COURSE CURRICULUM

The Children, Youth and International Development MA offers a core set of compulsory modules that develop students’ understanding of ethnographic methods, global development and the social construction of childhood and youth. Ethnographic Research equips students with the tools and techniques used by anthropologists to conduct fieldwork, preparing them for their dissertation projects. Global Development: Critical Perspectives provides an in-depth theoretical and historical overview of development studies, enabling students to examine the relationship between social sciences and global development policies and practices. Understanding Childhood and Youth explores how ideas about children and young people are shaped by cultural, social and economic contexts. The Ethnographic Dissertation allows students to apply these skills through independent fieldwork, using participant observation and related qualitative methods to analyse a chosen research issue and link findings to academic literature. Optional modules broaden professional and thematic expertise, including Applied Learning, which involves community or voluntary sector engagement, Culture, Education and Learning, which investigates cross-cultural approaches to learning and educational systems, and War and Humanitarian Assistance, which examines the social and economic impacts of conflict and post-war reconstruction. Together, these modules offer a comprehensive foundation for careers in youth work, social research, development organisations and humanitarian sectors.