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 interdisciplinary course is about understanding the role played by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) towards achieving developmental goals. We begin by juxtaposing dominant theoretical assumptions about ICT and socio-economic change with different conceptualisations of development. Using this as a critical frame of reference, during the rest of the course 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.

16 hours and 30 minutes of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT.

There will be a 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.

Krauss, K. (2013) Collisions between the Worldviews of International ICT Policy-Makers and a Deep Rural Community in South Africa: Assumptions, interpretation, implementation, and reality, Information Technology for Development, 19, 4, pp. 296-318.

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