This course is intended to introduce students to the concepts and methods of research in the international development subfield. Students will be introduced to research design techniques in an effort to train them to become producers, not merely consumers of knowledge. This course is fundamentally about how to conduct research in international development. The course covers both introductory quantitative methods (univariate, bivariate, and some multivariate analyses), as well as some of the most often used qualitative methods in the discipline. The course is not meant to be exhaustive of all methods utilized In the subfield.

This course introduces students to the notion and history of “international development” and examines the different theories and strategies of development that have evolved in the last seventy years. We address the many challenges that the global community is facing in its efforts to reduce poverty in an equitable and sustainable manner. We then tackle varied thematic issues and goals of development such as understanding multifaceted poverty, improving health and education outcomes, and building sustainable cities, which provide students with opportunities to apply the theories under study along with exploring possible solutions. Altman students in the PSDV major or minor may substitute ISIB 3010 for PSDV 2400.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

Special Topics. Course may be repeated unlimited times for credit.

This course gives insight into how to make development more sustainable, durable, compatible with nature, the needs of current and future generations, and, in particular, the essential needs of the world’s poor. Keeping in mind that the definition of sustainability is heavily dependent on local contexts and concerns, the course provides several approaches to understanding sustainable development. These include: governance at global, national, and local levels, the resource curse hypothesis, sustainable and durable peace, international aid and debt structures, and a gender lens. The assignments take the students through a process of developing a policy for a current problem in a developing country of their choice.

This course explores what is meant by food policy and the major challenges in the food sector as well as policy responses at home and abroad. We start with the political economy of agriculture in the United States, including the history of government intervention in this sector, the role of trade, and migrant worker policy. Then we examine famine, hunger, and food insecurity, including programs aimed at mitigating these problems. The final section concerns diet, the food industry, and health (of ourselves as well as our planet). We will study food safety, climate change, and new philosophies of farming and eating. In each section, we consider the role of interests, institutions, and ideas in policymaking.

In this course, we will study the ways that environmental stewardship and economic development are often at odds and how they might be more complementary. In particular, we will explore the concept of sustainable development and how development projects can balance economic demands and environmental stewardship. How can development projects be designed such that they use limited resources prudently and don’t generate pollution that threatens public health and contributes to climate catastrophe? What sort of regulatory policies should be put in place? We will use basic readings, case studies, and student research projects to analyze wrong turns and best practices in sustainable development.

Development studies increasingly focus on questions of gender and family as drivers and receivers of development. Improving the quality of life of African women and families hinges on first understanding who they are and why and how they live as they do. In this course we explore a key question: How are women, gender and sexuality central to development in Sub-Saharan Africa? The course answers this question by providing a comprehensive overview of the social, political, economic, regional and global realities that shape daily lives of women in Sub-Saharan Africa. We examine diverse topics ranging from family planning and social entrepreneurship to beauty politics and women's role in conflict. A variety of case studies and authors from across the continent are consulted, including examples from Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, and Nigeria. The course is interdisciplinary in approach, with course materials drawn from public health, history, education, psychology, political science, environmental studies, and literature. The sources we use are diverse, including academic articles, monographs, novels, short stories, poetry, art, and film. This course is required for students who wish to apply for the Newcomb College Institute's summer program in Kenya.

A principal concern of many development theorists and practitioners today is the need to recognize differences. That means, fundamentally, respecting differences in identity and how one’s identity or identities, such as gender, ethnicity, family structure, national origin, political affiliation, race, and religion, play out in daily practice. The first section of the course provides historical and theoretical context for current discussions of identity as they relate to, affect and shape current international development theory and practice. The second section of the course examines cross-cutting issues where identity concerns intersect, with an emphasis on current trends and challenges, such as migration, violence, and urban change.

This course provides students with the opportunity to consider the implications of global population movements – 258 million in 2017, exclusive of internal migrants – and the events they reflect. We examine internal and external migration flows, their political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental causes and consequences. Moreover, we consider whether migrants may be an engine of development, a hindrance, or both. Success stories of migrant integration, upward mobility and thriving businesses go alongside with tales of discrimination, crowded slums and refugee camps where disease is rampant, education is scarce, and youth widen the ranks of the unemployed and revert to crime as a way of living and violence as a means of surviving. Based on migration theories and case studies, this course aims at understanding these patterns and exploring how the pace of migration may be slowed and conditions improved in order for migrant populations to better integrate their new societies and become positive agents of change.

Determining the appropriate response to atrocities of gruesome scale, such as genocide and crimes against humanity, is one of the most difficult tasks scholars and policymakers have had to grapple with in post-conflict societies. This course examines key concepts and explores theoretical and practical problems in confronting political and structural violence, including deprivation of basic material needs, human rights violations, and ethnic cleansing and genocide. We explore recent attempts to establish just outcomes in transitional settings and assess different transitional justice mechanisms, such as truth and reconciliation commissions, war crimes tribunals, and the International Criminal Court. Students have the opportunity to analyze a variety of topics in their assignments, such as retributive, restorative, reparative, and distributive justice, and the relationship between transitional justice and development, displacement, gender, and media.

This class explores how politics affect global health governance and the ways in which global health issues fit into the discipline of political science. Topics studied include core global health institutions, types of power and authority, infectious threats and securitization, development assistance for health, medical diplomacy, global mental health, and efforts to contain chronic diseases through governance of the tobacco, alcohol, and food industries.

Development in the Francophone World, taught in the French language, focuses on political, economic, and social aspects of development in francophone developing areas, especially in Africa. We also discuss disaster relief issues with a focus on Haiti. Topics of discussion include: historical and political heritage; French and European development practices in terms of trade, investment, and foreign aid; entrepreneurship as a tool of development; and the impact of globalization and migration on the regions in question. We examine development programs in areas such as poverty, food security, education, human rights and gender equity, health, and the environment, and assess the performance and prospects of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) and Sustainable Development Goals (2016-2030).

With the approval from the International Development Studies Program and the Center for Public Service, students can gain unique practical experiences and earn credit by engaging in a service-learning internship course. The internship program provides students the opportunity to bridge academic learning with service in the community. Internships foster professional development, promote practical application of knowledge acquired in the classroom, and encourage civic engagement. This course requires motivation, passion, and enthusiasm. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Special Topics Course. Topics will vary. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

This undergraduate course examines the complex challenges inherent to managing non-governmental organizations in developing countries. The focus is on the role of leadership in managing social, political, and financial influences and constraints on policy decision-making. Students learn to apply a conceptual framework including mission, goals, objectives, and allocation of human, financial and technical resources to real-life development projects conducted in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States.

Prerequisite(s): PSDV 2400 and POLS 2010.

Special Topics Course. Topics will vary. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Special Topics Course. Topics will vary. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Special Topics in Political Science - International Development