Fall 2008

GOV 365N • ISS in Third-World Development

Course Description

Why are developing countries still so impoverished? Why are income disparities in the world still so pronounced? Why are some countries progressing and others much less so? Focusing on these basic questions, this course provides an introduction to issues in Third World development and politics. After analyzing some of the objective indicators of underdevelopment as well as gaining a greater appreciation of the subjective experiences of poverty and marginality, we will examine a number of economic, sociological and political frameworks for understanding some of the major constraints to and opportunities for advancement in developing societies.

Grading Policy

Exercise: Grade Distribution Class participation 5 percent Observations of Human Development tables 5 percent First in-class examination 25 percent Second in-class examination 25 percent Final take home essay 40 percent

Texts

The following books are required and are available for purchase at the University bookstore. A compilation of articles is also required and available at Speedway Copy in the Dobie Mall (478¬-3334). J. Timmons Roberts and Bradley C. Parks. 2007. A Climate of Injustice: Global Inequality, North-South Politics, and Climate Policy. Cambridge: MIT Press. James C. Scott. 1976. The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press. Elisabeth Croll. 2000. Endangered Daughters: Discrimination and Development in Asia. London: Routledge.

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