Development Area

General Exam Questions

Four Hours

Paper I.

ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS

  1. Trace the development of theories in the sociology of development. For each theoretical perspective (modernization, dependency, etc.), contextualize the emergence of the perspective by describing social, economic, and political conditions and relations that affected developing regions. In your elaboration, identify the key theorists that made major theoretical contributions and describe the strengths and weaknesses of the theories they developed.
  1. “Perhaps one of the most important advances over the past thirty is in gender-based research and understandings of development challenges.” Discuss with reference to ONE sectoral area of development theory, explore the ways in which the shift from WID (Women in Development) to GAD (Gender and Development) to GAG (Gender and Globalization), evaluating the specific ways in which new wave in gender theory advanced or set back those understandings.
  1. What constitutes good governance and to what extent has good governance been advanced by decentralization and democratization efforts at the sub-national level?
  1. Theories of class and marginality have been replaced by theories of segmentation and citizenship as frameworks for analyzing poverty and development. Discuss, assessing whether the changes that you observe are indicative of paradigm shifts in the sociology of development.
  1. While events of the second-half of the 20th century have profoundly transformed arrangements governing work and its routinization in households and employment, some patterns endure relatively unchanged. Discuss the changes and continuities in the intersections between work and households, and describe a theoretical framework that integrates individual and structural views of households and work.
  1. EITHER: Taking any two countries as your examples, explore the factors that have led over time to divergences in their processes of educational expansion. Use the insights of the literature on inequalities of educational opportunity while at the same time taking account of comparative historical literature on national development.

OR:

Evaluate the concept of ‘Social Origin” as it relates to educational stratification. Discuss the variety of theoretical literatures that underpin this concept. Identify and describe three theoretical explanations for the effect of social origin on academic achievement. Then, with examples drawn from empirical research, show how this perspective contributes to policy debates over the development strategies of states and international agencies.