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Course information | |
| B. Moon | ||
IR/PS/GS 125
IR/ENTP 307
IR 222 Political Economy of North-South Relations syllabus
IR 322 Poverty and Development syllabus
Final report presentations: Saturday, May 7, 10:00-12:00, Maginnes 290 Visitors welcome!
IR 322 students form groups to study the development problems of particular countries and to offer development proposals to alleviate those problems. This year, groups studying Ghana and El Salvador propose development projects which they hope to launch themselves, perhaps in partnership with existing NGOs. The background reports, which diagnose the leading development problems in these countries, were first presented in early April and can be found below. The proposals themselves are found immediately below.
10:00-11:00 El Salvador: Emily Gordon, Hallie Hughes, Marcela Zablah Proposal (.docx) Presentation (.pptx)
11:00-12:00 Ghana: Tommy Dewick, Ashley Ozery, Kara Werner Proposal (.docx) Presentation (.pptx)
Background report presentations: Tuesday, April 12, 2:30-4:00, STEPS Building 290
IR 322 students form groups to study the development problems of particular countries and to offer development proposals to alleviate those problems. The Background Reports diagnose the problems, in preparation for the proposals which will be presented in early May.
2:30-3:15 Ghana: Tommy Dewick, Ashley Ozery, Kara Werner .docx .pptx
3:15-4:00 El Salvador: Emily Gordon, Hallie Hughes, Marcela Zablah .docx .pptx
IR/PS/GS 125 syllabus (.pdf)
IR/ENTP 398 (now 307) syllabus(.docx)
IR 322 students form groups to study the development problems of particular countries and to offer development proposals to alleviate those problems. This year, groups studying Nigeria and Cambodia propose development projects which they hope to launch themselves, perhaps in partnership with existing NGOs. Groups studying Laos and Venezuela will offer policy recommendations to their respective governments. The background reports, which diagnose the leading development problems in these countries, were first presented in early April and can be found in the next section. The proposals themselves are found immediately below.
11:00 - 11:45 Nigeria: Glen deVillafranca, Nick Lancaster, Dan Letts, Kate McCarthy, Diego Molina. .docx .pdf (preferred) .ppt
Nigeria's agricultural and educational sectors, though currently underutilized, have tremendous potential to stimulate country-wide development. Having identified the potential of these sectors, our goal is to design a project that has an extensive, sustainable impact on Nigeria's most impoverished populous--the rural poor. We recognize that we are in no position to tackle development from a "top-down" approach, nor do we believe that this is the proper course of action for Nigeria, especially given its present sociopolitical climate. We have concluded that the most appropriate means of encouraging development is a grassroots project designed for, and in the interests of, rural Nigerians.
Any development proposal for Nigeria must be attuned to the needs of the Nigerian people. Over 90 percent of Nigerians are living on under two dollars per day and consequently are undereducated. Our research has shown that rampant poverty and poor enrollment rates in education perpetuate underdevelopment as they cyclically reinforce one another. Concordantly, combating one of these issues but not the other would (at best) achieve moderate, temporary development. On Monday we will illustrate how integrating education and agriculture through the establishment of a small farm at a rural school will simultaneously combat these impediments to development and increase opportunities for the Nigerian people.11:45 - 12:30 Cambodia: Lauren Collins, Kara Gustafson, Annie Hong, Busra Ozturk. .docx .pdf .ppt
We are proposing the creation of a community women's center in the province of Ratanakiri, Cambodia, which would focus on improving the quality of maternal health care."
9:30 - 10:15 Laos: Stephen Erbrick, YiWen Mao, Ami Probandt, Andrew Wright. .docx .pdf .ppt
In our policy proposal, we will introduce an accreditation system that steers the Laotian tourism sector in a more environmentally friendly and poverty conscious direction. This system will not only reduce poverty through empowerment of local residents but will also ensure sustainability through the preservation of Laos’s unique natural and cultural heritage..
10:15 - 11:00 Venezuela: Danielle Impellizeri, Mike Margherita, Hart Zeitler, Irina Zelfond. .docx .pdf .ppt
Venezuela presents a unique and interesting challenge to development scholars. Unlike almost any other underdeveloped nation, it has vast natural resources (oil) and a charismatic leftist leader who wants to help everyday people. However, Venezuela faces significant hurdles to development. While strides have been made in improving basic levels of eduction and healthcare, those areas remain somewhat concerning. Also, governance indicators are poor, which will hamper efforts to improve the nation. We feel the most critical area to focus on, and the area that can provide the most benefit to the nation, is education. We found Venezuela's secondary education system is lacking in quality, does not provide people with opportunities, and suffers from poor public perception. To address this, we propose training teachers, increasing technical eduction opportunities, and informing the public of the changes and benefits they provide.
~ 10:40 - 11:20 Venezuela .docx .pdf~ 2:30 - 3:10 Cambodia .docx .pdf
~3:15 - 3:55 Nigeria .docx .pdf (warning: very large files)
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For many years, IR 322 students have formed groups to study the development problems of particular countries and to offer development proposals to alleviate those problems. This year, the class of seven has formed a single group to study Honduras and to propose a rural development project based upon their diagnosis. They will initiate the implementation of that development project during a visit to Pueblo Nuevo in Santa Barbara province during a visit May 7-16, 2009, with a follow-up visit planned for August 2009. Both trips are coordinated with Lehigh's chapter of Engineers Without Borders, who will provide much-appreciated logistical support.
Background report .docx .pdf
Final Proposal presentations: Wilber Powerhouse 033, Monday, April 28 (for campus map)
1:00 pm Venezuela The new organization Loans for Living (Sarah O'Neill, Tamara Nisic, Claire Sullivan) propose Barrio Revolución, a microfinance program designed to reduce poverty and diversify the economy. .docx .pdf
2:00 pm Tanzania The new NGO HAWILI -- "to change or transform" in Kaswahili (Lisa Boyd, Nora Diehl, Jason Kramer) -- proposes a partnership to compliment the work of Water Aid with a program of education on issues of water and sanitation. .docx .pdf .pttx
3:00 pm Haiti The Haiti group (Annie Feldman, Anthony Diaz, Ashley Trapp) proposes to work with NGOs Fonkoze and the Organization for the Rehabilitation of the Environment to leverage foreign remittances to attack agricultural inefficiency and deforestation. .docx .pdf
Background report presentations: Maginnes Hall 104, Tuesday, April 1
Assignment explanation
Evaluation form .doc .pdf
10:45 am Haiti background report .docx .pdf
2:35 pm Tanzania background report .doc .ppt
~3:15 pm Venezuela cover page .doc background report .doc