Urban Politics and Development

(4 credits)
Fall 2009 Syllabus
Spring 2010 Syllabus

Understanding the political process and its role in urban development is central to comprehending how cities work and grow. Who exercises power in cities and what are their sources of power? What is the structure of cities and how does this enhance or impede their growth? What is the role of state and local government in formulating development policies in a changing world economy? What challenges are faced by public policymakers and other stakeholders? This course will examine a variety of structural elements and processes including government structures, relationships between city and regional institutions, privatization, community development, economic growth, industrial restructuring, technological change, workforce development, the informal economy, and poverty and income distribution.

Culture and Society of World Cities

(4 credits)
Fall 2009 Syllabus
Spring 2010 Syllabus
How do people identify and construct boundaries for various social groupings (race, class, ethnicity, gender, and locality)? What strategies do people use to adapt to living in cities? How do neighborhoods become distinctive? What are the celebrations and festivals? Who participates in each? What are the sources of information on these social categories and symbolic activities? This course examines how these elements combine to form the rich layers of multicultural urban society, how communities are structured and destroyed, and how values relate to urban life. An emphasis is placed on how anthropologists have adjusted their research methods in response to the study of urban life, and a specific focus will be placed on providing students with the tools necessary to conduct preliminary fieldwork in urban areas.

Urban Planning and
Sustainable Environments

(4 credits)
Fall 2009 Syllabus
Spring 2010 Syllabus
What are the intentional and natural forces that guide the development of the world’s cities? How has urban planning attempted to guide these forces toward a prosperous and equitable reality? This course will study the lifelines that sustain dense human habitation. As the pace of urbanization increases in developing countries, the process of modernization and globalization often seems at odds with traditional, and frequently sustainable, systems of land and energy use. Do contemporary environmentally–conscious approaches toward sustainability have any chance of success? In response to rapid automobilization and de-densification of cities around the globe, are planners having any success at choreographing the development of city systems and services in equitable and sustainable ways?

Contemporary Urban Issues:
Problems and Solutions

(4 credits)
Fall 2009 Syllabus
Spring 2010 Syllabus
Are today’s headlines a fleeting concern or a clue to understanding broad forces at work—forces that define the lives of the people in the cities and countries we visit? Throughout the Cities program, a broad spectrum of contemporary topics will be presented. In each city, topics of special significance to that city will be examined in depth through lectures, field visits and case studies. In this course, students will also have an opportunity to pursue individual comparative research on topics of their own choosing. The course will be co-taught by all the faculty to emphasize the multi-disciplinary analysis of issues and integrate the experience- based learning of the semester.

Globalization and Health

(4 credits)
Spring One 2009 Syllabus
Spring Two 2009 Syllabus
Nations at all levels of development vary in their commitment and capacity to define health care as a human right and provide health care to their citizens equitably. Some have created systems to provide basic health care, yet struggle with other factors that influence health, while others position health care as an economic commodity subject to market forces, This course provices a framework for comparing the organization and financing of health systems and health policy-making across the countries visited. It examines the political economy of health, with special attention to the impact of international governance, economic and trade policies. Students gain skills in critical thinking, policy analysis and debate, supported by research, observation and exposure to varied perspectives among in-country experts.

Health, Culture, and Community

(4 credits)
Spring One 2009 Syllabus
Spring Two 2009 Syllabus
Medical anthropology serves as the theoretical foundation for this course. It seeks to strengthen students' ability to understand, interpret, and compare how personal and community identity, health and well-being, illness, and healing are understood within diverse cultural contexts. The course examines the philosophy and practices characteristic of biomedicine and a wide range of traditional and other systems of health and healing, as well as the reality of medical pluralism in the lives of individuals. In so doing, the course covers themes of health and healing pertinent across the life span—from birth to death. Throughout, students are encouraged to support their comparative understanding with an exploration of their own assumptions and practices related to identity, health and healing.

Public Health: From Biology to Policy

(4 credits)
Spring One 2009 Syllabus
Spring Two 2009 Syllabus
This course begins with an overview of global and national health trends in the context of demographic shifts and development. In each country visited, a significant health condition will be addressed: What are the biologic mechanisms of disease? How is the disease distributed in the country's populations? What public health interventions are supported by empirical evidence? In light of social, cultural, economic and political conditions, how can such evidence be applied in the local context? Specific considerations studied will range from infectious to "lifestyle" and chronic illnesses, e.g., diarrheal diseases of early childhood, adult mental health, cervical cancer, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Community Health Research Methods

(4 credits)
Spring One 2009 Syllabus
Spring Two 2009 Syllabus
This course seeks to strengthen students' competence in inquiry-guided learning through field-based case studies. The course begins with an introduction to the philosophic traditions of ethnography, epidemiology, and health services research—complementary and sometimes conflicting. It then teaches and gives students the opportunity to apply the chief tools of each tradition (e.g., participant observation, in depth interviewing, community surveys, mapping, interpreting data analyses, and oral presentation of findings.) In each country, students will choose from a range of available field case study topics/sites as the primary venue for demonstrating their field research and presentation skills.

Issues in International
Development Economics I & II

(8 credits)
2008-09 Syllabus
2009-10 Syllabus
This course will critically examine the concept of development from a variety of perspectives to consider whether it is or can be truly sustainable. It begins by examining basic concepts in international economics, and events such as the Bretton Woods Conference, the establishment of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the emergence of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the precursor to the World Trade Organisation. We will then discuss the various phases of economic liberalization (with a strong emphasis on understanding the developments of the past two decades), and related issues such as international financial markets, debt relief, and structural adjustment programs. The core of the course is organized around the history, politics, and economy of each of the countries we visit to analyze its unique development trajectory and the plural proposals made by diverse groups and communities in society. There will also be a strong comparative exercise in your exposure to specific local economies in each country.

Ecology and Comparative
Conservation Practices I & II

(8 credits)
2008-09 Syllabus
2009-10 Syllabus
This course will travel to a collection of the planet's diverse ecosystems (i.e., tropical forests, coastal habitats, savannahs) and explore ways in which globalization and development forces are transforming landscapes and threatening biodiversity. The course combines an introduction to the basic principles of ecology with an exploration of how ecological science is being used to identify and address global and local environmental problems. The course will highlight different research tools, and methods of ecological analyses and conservation science. As we move around the globe, we will take a comparative approach to conservation issues and approaches, touching on major fields in applied ecology, such as conservation biology, systems ecology, and agroecology. Case studies will reveal how environmental issues are linked to multidisciplinary processes and structures of economics, culture, and politics. Multiple perspectives on ecological issues will be gained through interaction with local stakeholders, conservation managers, policy makers, and researchers.

Anthropology Theory and
Field Methods I & II

(8 credits)
2008-09 Syllabus
2009-10 Syllabus
This course explores issues of globalization in reference to cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors. It facilitates critical understandings not only of dependency, inequalities, and negative ways in which cultures are affected by globalization, but also of local innovations, resistance, cultural regeneration, and interdependence. Through interactions in multiple cultural contexts, students are asked to reflect upon meanings of “the good life” and how local perspectives may conflict with their own. Emphasis is placed on ethnographic methods to enable students to learn from and with each person they meet. Examining the politics of knowledge and theoretical issues that underlie conventional research is part of this focus. Field visits supplemented with guest lectures, readings, cultural materials, and discussions contribute to the learning experience and provide the basis for individual and group projects.

Environmental Policy and Governance

(4 credits)
2008-09 Syllabus
2009-10 Syllabus
This interdisciplinary course investigates the complexity of global environmental problems in moral, economic, political, cultural and biological terms. What are the root causes of these problems, who suffers their consequences, and how are individuals and organizations around the world working in creative ways to generate solutions? What are the possibilities for addressing critical environmental issues like climate change, consumerism, resource depletion, and pollution? Drawing on a diverse set of environmental philosophies (e.g., indigenous ecological worldviews, environmental justice, value pluralism, deep ecology, social ecology, Gaian philosophy, bioregionalism), we explore the spectrum of environmental thought. By seeking out local voices from a diversity of places and perspectives, we explore alternatives to industrial development from the fields of appropriate technology, sustainable agriculture, and resource management.

Comparative Social Movements

(4 credits)
2008-09 Syllabus
2009-10 Syllabus
This course provides theoretical and historical background and some analytical tools to better grasp the nature, scope, and impact of the current social movements around the globe. Through interactions with communities and organizations, an overview will be provided of the struggles of peasants, Indigenous peoples, women, and defenders of ecological spaces. Students will thus have the opportunity to interact with prominent protagonists of some of the most interesting and radical social movements in the contemporary world. We will examine the growing linkages between and among local, national, and global movements and international advocacy organizations. Speakers and local representatives of social movements will be included in the program in all the countries visited.