INTL DV 110
Economic Development and Culture Change
Description: (Formerly numbered 100A.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Broad introduction to theoretical traditions in development studies, with focus on interactions between states, markets, and cultural value systems, with selected case studies in developing nations. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2018 - For a core IDS class, I was heavily disappointed. Professor Apter covers key concepts necessary for development studies, such as dependency theory and modernization theory, however his delivery and lectures are in desperate need of clarity and structure. At the beginning of the course, he has powerpoint slides for each lecture, however, midway throughout the quarter he stops presenting from slides and provides no slides, notes, bullets, etc. These lectures were very confusing and essentially just consisted of tangents over tangents that left the class very confused as to what the objectives of the lecture were. There were many times where I had only a few sentences of notes because the majority of the lecture were filled with him rambling about who knows what. He is a nice person, however, as a professor he really needs some sort of structure to his class so students know what they are expected to learn. There was no study guide for the midterm or final so essentially you had to find anything that seemed important enough from the readings or lectures and regurgitate that. Midterm and final were of similar format, with you having to define a few terms out of a small word bank and then 1 essay for the midterm, 2 for the final. Discussions talked about the readings, some of which were important, others not so much. This was a theory-focused course and the readings were quite dense at times. I am highly disappointed with this course and it was my least favorite of the IDS core classes. I have had courses without slides before and they have been excellently structured so it is possible to teach a class this way, however, this was not it.
Winter 2018 - For a core IDS class, I was heavily disappointed. Professor Apter covers key concepts necessary for development studies, such as dependency theory and modernization theory, however his delivery and lectures are in desperate need of clarity and structure. At the beginning of the course, he has powerpoint slides for each lecture, however, midway throughout the quarter he stops presenting from slides and provides no slides, notes, bullets, etc. These lectures were very confusing and essentially just consisted of tangents over tangents that left the class very confused as to what the objectives of the lecture were. There were many times where I had only a few sentences of notes because the majority of the lecture were filled with him rambling about who knows what. He is a nice person, however, as a professor he really needs some sort of structure to his class so students know what they are expected to learn. There was no study guide for the midterm or final so essentially you had to find anything that seemed important enough from the readings or lectures and regurgitate that. Midterm and final were of similar format, with you having to define a few terms out of a small word bank and then 1 essay for the midterm, 2 for the final. Discussions talked about the readings, some of which were important, others not so much. This was a theory-focused course and the readings were quite dense at times. I am highly disappointed with this course and it was my least favorite of the IDS core classes. I have had courses without slides before and they have been excellently structured so it is possible to teach a class this way, however, this was not it.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - I loved this class!! Professor Chun is an engaging lecturer and always makes class feel worth going to. There were two 5-page papers and an in-class written essay midterm, but she allowed a cheat sheet of notes. Prof. Chun often gave extra credit opportunities too! She's amazing, 100% take this class with her, whether you're an IDS major or not. Christina is also an amazing TA and fair grader, take her section if you can!
Fall 2025 - I loved this class!! Professor Chun is an engaging lecturer and always makes class feel worth going to. There were two 5-page papers and an in-class written essay midterm, but she allowed a cheat sheet of notes. Prof. Chun often gave extra credit opportunities too! She's amazing, 100% take this class with her, whether you're an IDS major or not. Christina is also an amazing TA and fair grader, take her section if you can!
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