Human development sounds like a good thing, but is it possible? Can societies and people really be made better? We will try to answer that question by looking at history, current trends, and a fair amount of philosophy. We will look carefully at the gains that economic growth has produced in rich and poor countries. Amartya Sen's idea of capabilities will be studied, along with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. We will critique efforts to assign precise numbers to national levels of development. We'll also look at some of the major examples of what is considered to be development in the modern world, including the rise of democracy, urbanisation and secularisation.
Integral Human Development
This is an In-person course which requires your attendance to the weekly meetings which take place in Oxford.
Overview
Programme details
Courses starts: 22 Apr 2025
Week 1: The concept of development in Individuals and societies. How moderns replace stability and cycles with growth and progress.
Week 2: The possible constituents of development: all sorts of freedom, material prosperity, health and longevity, scientific knowledge, various sorts of experience. The things that do not develop: wisdom, pleasure, love.
Week 3: GDP and its discontents: what it measures well; what it measures badly; what we want it to measure. The examples of China
Week 4: Amartya Sen's capabilities: the basic ways that people and societies develop. Is the concept helpful? Is it coherent?
Week 5: The UN's sustainable development goals: Are they a helpful guide and/or a useless mess?
Week 6: Is tradition the enemy of development? What do we want to save from the past? What "we" should decide?
Week 7: Rich country development: What does it consist in now? Having more things, increasing leisure, solving problems, doing new things, individual fulfilment, stronger communities, or something else entirely?
Week 8: Urban and other spatial development: How can we develop our lives in cities, in suburbs, and in the countryside?
Week 9: Improving the (human) environment: "The book of nature is one and indivisible" - Pope Benedict XVI. What did he mean? Was he right?
Week 10: Discussion: Is population decline development, de-development or something else entirely?
Recommended reading
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading
- Development as Freedom / Amartya Sen
- GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History / Diane Coyle
- The Death and Life of Great American Cities / Jane Jacobs
Certification
To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £285.00 |
| Take this course for CATS points | £30.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Tutor
Mr Edward Hadas
Edward Hadas is a Research Fellow at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University. He also teaches philosophy, economics, and social theory to visiting American undergraduates. He is the author of Money, Finance, Reality, Morality (2022) and Counsels of Imperfection: Thinking through Catholic Social Teaching (2020).
Course aims
To explore the idea of development, as a guide to modern life and to improving it
Course objectives:
1) To understand and question leading ideas about development
2) To consider the value of GDP as a measure of development
3) To study the relationship of environmental responsibility and urban development
Teaching methods
The classes will be a mixture of informal lectures and guided discussions. PowerPoint will be used and students will be provided with PowerPoint files.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1) Know the leading theories of various types of development
2) Be able to argue both sides of controversies concerning development
3) Develop in their own thinking about their own personal and community development
Assessment methods
Students wishing for academic credit will be required to write a 1500 word academic essay on a development-related topic. They will be supported as needed in doing research and organising their thinking.
Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work the required standard.
Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form
Application
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)
Level and demands
This class has no preliminary requirements. Readings will be at the FHEQ 4 level and discussion will not require any special technical expertise.
The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)
To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.