The course provides students with the knowledge of the basic theories and epistemological questions of development studies. After taking the course, students can expect to understand the main discourses of culture- and social sciences and their influence on methodology. The course explores realist and constructivist views in social sciences through classics (Marx, Weber, Durkheim) and more recent theorists (Parsons, Foucault, Giddens, Bourdieu, Luhmann, Latour), and reflects the methodological consequences of different theoretical approches.