For those still perplexed by Development Studies here is a 'satisfying' description of what multi-disciplinary Development Studies covers.
"Development economics is mostly a hard-core, quantitative enterprise, and development studies is mostly a theoretical, soul-searching enterprise." - Tom O'Connor
[...] The field of development studies (aka
international or comparative development studies) has,
unfortunately, always been something of a stepchild as an academic discipline
since its emergence in the late twentieth century. It is perhaps best
characterized as a multi-disciplinary field where one will find
most scholarly
contributions come from the fields of anthropology, criminology,
demography,
ecology, economics, geography, history, international relations,
philosophy,
political science, public management, and sociology. Other
interdisciplinary or emerging fields that have made their mark include
area studies, cultural studies, epidemiology, ethnic studies,
migration studies, pedagogy, postcolonialism, and women's studies.
Note:
it may be an arcane piece of academic trivia, but a "multi-"
disciplinary field
denotes one where the practitioners never really depart from their
"home"
discipline, as opposed to "inter-" or "trans-" disciplinary efforts
where a
common base or synthesis is sought. Therefore, it might be more
accurate to
refer to practitioners as belonging to a loosely-knit community rather
than a
"field." While it would be nice to provide a
crystal-clear definition of development studies, there is none that
quality, so
suffice it to say that development studies regards
the study of change in developing countries.
Retrieved from http://www.drtomoconnor.com/2010/2010lect04b.htm
