COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is an introductory course that examines the patterns, causes, and consequences of poverty and economic inequality in the world today, as well as the institutional responses and potential solutions that collectively fall under the rubric of development. Development is a complex and politically contentious term that is rooted in the particular history of Western European and North American capitalist societies. Behind its common usages and assumptions are many difficult empirical, political, and ethical questions concerning the relationship between economic growth and social change.
The course begins with a critical examination of the meanings and measures of development, followed by an historical analysis of the primary object of development – the Third World. Next, we look at various theoretical approaches to explaining, and ultimately eliminating, economic inequality, from neo-classical notions about stages of growth, to Marxist-influenced dependency theory, to the resurgence of free-market neo-liberalism and the recent focus on debt-relief. The second part of the course is organized around a series of critical development issues, including population growth, food security, agriculture, health, industrialization, urbanization, and the environmental impacts of development. Within each topic, we will examine case studies from various countries in the developing world, including Brazil, Mexico, Jamaica, Malawi, India, Thailand, and China. The course concludes with a look at alternative approaches to development including social movements and fair trade.
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:
There will be one midterm exam, a final exam, and three short written assignments. Regular attendance and preparation for discussion sections is required and essential. The grading breakdown is as follows:
30% for the midterm exam
35% for the final exam
25% for the written assignments (combined)
10% for section participation
The midterm exam will be given in class on Tuesday, October, 11
The final exam is scheduled for Monday, December 19, 12:30 pm. (exam group 17)
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TEXTBOOKS:
Tim Allen and Alan Thomas, eds. Poverty and Development into the 21st Century. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Robert Griffiths. Annual Editions: Developing World 05/06. McGraw-Hill, 2005.
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Poverty. Verso, 2003.
The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development. Verso, 2002.
DS 10 Course Reader available at Vick Copy (Hearst/Euclid opposite North Gate).
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COURSE SCHEDULE AND LECTURE TOPICS:
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PART I: DEVELOPMENT IN GLOBAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
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Aug. 30 – Sept. 1: Meanings and Views of Development
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 2
• Annual Editions “Getting There”
• Reader “Millennium Development Goals,” “Making Poverty History,” “The Nature of Development”
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Sept. 6 – Sept. 8: Poverty and Inequality: Trends and Measures
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 1
• Annual Editions “More or Less Equal?”
• Reader “UNDP Human Development Index,” “Sub-Saharan Africa,” “The Rising Inequality of World Income Distribution,” “The Big Mac Index”
• No-Nonsense Guide to World Poverty Chs. 2 and 3
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Sept. 13 - Sept. 20: Making of the Third World
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Chs. 11 and 12
• Annual Editions “Development as Poison”
• Reader “The Three Worlds,” “The West and the Rest,” “The Structure of Dependence”
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Sept. 22 - Sept. 27: The Rise of Development: Policies and Institutions
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Chs. 9 and 13
• Reader “The History of an Idea”
Documentary:
Life and Debt
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Sept. 29 – Oct. 4: Neoliberalism, Trade, and Aid
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 16
• Annual Editions “Trade Secrets,” “Crisis in Cancun,” “Ranking the Rich”
• Reader “The Economics of Empire,” “Aid: The International Contribution,” “The G8 Summit: The Aid Equation,” “The $25 Billion Question”
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Oct. 6 - 11: Midterm Review and Exam (Tuesday, October 11)
** Midterm Exam in class Tuesday October 12 **
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Oct. 13: Film
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PART II CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
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Oct. 18 - 20: Population Growth and Demographic Change
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 6
• Annual Editions “The Global Baby Bust”
• Reader “Population Crises: From the Global to the Local,” “It Is Not Food Versus Population”
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OCT. 25 – 27: Hunger and Food Security
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 3
• Annual Editions “Why People Still Starve,” “Agriculture, Food Security, and Water”
• Reader “Malnutrition Defined,” “The Concept of Food Security,” “Policies Aimed at Improving Access to Food”
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Nov. 1 - 3: Agricultural Production
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 22
• Reader “From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution,” “Reconciling Agriculture and Wild Biodiversity Conservation,” “Drug Economies of the Americas”
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Nov. 8: Health and Disease
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 4
• Annual Editions “Withholding the Cure”
• Reader “Key Facts from World Heath Report 2004,” “Facts and Figures from World Health Report 2005,” “Disease, Change, Consciousness and Denial,” “AIDS in Southeast Asia,” “AIDS in China,” “AIDS: The End of the Beginning?”
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Nov. 10: Industrialization
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 24
• Reader “Patterns and Processes of Globalization,” “From T-Shirts to T-Bonds,” “Maquiladoras: The View from the Inside,” “Ending Sweatshops”
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Nov. 15 -17: Urbanization
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 20
Documentary:
Red Capitalism
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Nov. 22: Tourism for Development?
Readings:
• Reader Chs. 1 and 2 from Behind the Smile, “Power and Tourism”
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Nov. 29 - Dec. 1: Environmental Impacts of Development
Readings:
• Poverty and Development Ch. 7
• No-Nonsense Guide to International Development Ch. 5
• Reader “The Memo,” “Dammed Rivers, Dammed Lives,” “Survey of Water,” “Environment, Development, and Politics,” “Power, Knowledge and Political Ecology in the Third World”
Documentary:
Thirst
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Dec. 6: New Directions
Readings:
• Non-Nonsense Guide to International Development Chs. 6 and 7
• Reader “Resisting and Reshaping Destructive Development,” “Making Trade Fair,” “Breaking New Ground: Brazil’s MST”
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Dec. 8: Wrap up and Final Review
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| Dec. 19: Final Exam @ 12:30 p.m. |
