The Heller School for Social Policy and Management

The Heller School for Social Policy and Management

Brandeis University

HS271A-1 Perspectives in International Development (PID)

Fall term 2014

Instructor: Professor Joseph Assan, PhD

Email: ()

With guest lectures by Prof. Joan Dassin, PhD, Prof Susan Holcombe, PhD and Dean Lisa Lynch, PhD

Tuesday and Wednesday 2:00 - 4:55pm

Location: Room G4

Faculty Office Hours (by appointment only): Thursdays 12noon – 1.30pm at Prof Joseph Assan’s office (Room 108)

University notices:

1. If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.

2. You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. The University policy on academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty are subject to possible judicial action. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. If you have any questions about our expectations, please ask. Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use the words or ideas of another person – be it a world-class philosopher or your roommate – without proper acknowledgement of that source. This means that you must use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the source of any phrases, sentences, paragraphs or ideas found in published volumes, on the internet, or created by another student. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, you must ask for clarification.

Course information

This course is open to all Heller students and fulfills a core SID requirement. The course meets throughout the fall semester on Wednesday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:55pm. Attendance is required. Special complementary events like lectures workshops, training sessions, and expert-led conversations may also be offered. This syllabus is subject to change. Changes will be posted on the course website (Latte). When in doubt, please speak to Professor Joseph Assan.

Course Purpose

Perspectives in International Development (PID) provides an introductory overview of the measurement, consequences and policy responses to poverty, inequality, under development and accelerated growth within the context of sustainable development. PID is a core course that introduces students to sustainable development theory, policy and practice. Topics include poverty, inequality, trade, employment, governance, post MDGs, gender, environmental sustainability, demographics of development, globalization, urbanization, employment, the role of institutions as well as measures and indicators of development. Students examine what is known about the drivers of development as well as the links among global and national policies, and actions for sustainable development. The course takes an applied multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approach with economic, sociological, cultural, environmental, and geographic perspectives on what development is and what these different perspectives suggest for poverty reduction and sustainable development. By the end of the course students should be able to think through and continually revise a “theory” or approach that will guide their own development practices. We encourage each student to come to her/his own definition of sustainable development within the general framework that sustainable development links environmental, economic, and social priorities; intergenerational equity, and global justice. We will examine theories of development against the evidence of their ability to produce development that reduces poverty and inequality and ensures sustainability. Perspectives in International Development (PID) makes the interconnection among the concepts of poverty, inequality, and development explicit using case studies personal experiences. It gives students an opportunity to develop their theory of change from current conceptual/policy debates, propositions and perspectives. Perspectives in International Development (PID) should advance each student’s understanding of international development and sustainability through readings, discussions, and assignments.

This course has three broad and interconnected goals:

(1)  Introduce students to the inter-disciplinary field of development, including evolving development perspectives (economic, political, social, and environmental) and concepts of sustainable development.

(2)  Offer students the tools to engineer poverty reduction strategies with a refined understanding of poverty, inequality, and development through exploring three interconnected themes: whether development programs and current development practice works; rights versus needs based approaches to development; and the efficacy practice - particularly in relation to asset-building development interventions.

(3)  Empower students to make their own values and framework for change and development explicit through building a community of learning in a space where all students and a diverse faculty can work together in collaboration and cooperation.

Course Values

The content and methods of the Poverty course reflect a pro-poor, pro-environment, and problem-solving perspective. Values in development policies and programs are not always explicit. We strive to train our students to be clear and unapologetic about the values that underpin their professional work.

Core Competency Statement

This course will help develop the following core competencies that are rooted in the values of sustainable development and the social justice mission of Brandeis University and the Heller School.

1.  Develop basic literacy in the historical and current debates on the meaning and goals of sustainable development and on the underlying theoretical concepts

2.  Understand the interdependence of ecological, social, political, and economic systems; and the integrated context (political, institutional, legal, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental) in which sustainable development takes place

3.  Analyze socio-economic, political, institutional, cultural, and environmental contexts at the global and local levels; to examine situations from the perspectives of human rights, gender, and marginalization; and to apply the analysis to the design and implementation of policies and interventions rooted in reality in order to create change.

4.  Approach development as a problem-solving process. Problem-solving approaches imply the ability to consider innovative approaches and to question whether conventional wisdom and existing systems, structures, and models are working.

5.  Articulate a working definition of sustainable development to guide personal professional practice.

6.  Build skills in professional communication, oral and written.

Course Requirements

To complete this course successfully you must attend class lecture and discussion sections. You are also responsible for the following assignments:

·  Active and responsible participation in course activities which will be assessed by the teaching team. This will include the timely submission of brief One Paragraph Reactions.

·  Two short response papers[1], length should be 300 words (one page – max excluding references/bibliography), responding to a question related to the readings. These assignments will form part of your course portfolio and the quality and timeliness will be noted in the evaluation. Please examine the guidelines and submission procedures carefully. A calendar of response questions and due dates will be posted on LATTE separately.[2] The purpose of these go beyond a comprehension exercise to also teaching an essential skill useful for development workers along with the critical thinking, reading, and writing inherent in a response paper.

·  A policy paper (1200 words or 3 pages – excluding references) due Monday 13th October 2014 on Latte by 11.55pm. Students will be required to select one topic from a list of options. Specific guidelines and criteria for grading will be posted on Latte. .

·  Final paper (1200 words or 3 pages - excluding references) due December Monday 8th 2014 on Latte by 11.55pm. Assignment will be distributed and posted on Latte separately.

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH ASSIGNMENT WILL BE ISSUED SEPARATELY AND POSTED ON LATTE.

Assessments and Grading

Evaluation of student performance will be based on the following:

1.  Submission of 2 short response papers: This will form 20% of the overall assessment of the module mark. These papers will be reviewed and assessed by Teaching Assistants and faculty. Students will be given a set of feedback on their respective papers which is aimed at helping to improve the quality of analysis and critical engagement with the course materials. Response papers must be submitted to Latte by 11.55pm on the due date.

2.  Participation: Students will be required to submit brief One Paragraph Reactions. The teaching team will also monitor class attendance and participation. This will be through class attendance and in class discussion secessions. Class participation will form 20% of the overall course mark. Students will however have 2% penalty deduction for each recorded absence in class.

3.  Policy paper - 30% of total mark.

4.  Policy strategy paper - 30% of total mark.

Grading Scheme: The course assignments will be graded as follows:

(A+) = 94 - 100%;

(A) = 88 - 93%;

(B+) = 83 - 87%;

(B) = 78 - 82%;

(C+) = 73 - 77 %

(D) = < 73%

Not submitted (NS) = 0.

Critical Reading

As you read, ask what each reading is saying about the goals of development and the means to achieve development. What values are implicit in each reading? Do you agree or disagree? You may want to draw a matrix listing the authors on the left and columns across the top to categorize the goals of development, values implicit and what each writer says about how to implement actions that will achieve the goals.

Required Readings are listed below. Most readings can be accessed on the course website on Latte. Students are also encouraged to have a copy of:

-  Sen, A. Development as Freedom

-  Deepa Narayan, Raj Patel, Kai Schafft, Anne Rademacher and Sarah Koch-Schulte: Voices of the poor: Can anyone hear us? Oxford University Press. Available at:

http://www.rrojasdatabank.info/voices/vol1.pdf

We encourage you to form reading groups to help you cover the reading materials thoroughly.

Further Readings are included on Latte in the “Supplemental area” at the bottom. Most further recommended readings are available in the SID and/or main Brandeis Library, in e-journals and on the web. We encourage you to take advantage of these resources to explore a topic in greater detail.

Duncan Green, From Poverty to Power, http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/downloads/FP2P/FP2P_BK_Whole.pdf,

Michael Todaro and Stephen Smith Economic Development; Debraj Ray, Development Economics; and Adam Smirzai, The Dynamics of Socio-economic Development are three excellent resources located in the SID library on many development issues which we will cover in this course. This course is not a research intensive course, so we are not offering introductory sessions to library use as part of the course. If you do not receive library training in another course this semester and would like to receive library training, please contact Professor Joseph Assan.

Web Sources: There is a wealth of good material on the web, but there is also information which can be inaccurate or misleading. Always use web resources critically. Know what the source is, and whether and how you can evaluate its reliability. There is a full list of web useful resources at the end of the syllabus. In particular, the UN and World Bank websites give you access to reports and statistics. The UNDP Human Development Reports (HDR) are helpful data sources. National, and in some cases sub-national HDRs exist for most countries. Also helpful is the World Bank’s World Development Report. Some other useful sites include: www.eldis.org (summaries and links to development related documents); www.ids.ac.uk/blds (the British Library for development studies with access to articles and documents). We will refer to others in class.

COURSE OUTLINE

Lecture 1: Course Introduction (Prof Joseph Assan). The guest lecturers on the course (Prof Joan Dassin Holcombe and Dean Lisa Lynch) will also be introduced.

Dates:

Tues: 2nd September

Wed: 3rd September

Focus:

·  Course overview: objectives, requirements, grading process, overview of course content

·  Video: Does international development assistance do more harm than good?

·  Discussion: Can ‘sustainable international development’ as an approach transform development policy and practice?

Required Readings:

Stiglitz (2007) Vatican Speech “Charity and Justice in the Relations among Peoples and Nations” http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jstiglitz/download/speeches/development/International_Justice_Aid.pdf

Poor Economics CH10 (Review http://pooreconomics.com)

Lecture 2: Conceptualizing Development: A critical examination (Prof Joseph Assan)

Dates:

Tues: 9th September

Wed: 10th September

Focus:

·  How has the concept development evolved?

·  How is development as a concept perceived?

·  Who are the key thinkers of development from the developing world?

·  Has development failed?

Required Readings:

Hettne, B. (2002) ‘Current Trends and Future options in development Studies’ in Desai, V. and R.B. Potter, (eds.) The Companion to Development Studies, London: Arnold.

Potter, B. R. (2002) ‘Theories, Strategies and Ideologies of Development’ in Desai, V. and R. B.Potter, (eds.) The Companion to Development Studies, London: Arnold.

Bapir, M. A. - A Critical Comparison of Leading Theoretical Conceptualizations of Development and their Significance for Assessing Development in Practice (Warwick University) http://www.academia.edu/1090576/Theoretical_Conceptualizations_of_Development

[Accessed on 8th August 2013]

Sidaway, D. J. (2002) ‘Post-Development’ in Desai, V. and R. B. Potter, (eds.) The Companion to Development Studies, London: Arnold.

Lecture 3: Definitions and Measurement of Poverty and Inequality (Prof Joseph Assan)

Dates:

Tues: 16th September

Wed: 17th October

Focus:

·  Why study poverty and inequality?

·  What is inequality and why is it important?

·  How are poverty and inequality measured?

·  Why is it important to measure poverty and inequality

Required Readings:

Deaton, A. “Counting the World’s Poor: Problems and Possible Solution,” World Bank Research Observer, vol. 16, pp. 125-148.

Houghton, J. and Khandker, S. (2009) Handbook on Poverty and Inequality, The World Bank, Washington DC. (Chapter 2). http://go.worldbank.org/FD7XNHF1U0

Review at least one of the following reports:

·  World Bank -- Inequality around the World http://go.worldbank.org/300LMVGD10

·  OPHI and UNDP, Multidimensional Poverty Index (www.phi.org.uk/multidimensional-poverty-index/)

·  Gross National Happiness Index as alternative approach and its impact beyond Bhutan? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts.

Lecture 4: Neoliberalism, the Washington Consensus and Structural Adjustment (Prof Joseph Assan)

Dates: