Specialisation: Sociology of Development
With inequalities running deep and crises and disasters permeating everyday life, the need for in-depth sociological and anthropological thinking is urgent. In this specialisation, you develop the analytical and methodological skills to critically unpack development ideas, practices, and imaginaries.
This specialisation offers a great preparation for an engaged professional life in international and domestic arenas. You will dive into social and spatial drivers and implications of agrarian, climate, and social change. You will also compare mainstream ideas and strategies for development with alternatives, including convivial conservation, local forms of peace-building, activism and resistance, citizen’s initiatives in sustainability, degrowth, and diverse agri-food networks.
Specialisation courses
In the first year, you follow two common courses - a selection of supporting courses and/or electives, and three specialisation courses.
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| RSO-34306 | Theory in Action: How theory matters for development |
| SDC-32806 | Sociological Perspectives on Social Exclusions |
| Choose one of the following courses to define your thesis track: | |
| SDC-32306 | Anthropology, power and inequality |
| RSO-31806 | Advanced Rural Sociology: Alternatives in food provisioning and place making |
| ENP-32806 | Sociological Perspectives on Environmental Change |
| SDC-34306 | Studying Crisis, Conflict, and Violence |
For more information about the courses and course content of the specialisation, as well as the compulsory parts of the master's programme, please check the Study Handbook.
Depending on your educational background, you may need to follow supporting courses, e.g. SDC-30306 Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives on Development and SDC-33306 Methodology for Field Research in the Social Sciences.
Student experience
Martine Wijnstra
The sociological and anthropological perspectives taught me a lot about how global structures in the world influence inequality and poverty on a local level, and how the dominant Western worldview leaves little space for other ways of thinking and knowing. My thesis project in northern Albania on human – river connections, taught me about dilemmas in community conservation, land rights, and indigenous knowledge systems.
Mika Panduwinata
In this specialisation I learned about the complexity surrounding the increased integration of the ‘periphery’ into global markets. Enhancing livelihoods requires tailored efforts that align with people’s specific needs and desires. For my thesis, I investigated how communities in the drought-prone island of Timor (Indonesia) adapt to growing sociopolitical pressures that aim to steer them away from traditional farming practice.
MSc thesis
In the second year, you are given the opportunity to design and conduct research by collecting and analysing information on a thesis topic of your choice. Your thesis topic broadly fits in the domain of your specialisation. These are a few examples from students graduating in the field of sociology:
- Elena Lucchiari: "Carefully reconnecting with the more-than-human: Affective Experiences and Care Practices in Alternative Food Networks in Italy"
- Merel Blauw: "'If we could travel everywhere with our passport, it would be boring', A case study of how encounters with local NGO workers in Ghana reveal the ambivalences of Europe's ideology of migration management"
- Levi Kingfisher: "As the soil, So the Human: Narratives of Ontological Entanglement and Soil Management in Regenerative Agriculture"
- Veerle Boekestijn: "(Re)placing plastic: An exploration of the politics of awareness and environmental stewardship of beach clean-ups as practiced in the Dutch Wadden region"
Many more examples are to be found in the thesis library.
Teachers in the spotlight
Staff from the contributing chair-groups will be telling you about their own research experiences during the courses. Different teachers have different areas of thematic interest, and focus on different regions in the world. To get an impression of the specialisation, these are a few examples of staff members who will be teaching you: