Experiencing Development



Sustainable Development (SD101)

Class times and Location:

Wednesdays from 2-5 pm at the New Horizons Office; elsewhere at select NGO’s and Cluj University.

Course Overview:

This class will explore issues of poverty, underdevelopment, and human well-being correlating best-practices and insights of the secular world (Athens) with that of Christian faith (Jerusalem). Special attention will be given to bridging the vision of the Kingdom of God (just and loving relations) with concrete mechanisms aimed to achieve this such as human rights, free media, public education, and social and policy mechanisms. Special reference will be given to the theoretical aspects of various paradigms of human well-being: social capital and civil society, the Human Development paradigm (the Ca pabilities Approach of Amartya Sen), Basic Needs, Geographical (Jared Diamond) and the promotion of human well-being via democracy. (Ecology will receive significant attention in the Experiential Education course). Surrounding the entire semester experience is the question of what development interventions obtain in a post-Communist context.

The course will proceed via a framework of competing and/or complementary development “narratives” and ask the following questions: First: generally, what is poverty, and how is it defined and measured? We will look at competing/complementary narratives as answers to the question of poverty and well-being, including some theological ones. There will be considerable focus and care given to motivating students to 1) care about issues of global poverty and 2) think critically about poverty and human development via resources both from within and outside the presuppositions of Christian faith. The contested role of religion in development will also receive attention.

 Course Objectives:

Gain a greater understanding of theological bases/paradigms for development concerns

such as the papal encyclical Populorum Progressio and the “Shalom” perspective

of Nicholas Wolterstorff in the Reformed tradition.

Understand basic “secular” approaches to development, such as geographical,

sociological, and economic approaches to development.

Understand different measures or indices of development such as the Human

Development Index, Gender Development Index, GNP (and its severe

limitations), and MDG’s (Millenium Development Goals).

Think critically about religion and its role in development and empowerment issues

especially related to gender.

Understand the importance of social capital, civil society, public and international

institutions and markets for development in an increasingly democratic world. Similarly, understand the nature and causes of corruption for both individuals and

institutions.

Gain a basic understanding of grassroots development interventions via NGO’s such as

experiential education (the work of New Horizons) and the role of public

education in democracy.

Gain a basic understanding of varying development priorities and policies such as the

Basic Needs approach (and its current version in the Millennium Development Goals) as well as an introduction to the Capabilities Approach pioneered by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum.

Understand and assess the role of democracy in development and human well-being.

Texts & Media:

1. ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES--Populorum Progressio, Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Paul VI promulgated on March 26, 1967

2. “Just Development for Fullness of Life: An Orthodox Approach”, in Orthodox Thought: Reports of Orthodox Consultations organized by the World Council of Churches, 1975-1982, edited by Georges Tsetsis.

3. UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Adopted by General Assembly resolution 41/128 of 4 December 1986

4. Sections from 50 Facts that Should Change the World, by Jessica Williams. “A third of the world’s population is at war”, “More people die from suicide each year than in all the world’s armed conflicts”, etc.

5. “Social Capital, Civil Society and Development” Francis Fukuyama Source: Third World Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1, (Feb., 2001), pp. 7-20

6. “Basic Needs Strategies, Human Rights, and the Right to Development,” Frances Stewart, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3, (Aug., 1989), pp. 347-374

7. “Democracy as a Universal Value,” Amartya Sen, Journal of Democracy 10.3 (1999) 3-17

8. “Capabilities and Social Justice,” Martha Nussbaum, International Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, (Summer, 2002), pp. 123-135

Other readings:

Other relevant offerings from the Moodle platform (see noi- ). Readings cited below are on Moodle. There will also be some videos such as Jeffrey Sachs representing the MDG’s, and so forth. Those are also linked to the Moodle platform.

The instructor will also send out articles weekly via email that are relevant for development studies in terms of “current events”, e.g. the World Banks updating of poverty statistics showing that there are in fact more poor in the world due to declining purchasing power, etc.

Web Resources:

1. (Boston University’s Project on Human Development)

2. (Eldis (Connected with Inst Dev Studies-Sussex): Browse more than 22,000 summarized documents from over 4,500 development organizations - all available free to download. Share your work with over 80,000 development practitioners)

3. (Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. Contains poverty fact sheet, articles on Structural adjustment, etc)

4. (Maps such as Gender equality and empowerment of women: education status)

Course Activities:

 Students will primarily read and reflect on human development/well-being issues and contextualize those both for Romania and a country of their choosing. (Much of the other classes are dealing with the communist legacy. This will not be ignored but the goal is to give a broad development perspective to the students.) Students will also meet select NGO representatives (e.g. and other organizations and reps involved with development, such as Christian Reformed World Relief consultant from Tanzania). Students will also engage in several small research projects such as exploring the development standing of a country based on a select development index. Implicit in the overall course is firsthand experience with New Horizons, a leading youth development organization operationalized around the social capital framework and aiming at youth empowerment through civic engagement.

Grading:

50%: participation in class.

This means contributing to the class discussion, being prepared with the readings and being an active participant. This is to development leadership skills via oral presentation practice. (If students are not active participants, leaders will be assigned to help lead discussions.)

25% Midterm (Wednesday, October 15)

Country assessment in a chosen “Index” of development, whether it be HDI, MDG’s or so on.

25%: Final paper.

This paper will consist in a mock 1500-2000 word Letter to the Editor of the NYT’s that will be generally on the theme of (under)development: Symptoms, Causes and Cures and will be the students reflections on issues of global poverty, incorporating their readings, the lectures and whatever else the student deems relevant. The paper is to speak to a largely secular audience and is to go beyond general assertions (e.g. of the importance of fighting poverty) to specific recommendations (gender inclusion, education, fighting-corruption, etc.).

Course Calendar:

1. Wednesday, September 3

This week will introduce New Horizons as a development organization, explaining its mission and objectives. Students will also spend a week immersed and as co-leaders in Viata Outdoor Adventure Education program. Students will work directly with youth and Romanian leaders and be briefed on the social capital research of New Horizons programs. The role of social values and development will be emphasized and New Horizons role as an NGO in the post-communist context.

Reading Due:

• None

2. Wednesday, September 10

This week is preparation for Retezat leadership expedition. Significant discussion and readings will be given for environmental education: see Experiential Education syllabus.

3. Wednesday, September 17

In Retezat National Park. Backpacking trip in Retezat National Park. Discussions and workshops on ecology, both principles and practices.

4. Wednesday, September 24

Dave Nonnemacher visit and debrief.

Introduce “Geographical” approach to development represented by Jared Diamond.

Reading Due:

• NYT’s on the latest figures for Global Poverty; 50 Facts: “One in five people live on $1 a day” (these will be emailed to the students).

Video:

• Watch and debrief Guns, Germs, & Steel, Part 1. (Introduce (briefly) secular approaches to frame the “geographical” approach of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs & Steel.) (Or, Life and Debt about the negative effects of IMF structural adjustment programs.)

5. Wednesday, October 1

Theological Perspectives on Development: Introduce the Shalom perspective (Wolterstorff), Liberation Theology, Populorum Progressio, Orthodoxy, and UN declaration on development (developed post Populorum), Sider (salvation vs., righteousness), etc.

Introduce the Sustainable Development Wheel.

Reading Due:

• ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES--Populorum Progressio, Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Paul VI promulgated on March 26, 1967

• “Just Development for Fullness of Life: An Orthodox Approach”, in Orthodox Thought: Reports of Orthodox Consultations organized by the World Council of Churches, 1975-1982, edited by Georges Tsetsis.

• UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Adopted by General Assembly resolution 41/128 of 4 December 1986

Video/Documentary:

• The Myth of Scarcity, Walter Brueggeman

6. Wednesday, October 8

Cultural approaches to (under)development and their relevance for post-communist societies. Social Capital, civil society, corruption, and the role of cultural values.

(If possible, play “corruption game” in IMPACT club, exploring the effects of corruption in an experiential mode. )

Introduce HDI, MDG’s, etc., for, and explicate next class’s assignment in terms of a country presentation.

Reading Due:

• “Social Capital, Civil Society and Development” Francis Fukuyama Source: Third World Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1, (Feb., 2001), pp. 7-20

• “In Kenya, bribery payments make up a third of the average household budget” in 50 facts…

• Optional: The Bible on Corruption, Why Fighting Corruption Helps the Poor (Moodle), Short Peter Eigen (founder of Transparency International) video on Civil Society vis-à-vis corruption.

7. Wednesday, October 15

Basic Needs Approach to development and background in Rawls. Review and discuss also the Millenium Development Goals which derive from these assumptions. Introduce issues of defining and variegated attempts at measuring poverty’s subjective and objective aspects.

Steve Michmerhuizen guest presenter: on staff with Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in Tanzania.

Reading Due:

• “Basic Needs Strategies, Human Rights, and the Right to Development,” Frances Stewart, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3, (Aug., 1989), pp. 347-374

• “Every cow in the EU is subsidized by $2.50 a day. That’s more than what 75% of Africans have to live on” from “50 facts…”

Student Presentations due: Presenting country data for a selected country (including a comparative aspect) and development indices, HDI, GDI, and MDG’s.

Optional:

• Short video by Jeffrey Sachs on MDG’s and the World Bank. Watch & debrief Commanding Heights, Part 2, or Stiglitz on Globalization.

8. Wednesday, October 22

Midterm Break—No class (Enjoy your week!)

9. Wednesday, October 29

Week in Cluj with Babes-Bolyai University. Development lectures by, inter alia, Dr. Gabriel Badescu, Dr. Toma Burean, Dr. Daniela Angi, on civil society, challenges of development in communist contexts, the Roma (better and incorrectly known as “Gypsies”), Romanian Culture and History, etc. Meet with select NGO’s such as the Soros Foundation.

Reading Due:

• TBA

Optional:

• Watch Commanding Heights, or Stiglitz on Globalization.

10. Wednesday, November 5

Democracy, public education, and development. Explored will be the strength and weaknesses of democracy in development. India and China will be compared and contrasted.

Reading Due:

• “Democracy as a Universal Value,” Amartya Sen, Journal of Democracy 10.3 (1999) 3-17

• “More people die each year from suicide than in all the world’s armed conflicts” in 50 Facts…

• Optional: “The Role of Ordinary People in Democracy”, Christian Welzel and Ronald Inglehart, Journal of Democracy, v, 19, No. 1, Jan 2008, p. 126-139)

Video:

• Amy Chua video: “World on Fire”; examples of excellence in public persuasion from Free Range videos (Meatrix, etc.)

11. Wednesday, November 12

This class focuses on the Capabilities Approach. The CA is the background theory for the widely influential UN Human Development reports published since 1990. Of particular note will be how CA interacts with gender issues and why the CA is potentially (or not) a better development paradigm than its rivals.

Reading Due:

• “Capabilities and Social Justice,” Martha Nussbaum, International Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, (Summer, 2002), pp. 123-135

• “China has 44 million missing women” and “More than 12000 women are killed each year in Russia as a result of domestic violence” in 50 Facts…

Review:

• Nussbaum’s List of Basic Capabilities in Women and Human Development as well as other “lists” such as Manfred-Neef, Doyal Gough, etc.; compare to better known development paradigms such as Maslow’s hierarchy.

• (Map correlating gender (in)equality and (dis)empowerment of women: education status)

12. Wednesday, November 19

Special Guest: Dr. Gail Heffner is on the faculty at Calvin College and she will be giving a weeklong workshop that was part of a for-credit program through the Creation Care Study Program in Belize. “The stated goal of the course is to explore how knowledge of ecological systems, globalization, political economy and a biblical worldview come together in pursuit of development that is community-minded, just and ecologically sustainable.”

Class will meet for approximately three hours for four days.

Reading Due:

• TBA

13. Wednesday, November 26

Final class meeting. Students will present a brief (10 minute) synopsis of their final paper. This paper will consist in a mock 1500-2000 word Letter to the Editor of the NYT’s that will be on the general theme of (under)development: Symptoms, Causes and Cures and will be the students reflections on issues of global poverty, incorporating their readings, the lectures and whatever else the student deems relevant.

Turn in final paper; course evaluation.

Reading Due:

• None

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