2024-2025 Academic Catalog
International Development and Social Change Major
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International Development and Social Change Overview
Undergraduate Program Analyze. Act. Achieve. According to the International Monetary Fund, approximately 70 percent of all nations are “developing” - characterized by economic vulnerability and high levels of poverty. At Clark, international development and social change (IDSC) majors learn how to bring about positive change by thinking critically, acting collaboratively, and engaging responsibly. Research and activism are hallmarks of the IDSC experience at Clark, from promoting sustainable development through local action to devising technological solutions to food shortages in developing nations. Our graduates - who have gone on to work for organizations including The World Bank, UNICEF, Care USA, Partners in Health, and the National Democratic Institute - work to create a better world every day. Major Requirements
Below you will find the requirements to complete the International Development and Social Change (IDSC) major at Clark University. The major requires 12 credit units, divided into three categories. The first category comprises foundation courses. The six foundation courses provide you with an overview of IDSC, which is an interdisciplinary major. These courses introduce you to the history of international development, the often-contested nature of what constitutes ‘development’, and the actors, agencies, social groups, and institutions that catalyze, influence, and change development pathways at various levels: village, city, regional, national, or global. Thinking about social change as a process that occurs across multiple levels will help you identify what development means to you and where you want to engage and learn with and from others. The IDSC major’s second category is community engagement and effective and ethical practice. You’ll learn about and develop skills through a required internship or applied research project and your choice of another research methods, intermediate language competency, or a Problems of Practice (POP) course. The IDSC major’s third category is a specialization of your choice. The specialization allows you to focus on one topical area across a range of substantive issues addressed in the field of development. Some topical areas include but are not limited to: health equity and reproductive rights, peace building, agriculture and food security, education and youth, gender equity, environmental sustainability, climate change, human rights and justice, and displacement and forced migration. Majors should try to finish their foundational classes in their first two years of study. At the end of the second year, they should be taking more advanced-level seminars (200-level classes) with core faculty in their area of interest. IDSC majors must earn at least a C- in core and required courses to count towards the major. Foundation Courses (6 courses/units)
1. ID 125 - International Development and its Alternatives: Theory, Practice, Action 2. ECON 010 - Economics and the World Economy 3. Culture, Race, Difference (choose one from the following 3 courses): 4. Research Methods (choose either ID 132 or GEOG 141 ) 5. Political Economy of Development (choose one from the following 6 courses): 6. Environment and Development (choose one from the following 7 courses) The foundational methods class, ID 132 - Methods of Inquiry: Applied interdisciplinary approaches for social change , is usually offered during the fall semester. This course will prepare you for independent research during study abroad, your capstone seminar project, or your honors thesis. Hence, students are strongly encouraged to take ID 132 before beginning these endeavors (at the start of the second year) Note: ID 132 does not fulfill the Formal Analysis (FA) requirement. Community Engagement and Practice (2 credit units) - ID 298 (Internship) or ID 299 (Research, primary or field-based research preferred)
- One of the following types of courses (one credit unit):
- Any Problems of Practice (POP) course, or
- A language class at the intermediate level, or
- A GIS course (either GEOG 190 or GEOG 282 ) (GEOG 294 not found), or
- A quantitative method or statistics course (GEOG 110 , SOC 202 , or ECON 160 )
IDSC program faculty do encourage students to consider advanced language learning to enhance their cultural competencies and their competitiveness on the job market. Area of Specialization (4 courses/units)
IDSC majors take at least four elective courses in an area of specialization (3 electives and 1 capstone seminar). Students may follow well-established specializations that relate to international development and social change (e.g., Political Economy, Peace and Conflict, Gender, Environment & Sustainability, Education, Global and Community Health, Refugees, Forced Migration and Belonging) or they may design their own area of specialization with the approval of their IDSC advisor. Three elective courses in an area of specialization (created with your ID advisor): - One of these 3 courses may be a non-ID course at the 100 or 200 level
- Two of these 3 courses must be ID courses at the 100 or 200-level course
One capstone seminar (this seminar must be 200-level ID course that you take in either the first or second semester of your Senior Year) To help students, capstone eligible seminars are noted as such at the time of course registration. - If you are pursuing the ADP in Community Development and Planning, SSJ 344 serves as the Senior Capstone class. Please see the IDSC Handbook.
Honors Thesis (1 course unit)
One must apply through the Undergraduate Program Coordinator for the Honors Thesis Program. Please refer to the IDSC Handbook. Those wishing to graduate with honors register for ID 297 with a thesis supervisor in the second semester of senior year. *IDSC majors must earn at least a C- in core and required courses to count toward the major. Honors
To graduate with Honors in the major, a student must complete an original Honors Thesis on a topic of relevance to the field of international development and social change. Eligibility and Application Process Majors who have maintained at least a 3.5 grade point average in IDSC major courses and a 3.25 overall grade point average (GPA) are eligible to apply for an Honors Thesis. Admission to the Honors Thesis program does not automatically guarantee the awarding of Honors. Students must first satisfy a number of requirements: - Identification of a faculty supervisor by March 1 of the junior year
- Application to the IDSC Honors Committee in April in the junior year
- Two page update on thesis progress due on October 1.
- Presentation of a chapter and detailed outline of the entire thesis to the thesis supervisor at the end of fall semester of senior year
- Completion of the thesis during the spring semester of the senior year, with the approval of the thesis supervisor
- Oral workshop of the completed thesis before the first and second (of which one must a core IDSC faculty member) in March of the Spring semester.
- Presentation of the thesis at ClarkFEST in the Spring semester
The IDSC Undergraduate Coordinator and the ID Accelerated BA/MA Coordinator oversee the Honors program in consultation with the IDSC program faculty. Their roles are to evaluate applications to the program, coordinate procedures, and serve as a source of information to students and faculty participating in the program. For further information on procedures and dates, please see the IDSC undergraduate handbook on the Major’s Canvas site or contact the IDSC Undergraduate Program Coordinator. The Double Major
Many students double major or major in IDSC and minor in related departments, such as Economics, Geography, Political Science, (especially international relations or comparative politics), Sociology, and Women’s Studies. Up to two courses can be counted toward both majors. International Development and Social Change Internships
Internships provide an opportunity to gain insight and experience in development through work in government or nonprofit agencies. Recently, students have had overseas internships with the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, the American Jewish World Service in El Salvador, the London Internship Program, and the World Health Organization in Geneva. Other interns have worked in the United States on national and international development issues with the Environmental Defense Fund, Grassroots International, Oxfam America, Habitat for Humanity, MassPIRG, Save the Children, Aid to Artisans, and Girls, Inc. All International Development majors must undertake an internship for academic credit. Internships for credit must be supervised or sponsored by core ID faculty or affiliate SSJ faculty with the approval of your faculty advisor. You should register for ID 299 the semester during the internship to receive credit. If your internship is during the summer, you should register through the School of Professional Studies. Study Abroad
Many international development students have learned about development issues first-hand through Study Abroad programs, such as those in Namibia, Vietnam, Thailand, Morocco, Costa Rica, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic. Students have also studied abroad on related programs at the London School of Economics, Seville, Spain and Italy. Please contact the Study Abroad office at Clark for information on study-abroad options. You should discuss your study-abroad plans in advance with your major adviser to maximize your learning experience. For more information, visit www.clarku.edu/offices/studyabroad/. Sustainability and Social Justice Program Faculty
David Bell, Ed.D. Ramón Borges-Méndez Ph.D Nigel Brissett, Ph.D. Cynthia Caron, Ph.D. Timothy Downs D.Env. Anita Fábos, Ph.D. Jude Fernando, Ph.D. Ellen Foley, Ph.D. Denise Humphreys Bebbington Ph.D. Eman Lasheen, Ph.D. Ken MacLean, Ph.D. Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger Ph.D. Margaret Post, Ph.D. Laurie Ross, Ph.D. Morgan Ruelle, Ph.D. International Development and Social Change Courses
Courses offered within the last 2 Academic Years Courses
- ECON 108 - International Economics: Trade and Finance
- ECON 128 - Intro to Economic Development
- GEOG 107 - Miracles of Asia: Economic Growth in Global Contexts
- GEOG 110 - Introduction to Quantitative Methods
- GEOG 260 - GIS & Land Change Models
- GEOG 282 - Advanced Remote Sensing
- ID 108 - What is Public Health?
- ID 121 - Culture, Health, and Development: What Makes Us Sick?
- ID 125 - International Development and its Alternatives: Theory, Practice, Action
- ID 132 - Methods of Inquiry: Applied interdisciplinary approaches for social change
- ID 203 - Youth Work: Practice and Social Justice
- ID 220 - Critical Pedagogy for Social and Environmental Justice: Liberal Arts Education in Practice
- ID 223 - Educational Policy Issues in Developing Countries: Course Value
- ID 227 - Ideologies of Race in Development
- ID 229 - Property and Community
- ID 235 - Trafficking: Globalization and Its Illicit Commodities
- ID 237 - Program Evaluation for Youth and Community Development Initiatives
- ID 243 - Seeing Like a Humanitarian Agency
- ID 248 - Gender and Health
- ID 257 - Sex and development: the intersection of sexuality, morality, and modernity
- ID 265 - Global Issues in Education
- ID 283 - Cultures of Exile
- ID 291 - Refugees, Forced Migration, and Belonging
- ID 294 - Culture, Environment, and Development
- ID 296 - Advanced Vector GIS
- PSCI 069 - Introduction to International Relations
- PSCI 117 - Revolution and Political Violence
- PSCI 177 - Transitions to Democracy
- PSCI 216 - Comparative Environmental Politics
- PSCI 240 - Human Rights and International Politics
- PSCI 290 - U.S. - Latin American Relations - Capstone Seminar
- PECO 101 - Introduction to Peace Studies
- SOC 255 - Cultural Nationalism, Popular Culture, and National Identities
- SSJ 332 - Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
- SSJ 30205 - Climate Change, Energy and Development
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