Spring 2006
Lecture: MWF 1:15-2:05 Instructor: Monty
Roper
ARH 120 204
Goodnow Hall
Office phone: 269-3017
e-mail: roperjm@grinnell.edu
Office Hours: M,W 2:30-4:00; T,W,F 9-11. During office hours, you are welcome to stop by
without an appointment. During
non-office hours, you are also welcome to stop by, but I will often be occupied
and unable to meet. I will be happy,
however, to schedule appointments during non-office hours. If you are having problems with course
materials for any reason, I strongly encourage you to come see me.
Accommodations
for students with disabilities: Any student eligible for and needing academic
adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability is requested
to speak with the professor no later than Feb 20th. You will need to provide documentation of
your disability to the Associate Dean and Director of Academic Advising, Joyce
Stern, located in the lower level of the Forum (x3702).
The
course adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of contemporary
issues in the development of ?less-developed? or ?developing? countries. Following a discussion of what it is exactly
that development is supposed to be fixing or making better, we will review the
leading theories of economic, political and social change that have been
adopted by anthropologists, economists political scientists and others over the
past fifty years. We will consider how
these theories have shaped past and current debate on the definition and goals
of the development process. We will
compare and contrast the approaches adopted by international institutions (such
as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund) and alternative development
organizations such as non-government organizations, as well as rural
communities themselves. We will also
examine how, why and under what circumstances development efforts have excluded
or disadvantaged certain social actors and degraded the natural environment,
and how these impacts have affected development discourse and practice. Finally, our discussions of the practice of
development will also encompass case studies of development projects. In the final section of the course, we will
evaluate a controversial development project ? the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in
Texts
1.
John Isbister Promises Not Kept (required)
2. United Nations Development Programme 2000 Human
Development Report 2000 (available free Online http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2000/en/) (required)
Additional
Most of the required readings for the course will be articles from journals and edited books, as well as some small sections of books. All of these will be available on the course blackboard page.
1. Examinations: (40% total) You will have two exams. Each will count as 20% of your final
grade. The exams will include multiple
choice, short answer and essay questions.
2. Country Report: (10% total) You will
write a short paper (600-800 words) that examines the top two development needs
for a particular country or region of the world. This may not be a country in which you have
lived, worked or studied.
3. Debate Paper: (10% total) You will write a short paper
(400-600 words) that argues for one side of a contentious debate concerning
development issues. There will be
several topics to choose from, and the due date will vary to correspond with
when the material is being reviewed in class.
4. Sardar Sarovar Project: (25% total: 10% paper, 15% presentation). Over the last three weeks of the course, we
will focus exclusively on the controversial Sardar Sarovar Dam Project in
5. Participation and Attendance: (10% total) While I will often lecture,
this class will also involve considerable discussion and debate. Your participation is expected. You will also be required to participate in
various in-class activities that will count toward the participation grade. On occasion, I will also provide
opportunities to research information for the benefit of the class and/or
present information in class. You should
be sure to keep up with the readings and come to class prepared to answer
questions, ask questions, and engage in discussion of materials.
6. Campus colloquium summaries: (5% total): Every semester,
there are a number of talks on campus that address issues related to the many
themes of the course. You will be
required to attend at least two campus colloquium related to development
issues. You will provide a brief written
summary on the event, answering questions provided on an assignment sheet
available on the course blackboard page.
You should also be prepared to discuss the event with the class. I will regularly inform the class when these
occur and ask that you pass along information on events as well.
7. Attendance: Attendance is required and I will often take
roll. Any exam or in-class activity that
is missed because of an unexcused
absence will receive a zero. An excused
absence is given only through prior permission of the instructor, and for
medical reasons or family emergencies.
In the latter two cases, notice must be provided through either the
health center or academic affairs. The
class begins at 1:15pm based on the clock in the classroom. Please do not be late as this is disruptive
to the class. If you do come late it is your responsibility
to ensure that I have marked you as present.
Each unexcused absence will result in the loss of 10% of the
participation grade.
(Subject to modification)
I.
The
Problem and its measurement
Mon, Jan
23: Course Introduction. Beginning Discussion of the Concepts of
Poverty and Development
Wed, Jan
25: The "need" for development
· Isbister,
Promises Not Kept Chapters 1-2
Fri, Jan 27:
Measuring development ? What should be the
goal?
· C.
Kindelberger, "Development and Measurement"
·
1990 UN Human
Development Report Ch.1, “Defining and measuring human development”
II. How Did We Get
Here? (Why isn?t everyone
?developed?)
Mon, Jan 30 - Wed, Feb
1: Classic Theories of underdevelopment:
modernization, dependency, and Marxism.
· Isbister,
Promises Not Kept Chapter 3.
· W.W.
Rostow, "The stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto”
(optional)
· A.G.
Frank, "The Development of Underdevelopment" (Optional)
· L.E.
Harrison, “Underdevelopment is a State of
Fri, Feb 3:
Historical view: emergence of inequality and the colonial encounter
· Isbister,
Promises Not Kept Chapter 4
· M.
Harris, "Life Without Chiefs".
· F. Lappé
and J. Collins, "Why Can't People Feed Themselves"
Mon, Feb 6:
Historical view: from Colonialism to Nationalism and
· Isbister,
Promises Not Kept Chapter 5.
III. The
Orthodox Development Paradigm in Practice:
Institutions and Actions
·
Extra
Curricular Film Series Presentation: Commanding
Heights: The
Wed, Feb 8: Development approaches through the 90s
· Isbister, Promises Not Kept, Chapter 6
Fri, Feb 10: The
· Isbister, Promises Not Kept, Chapter 7
· R. Bates,
“Governments and Agricultural Markets in
Mon, Feb 13 - Wed, Feb 15: World Bank and IMF
·
World bank and
IMF websites http://www.worldbank.org Http://www.imf.org
·
World Bank, “10 Things You Never Knew About the World Bank”
· World Bank Brochure, “World Bank Group – Working for
a World Free of Poverty”
·
M. Gavin & D. Rodrik, “The World Bank in Historical Perspective”
·
Friends of the
Earth, “Marketing the Earth: The World Bank and Sustainable Development”
·
David Korten,
“One World – One World Government: Bretton Woods or the United Nations?”
·
Environmental
Defense Fund, ““Institutional Amnesia”: The World Bank’s Approach to High-Risk
Projects.”
· 50 Years is
Enough Organization Website http://50years.org/
·
D. Kapur, “The
IMF: A Cure or a Curse?”
·
IMF, IMF
interactive stories (http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/center/action/eng/index.htm)
·
IMF, “IMF at a
Glance” http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/glance.htm
·
IMF, “Common
Criticisms of the IMF: Some Responses”
Fri, Feb 17 - Mon, Feb 20: TNCs
and the WTO (Free Trade and Globalization as Development?)
· WTO Website. http://www.wto.org/
· WTO, “The World Trade
Organization”
· WTO, “10 Common
Misunderstandings about the WTO”
· WTO, “10 Benefits of the WTO
Trading System”
· K. Watkins, “Is the WTO
Legit?”
· Global Exchange, “Top Ten
Reasons to Oppose the World Trade Organization”
· Global Exchange Website
(Anti WTO Campaign):
· NGO Taskforce on Business
& Industry "Minding Our Business: The Role of Corporate Accountability
in Sustainable Development".
Available online: http://isforum.org/tobi/reports/minding/index.html
· R. Jenkins "Theoretical
Perspectives on the Transnational Corporation". (In Goddard et al International
Political Economy)
Wed, Feb 22: Catch up day OR ?Asian
Tigers? ? An Orthodox Success
· Reading TBA
IV. Some
Alternative Approaches to Development
Fri, Feb 24 - Mon, Feb 27: Human
Rights and Development as Freedom
· UNDP Human Development Report 2000 "Human Rights and Human Development" (Available on-line http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2000/en/)
Wed, March 1 - EXAM 1
Fri, March 3 - Mon, March 6: Local
Knowledge and Participatory Planning
·
Norman Uphoff, ?Fitting Projects to
People?. (In M. Cernea, Putting
People First)
·
Additional
readings TBA
Wed, March 8 - Fri, March 10: Grassroots
Development and NGOs
·
Cultural Survival Quarterly vol. 11.1 (1987) ?Grassroots
Development?. Available on-line at http://209.200.101.189/publications/csq/index.cfm?id=11.1
·
D. Stiles, "Classical Versus Grassroots Development"
·
J. Clay "Editorial: Grassroots Development - More Sunshine and
Rain, Less Seed.
·
T. Macdonald. ?Grassroots
Development: Not Just Organic Farming and Good Faith?
·
Bebbington, ?NGOs: Mediators of Sustainability/Intermediaries in
Transition? (In Blauert and Zadek, Mediating Sustainability)
Mon, March 13: NGO Case Study ?
The Grameen Bank
·
Muhammad Yunus, ?The Grameen Bank? (In Scientific American Nov.
1999 Pp.114-119)
Wed, March 15 - Fri, March 17: Civil
Society and Social Movements
·
Roper et al. ?Introduction:
Indigenous Transformational Movements in Latin America?
·
Additional
readings TBA
Spring Break
V. Major Issues in Development (and more Alternatives)
Mon, April 3 - Wed, April 5: Health
and Development (Case Study: Aids)
· Johanna McGeary, “Death Stalks a Continent” (In Time, February 12, 2001)
· (Review) 2001 On the Socioeconomic Impact of HIV/AIDS Epidemic. Population and Development Review 27 (3): 6719-624.
· (Review) 2001 WHO on Health and Sustainable Development. Population and Development Review 27(2): 395-400.
Fri, April 7 - Mon, April 10: Gender and
Development
· Lockwood, ?The Impact of Development on Women: The Interplay of Material Conditions and Gender Ideology?. (In Brettell and Sargent, Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective)
· J. Hunt, ?Gender and Development?. In D. Kingsbury et al. Key Issues in Development.
· J. Black, ?Development and the Gender Gap? In Development in Theory and Practice.
· M. Leonard, ?Women and Development: Examining Gender issues in Developing Countries?. In G. McCann and S. McCloskey, From the Local to the Global: Key Issues in Development Studies.
Wed, April 12 - Mon, April 17: The Environment and Development.
Issue 1. Development, degradation and the rise of
"sustainable"
·
World Commission on Environment and
Development, Our Common Future.
·
Robert Solow, "Sustainability: An
Economist's Perspective", (In Dorfman and Dorfman, Economics of the
Environment)
Issue 2: North/South
Debate: Population vs. Consumption.
·
Julian Simon,
?Population Growth is Not Bad for Humanity? (In Myers and Simon, Scarcity or
Abundance? A Debate on the Environment)
·
Norman Myers,
?The Population Factor? (In Myers and Simon, Scarcity or Abundance? A Debate
on the Environment)
·
Handout: Ronald Ridker, "Population Issues",
(In Resources Winter 1992 pp. 11-14)
·
Film: Affluenza
Issue 3: Global Commons
and International Governance
·
Website: UN Johannesburg Summit
(Rio +10) http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/
·
David Roodman, "Building a Sustainable Society" (In, State
of the World 1999)
Wed, April 19 - Fri, April 21: Indigenous
Peoples
· S. Davis and W. Partridge, ?Promoting the
Development of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America.?
·
W.
Partridge and J. Uquillas with K. Johns, ?Including the Excluded:
Ethnodevelopment in Latin America.?
·
WB and
Indigenous Peoples
Mon, April 24 - Education and Development
·
S. McClosky,
?Education as an Agent of Social Change?
In G. McCann and S. McCloskey, From
the Local to the Global: Key Issues in Development Studies.
Wed, April
26- EXAM 2
Part V. Intensive Case Study of Development and Social Actors:
Sardar
Saravar Dam Project
Fri, April 28 - Mon, May 1
·
Cultural
Survival. Hydroelectric Dams and
Indigenous Peoples 1988.
Wed, May 3 ? May 12 Group work on final project