W. (2010(1992)) The Development Dictionary: a guide to knowledge as
power. Zed (HC91 .S2) and E-book.
Riddell, R. (2008) Does Foreign Aid Really Work? Oxford. (HC60. R4) and E-book.
4