Fall 2016 Office Hours: MWF 10:30-11:30, 333 AND
INR4035/1A87 Professor M. Leann Brown
Fall 2016 Office hours: MWF 10:30-11:30, 333 AND
MWF 11:45-12:35 E-mail: [email protected]
AND 101 Phone: 352.273.2398
The right to development is an inalienable human rightby virtue of which every human person and all peoplesare entitled to participate in and contribute to andenjoy economic, social, cultural, and political development,in which all human rights and fundamental freedomscan be fully realized (United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986).
While humanity shares one planet, it is a planet on which there are two worlds, the world of the rich and the world of the poor. (Raanan Weitz, 1986)
POOR AND RICH COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD SYSTEM
This course is designed to explore the economic, political, and social linkages and interdependencies between and among less- and more-developed countries in the global system predominantly from the former's perspective. We will consider:
* concepts and theoriesthat relate to underdevelopment
* some economic, political, and social aspects of poor countries’ underdevelopment
* policy recommendations as to how the international community might help address
global imbalances in human welfare.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
Hopper, Paul. 2012. Understanding Development. Cambridge: Polity.
Boo, Katherine. 2012. Behind the Beautiful Forevers. New York: Random House.
The assigned readings will expand your understanding of the lectures and enable you to participate fully in classroom discussion. Since one goal of the course is to allow you to analyze reported news and opinions, you are encouraged to cultivate the habit of devoting some time each day to reading global news. Several excellent sources of news are available online. You might signup to receive daily news summaries from sources such as the NEW YORK TIMES and the United Nations News Service ( several of the “themes,” a subtopic on the website, coincide with those we will discuss this semester). You will also wish to have access to an atlas to help identify countries and regions mentioned in the readings, lectures, and current periodicals.
GRADING PROCEDURES
Your grade in this course will derive from your performance on a mid-term and final examinations in essay and multiple choice format respectively, a short (10 pages, type-written, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and 12-point font) research paper, and attendance and participation. Both exams will potentially include material from the lectures, readings, class discussion, and current events. Your final grade will be based on the following credit distribution:
Midterm exam (Friday 10/7) 30%
Final exam(Wednesday 12/14, 3-5 pm) 30%
Research Paper (Monday 11/21) 30%
Attendance and participation 10%
Exams must be taken as scheduled unless documentation is provided of exceptional circumstances. UF policy regarding excused absences reads in part:
“In general, acceptable reasons for absence from or failure to participate in class include illness, serious family emergencies, special curricular requirements (e.g., judging trips, field trips, professional conferences), military obligation, severe weather conditions, religious holidays and participation in official university activities such as music performances, athletic competition or debate. Absences from class for court-imposed legal obligations (e.g., jury duty or subpoena) must be excused.” See < for a more complete discussion.
The Grading Scale is as follows: 90-92 = A-, 93-100 = A; 80-82 = B-, 83-86 = B, 87-89 = B+….
If you require special in-class or testing accommodations, please consult with the Disability Resource Center for information concerning your rights and responsibilities, and submit the relevant paperwork to me as soon as possible(352.392.8565,
SHORT RESEARCH PAPER
You should plan to submit your research question and tentative thesis in class in hardcopy on Friday 9/16 (for 5% of the paper credit) and, on Friday 10/21, a 10-item working bibliography (representing 5% of the paper credit) is due in class in hardcopy. Because scholarly (peer-reviewed/refereed) journals present the most theoretically important, timely, concise, and credible sources available, they should constitute at least half of the (minimum) ten-item bibliography. You might begin your search for these scholarly works with the political, economic, and social science indices on the UF library website such as the Academic Search Premier (ebsco) and JStor.
SCHEDULE, COURSE OUTLINE, AND ASSIGNED READINGS
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DATES DISCUSSION TOPIC HOPPER BOO
8/22 Course introduction
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8/24-9/2 Concepts and Theories Chs 1, 2
SEPTEMBER 5NO CLASS - LABOR DAY observed in the United States
ECONOMIC LINKAGES AND INTERDEPENDENCIES
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9/7-16 Trade Ch 6
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FRIDAY, 9/16 RESEARCH QUESTION AND TENTATIVE THESIS FOR SHORT RESEARCH PAPER DUE IN CLASS, IN HARDCOPY
9/19-23 Debt and financial crises Ch 8
9/26-30 Aid Ch 10 Chs 1-3
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POLITICAL LINKAGES AND INTERDENDENCIES
10/3-12 Conflict and Arms Proliferation Ch 5 Chs 4-5
FRIDAY 10/7 MIDTERM EXAMINATION IN ESSAY FORMAT
FRIDAY 10/14 NO CLASS - UF HOMECOMING ACTIVITIES
10/17-28 Civil society as a foundation for … Chs 6-7
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FRIDAY 10/21 WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR RESEARCH PAPER IS DUE IN CLASS, IN HARDCOPY
10/24-28 The spread of democracy Ch 7 Chs 8-9
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SOCIAL LINKAGES AND INTERDEPENDENCIES
10/31-11/4 Women and Development Ch 4 Chs 10-11
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11/7-18 Health and development Ch 3 Chs 12-13
FRIDAY 11/21 RESEARCH PAPER DUE IN CLASS, IN HARDCOPY
WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY 11/23-25 NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING DAY OBSERVANCE IN THE US
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11/21-12/1 Sustainable Development Chs 9, Conclusion Chs 14-15
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12/5-7 Discussion of BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS Chs 16-17
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FINAL EXAMINATION WEDNESDAY, 12/14, 3-5 pm,in our regular classroom
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The following information is recommended by UF’s Syllabi Policy:
UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: ‘On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.’ The Honor Code ( specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the course instructor.
Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing online evaluations at Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific times when they are open. Summary results of these assessments are available to students at:
The Counseling and Wellness Center is available at: phone 392-1575.
For emergencies, the University Police Department may be contacted by phone at:
392-1111 or 9-1-1.