Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective

Explores development through historical narrative and examines the globalization/development paradox through in-depth case studies

Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, Fourth Edition, describes the dramatic acceleration of the global and political economy across three historical periods: colonialism, the development era, and the current era of globalization. Author Philip McMichael helps students make sense of a complex world in transition and explains how globalization became part of public discourse. Filled with case studies, this text makes the intricacies of globalization concrete, meaningful, and clear for students and moves them away from simple social evolutionary views, encouraging them to ponder social change, development, and global inequalities. The book challenges students to see themselves as global citizens whose consumption decisions have real implications.

New to the Fourth Edition
· Links contemporary world issues such as slum proliferation, rebellion in Latin America, AIDS, the rise of China, and climate change to the long-term course of development as a global project
Weaves a stronger ecological theme into the story and emphasizes gendered features of modernization, as well as the complexity of its progressive claims, urging students to think critically about the costs and benefits of development
Reviews current trends and asks new questions about the future of international development

Instructor's Resources on CD-Rom are available to qualified instructors. Contact [email protected] or 1-800-818-7243 (6 am - 5 pm, PT) to request acopy.

Intended Audience
This text is an ideal core or supplementary text for a variety of undergraduate or beginning graduate courses such as Globalization, Social Development, and Social Change in departments of sociology, political science, and global studies.  

Philip McMichael grew up in Alelaide, South Australia, and is presently Professor of Rural and Development Sociology at Cornell University. His book The Agrarian Question: Foundations of Capitalism in Colonial Australia (1984) won the Social Science History Association's Allan Sharlin Memorial Award. He is also the editor of The Global Restructuring of Agro-Food Systems (1994) and Food and Agrarian Orders in the World Economy (1995). He has served as Director of Cornell University's International Political Economy Program and as Chair of the American Sociological Association's Political Economy of the World-System Section.