The Plight of the Poor

Prof. Cuz Potter
Graduate School of International Studies
Korea University
Winter 2012

1 Introduction

One in three people lives on less than 2 USD per day. One in six on less than 1.25 USD per day. Another one in six live in OECD countries. The ostensible goal of development is to move people from the first categories to the latter. Thus, the science of “development” has focused on issues facing the poorest countries. But, as Rist points out, development discourse unites all countries. Richer countries strive to serve as models for development as well as to promote development. This course will explore how this “development question” ties developed and developing countries together in addressing poverty.

2 Objectives

By the end of this course, students will improve the understanding of:

1. Diverse measurements and definitional debates of poverty and the rationales behind such measures and debates.
2. The conditions with which the poorest of humanity must cope everyday and the strategies they employ to do so.
3. Different responses to poverty and attempts at poverty alleviation from different actor groups, including governments, the poor themselves, international institutions, and private sector non-profits.
4. Critical approaches to empirical and theoretical writing.
5. Visual techniques for communicating information.

3 Course Requirements

• A one-page Reaction Paper (RP) is due electronically by 9am on the morning we will discuss a particular reading for each week for 8 out of the 12 weeks for which there are readings. This allows you to choose which weeks to write a reflection paper. The papers will not be graded with a letter grade, but will be allocated from zero to four points depending on how actively your paper engages the material. The paper should usually be 350–500 words (about one page single-spaced). These brief papers are intended to facilitate class discussion in seminar. You can use the Reaction Paper (RP) to ask for clarification about any aspect of the readings you did not fully understand and/or to express an opinion about one or more of the readings. In general, I would advise you to focus the RP on only one of the readings assigned for each week. RPs should be clearly written, spell-checked, stylistically polished, and grammatically correct.
• In addition to writing your own RP, you are encouraged to read and reflect on those of all other seminar participants prior to our class meeting. This will enable you to think about your classmates’ reactions to the readings in advance of our collective discussion.
• You will prepare an infographic on a topic of your choice that relates to poverty or development. As the effective use of graphical communication becomes more and more important for efficiently and effectively arguing for particular interventions, this exercise is intended to help you cultivate the skills you need to become effective communicators.
• There will no examinations.

4 Grading

5 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable. If plagiarism is detected, you will receive an F for the course. There will be no exceptions. Please note that plagiarism is much broader than many students realize. You are encouraged to look at this excellent summary of plagiarism from Indiana University (http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml), and you will be held to its standards.

6 Required texts

All materials will be available electronically and as a reader. However, significant portions of the following affordable books will be used, and you should thus consider purchasing your own copy.

• Gilbert Rist. The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. Zed Books Ltd., New York, 1997.

7 Schedule of Topics and Reading

All the readings below will be available electronically and a reader. In addition, further readings may be assigned to compliment and integrate current events into the course discussions.

Module 1: What does it mean to be poor?

Dec. 17: Introduction

Dec. 18: Measuring and creating poverty

1. John Iceland. Poverty in America: A Handbook. University of California Press, second edition, 2006, chapters 2 and 3.

Dec. 20: Locating poverty
One paragraph infographic topic proposal due.

1. Jeffrey D. Sachs. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin Books, New York, 2005, chapter 1.

Dec. 21: Freedom and Capabilities I

1. Amartya Sen. Development as Freedom. Anchor Books, New York, 1999, chapter 3.

Dec. 24: Freedom and capabilities II

1. Martha Craven Nussbaum. Women and human development: the capabilities approach. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2000, chapter 1.

Module 2: Institutions

Dec. 27: Informal settlements

1. Hernando de Soto. The Other Path: The Economic Answer to Terrorism. Basic Books, New York, 1989, chapter 2.

Dec. 28: The Great Transformation

1. Jeffrey D. Sachs. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin Books, New York, 2005, chapter 2.
2. Karl Polanyi. The Great Transformation. Beacon Press, Boston, 1944, chapter 6.

Dec. 31: Midterm exams. Review draft infographics.

Module 3: History of development

Jan. 2: Philosophical roots of development

1. Gilbert Rist. The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. Zed Books Ltd., New York, 1997, introduction and chapters 1 and 2.

Jan. 3: The world system and development

1. Rist, chapters 3, 4, and 5.

Jan. 4: Past and future

1. Rist, chapters 6, 7, and 8.

Jan. 7: Third-worldism and the new ideas of development
Draft of infographic due in class.

1. Rist, chapters 9, 10, and 11.

Jan. 8: Globalization and the MDGs

1. Rist, chapters 12, 13, 14, and conclusion.

Jan. 10: Korean ODA

1. OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. Development co-operation of the Republic of Korea. Technical Report DCD(2008)7, OECD Development Co-operation Directorate, 2008.

Jan. 11: Exam period. Review final infographics.

8 Infographic

While writing is an invaluable tool of communication, the role of information graphics (infographics) has been steadily rising in recent years. The increasingly easy access to data due to computing and the internet has enhanced the desire and need for clear, effective infographics that can consolidate and communicate the story behind the numbers. In essence, good infographics are visual essays.

For this assignment you will create one such visual essay with a partner. You may choose any topic related to the course material. Your topic should be narrow enough to be manageable (like a thesis question) and your infographic should ultimately use data to tell a story (like a thesis). Thus, you will have to identify an appropriate data source and employ statistical and visual analysis to draw out the underlying narrative.

The final product should be printed on A3 sized paper. It may be black and white or color, though you are encouraged to stick with black and white. There is no need for professional printing.

8.1 Question: December 20

You should submit a hard copy of your preliminary outline and possible data sources at the beginning of class on December 20. The length should be roughly 250–300 words.

8.2 First draft: December 31

For the midterm exam, each group will bring a first draft to class on December 31. We will go through each draft as a class to identify areas of strength and improvement.

8.3 Second draft: January 7

A hard copy of your second and nearly final draft is due at the beginning of class on January 7.

8.4 Final draft: January 11

A hard copy of your final draft is due at the beginning of class on January 11.