This course surveys the dominant theories in the comparative politics
subfield of development.  We begin with the "classic" explanations of
political and economic development: modernization, political culture, and
imperialism.  We then assess attempts to critique and/or build upon these
theoretical foundations by exploring the more radical turn in development
theory (dependency and Marxist analyses), innovations in the theory of the
state, gender focused analyses of development, and the growing influence of
rational choice political economy.  The goal of the survey is to identify
the most important theoretical and empirical problems in the subfield.  To
this end, we will draw upon examples from a variety of regions and
historical periods.
Student grades will be based on class participation, performance on weekly
assignments, and a 10-15 page research proposal.