Tags
Y1
Admissions requirements
None.
Description
Global Challenges (GCs) are major problems confronting humanity and the planet. GCs cannot be singularly solved by one nation, organization, or approach. Addressing global challenges requires sustained multi- and interdisciplinary critical scholarly reflection and collaboration among academics, the public, governmental, and non-governmental organisations to develop deeper understandings of the problems we face and ethical and effective responses.
Do human societies progress? It seems uncontestable that some societies have made immense leaps forward over the last 200 years, reaching levels of wealth and welfare that had long been unthinkable. This is also particularly evident when considering various aspects of individual health, with the global average life expectancy increasing from 52.6 years in 1960 to 72.2 years in 2017. Technology, in all its guises, has been an essential driver of this progress. At the same time, however, it is clear that both welfare and health gains have been unevenly spread: while Norwegians on average live until they are 81 and face a 0.3% chance that their newborn baby will die before the age of 5, Malians only live for 51 years and face a 13% chance of child mortality. To account for this global inequality in development and health outcomes, social scientists argue that innovation and human welfare are contingent on the ways in which people work together, and the rules they construct to facilitate this collaboration (or ‘institutions’). This course introduces students to the ways in which institutions shape human welfare and health and in how the ‘right’ institutions can be designed and reinforced. As such, it provides students with analytical tools to understand and address the global challenges of governance, health policy and international development.
Course objectives
Skills:
Critically read and evaluate scholarly literature in the social sciences with a focus on identifying driving assumptions and theoretical mechanisms.
Critically present, interpret and assess basic social science comparative data and indicators.
Practice academic writing, with a focus on both developing well-constructed arguments and on the critical evaluation of these arguments.
Apply theoretical concepts to real-life scenarios and understand the challenges and limitations of such applications.
Content:
Understand the diversity of scholarly approaches in conceptualizing and measuring human prosperity and development; and be able to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses and applicability to different contexts of these approaches. Link prosperity and health to the key challenge of human cooperation.
Understand the logic of collective action and principal-agent models as analytical tools to study challenges in human cooperation.
Consider three broad categories of solutions conducive to cooperation and prosperity, namely the market, state and community. Be able to identify the promises and pitfalls of each. Understand the trade-offs implied by choosing one solution over another and the degree to which they are mixed in real-life cases.
Explore the role health plays in development and human prosperity and analyze real-world cases of market, state and community health policies.
Learn about intervention strategies in development and health and think about the responsibility that comes with promoting any type of intervention.
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published in the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
This course is taught through weekly 2-hour lectures and 2-hour interactive seminars.
Assessment
Class participation, all weeks, 10%
Factsheet, week 1, 15%
Case application, week 3, 15%
Solution essay, Week 6, 25%
Final exam, Week 8, 35%
The detailed instructions for all assessments will be presented on Blackboard during the course. Students must submit all graded assignments to be able to pass the course. The Grading Policy (Appendix I) and Attendance Policy (Appendix II) will be attached to the course syllabus.
Please note:
In accordance with article 4.8 of the Course and Examination Regulations (OER), within 30 days after the publication of grades, the instructor will provide students the opportunity to inspect their exams/coursework.
There is a no re-sit policy at Leiden University College.
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
Most of the literature for each lecture and/or seminar will be placed on Blackboard, where you will find the majority of articles and chapters. Students are required to read the mandatory literature in preparation for each lecture and/or seminar; moreover, they need to be prepared to discuss the readings in seminars. In the case that material cannot appear on Blackboard, the web link will be placed in the syllabus. Students might be required to acquire 1-2 books for the course; if that is the case this information will be communicated via email one week before the course starts.
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Diana Branduse d.m.branduse@luc.leidenuniv.nl