Dr Shirin Madon CON.8.13

This course is available on the MSc in African Development, MSc in Development Management, MSc in Development Studies, MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies, MSc in Management of Information Systems and Digital Innovation and MSc in Media, Communication and Development. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This is an interdisciplinary course about understanding the role played by Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) towards achieving developmental goals. We begin by reviewing dominant theoretical perspectives on development identifying assumptions held about the role of information, communication and technologies. Using this as our critical frame of reference, we focus on a variety of current topics including global software outsourcing, e-commerce/ m-commerce, ICT and smallholder agriculture, ICT and education, e-government and telecentres, health informatics, ICT and collective action, ICT and humanitarianism.

15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT.

In addition, there will be a one hour revision session in late LT.

Students will be invited to submit an abstract of their summative essay for written comments.

Avgerou, C. (2010) Discourses on ICT and Development, Information Technologies and International Development, 6, 3, pp. 1-18.

Brown, A. and Grant, G. (2010) Highlighting the Duality of the ICT and Development Research Agenda, Information Technology for Development, 16, 2, pp. 96-111.

Exam (70%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (30%, 3000 words) in the ST.