Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Tokyo offers a unique course, GUC25S3151C | Dilemmas of Development in Asia, as part of its Global Unit Courses (GUC) program. This in-person course aims to deepen students' understanding of theories and practices of development in Asia.

About the Lecturer

The course is taught by Professor Jin Sato, a renowned expert in development studies at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo. Professor Sato focuses on the politics of natural resources and foreign aid in the context of Southeast Asia.

Course Details

• Subject: Dilemmas of Development in Asia
• Field: Politics
• Key words: Foreign aid, Development, Environment and climate change, Southeast Asia, Democracy
• Global Unit: 1
• Lecturer: Jin SATO
• Period: July 14 - July 28, 2025
• Time: 17:00-18:30 (Japan Standard Time)
• Lecture style: In-person (on Hongo Campus)

Evaluation Criteria

The course evaluation is based on the following criteria:

• Excellent (S): 90-100%
• Very good (A): 80-89%
• Good (B): 70-79%
• Pass (C): 60-69%
• Fail (D): 0-59%

Evaluation Methods

The evaluation methods include:

• Class participation: 40%
• Group Presentation: 20%
• Final paper: 40%

Prerequisites

No prior knowledge is required, but students need to commit their time for the reading for each session.

Course Contents

Purpose

The course aims to enable students to ask different, more nuanced questions about development and engage more critically with the mainstream discourse, such as SDGs.

Description

This in-person course offers a vivid and grounded understanding of the various types of dilemmas in the process of development and aid, based on the instructor's field experience in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Schedule

1. Framing Development
2. Division of Labor: Individual and Collective Wellbeing
3. Literacy as a Basic Need? Freedom and State Identity
4. Japan's Modernization Dilemmas: Growth, Inequality and Pollution
5. Development Projects: Intentions and Unintended Consequences
6. Reflection and Discussion
7. Environmental Justice: Climate and Development
8. Democracy and Development in Asia (Guest Lecture)
9. Foreign Aid: Ownership and Dependence
10. Learning and Unlearning in Development

Assignments

1. Each day (aside from the first and last), there will be an article (or a book chapter) assigned to which selected students are asked to summarize and comment.
2. On the "reflection day" at the middle of the course, students are asked to present in groups for 10 minutes.
3. A 5-page (double-space) final reflection paper will be assigned at the end of this course.

Required Readings

Readings will be available on the class website prior to the class.

Reference Readings

None specified.

Notes on Taking the Course

None specified.