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All readings are available on closed reserve in the library, including copies of the books that are available for purchase in the Bookstore.
Apr. 1 - Introduction and overview
Apr. 3 - Movie: "Six Billion and Beyond"
Apr. 5 - Discussion and overview of issues
Read: UN Fund for Population Activities, 2001 State of World Population; read "Overview,"
"Environmental Trends," and "Development Levels and Environmental Impact"
Hong, "A Third World Women’s Perspective"
ALSO: US Census Population Clock - What is today's world population?
Apr. 8 - Malthus, his critics, and their successors
Read: Appleman (ed.), Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population,
pp. 15-78, 148-150, 181-182, 230-242
Apr. 10, 12 - Demographic Transition Theory
Read: Watkins, "The Fertility Transition: Europe and the Third World Compared"
Bledsoe, "’Children are like young bamboo trees’: Potentiality and Reproduction in Sub-Saharan
Africa" in Population, Economic Development, and the Environment
Apr. 15 - Key variables: women’s status and education
Read: K. Oppenheim Mason, "The Impact of Women’s Social Position on Fertility in Developing
Countries" in Demography as an Interdiscipline
Recommended: Caldwell, "Mass Education and Fertility Decline" in The Reader in Population and
Development
Apr. 17 - Current debates: the political economy model
Read: S. Ryan Johansson, "'Implicit' Policy and Fertility During Development"
Apr. 19 - Discussion of Jeffery & Jeffery, Population, Gender, and Politics
Read: Jeffery & Jeffery, Population, Gender and Politics
Apr. 22 - Population policy issues
Read: Tsui, "Population Policies, Family Planning Programs, and Fertility: The Record" in Global Fertility Transition Recommended: Simmons, "Family Planning Programs"
Apr. 24 - Movie, "China’s One-Child Family"
Read: Lee and Feng, "Malthusian Models and Chinese Realities" Recommended: Greenhalgh et al., "Restraining Population Growth in Three Chinese Villages"
Apr. 26 - Discussion: Policies
Read: Dixon-Mueller, "Women's Rights and Reproductive Health: A Policy Agenda" in Population Policy and Women’s Rights
Apr. 29 - Africa group presentation
May 1 - Asia group presentation, Russia, Australia
May 3 - Latin America group presentation
May 5 - Midterm Break
May 8 - The food supply equation
Read: Erlich et al., "Food Security, Population, and Environment"
Sen, "Food, Economics, and Entitlement" in International Agricultural Development
Recommended: Pinstrup-Andersen et al., "World Food Prospects: Critical Issues for the
Early 21st Century" (pdf version available online at IFPRI )
May 10, 13 - Poverty, development, and sustainability
Read: Redclift, "Sustainable Development and Popular Participation" Magdoff et al., Hungry for Profit, Ch. 8 (Recommended: Ch. 1) See also: "Talking About Development" (online interviews)
May 15 - Expanding production
Read: Easterbrook, "Forgotten Benefactor of Humanity" Yapa, "What are Improved Seeds? An Epistemology of the Green Revolution"
May 17 - The biotech alternative
Read: Magdoff et al., Hungry for Profit, Ch. 6
May 20, 22 - Alternative approaches
Read: Magdoff et al., Hungry for Profit, Ch. 12
May 24 - Resource struggles, grassroots activism, and development
Read: Guha, "The Environmentalism of the Poor"
May 27 - Aid, trade and the globalization of the agro-industrial food system
Read: Magdoff, et al., Hungry for Profit, Ch. 7
Friedmann, "Distance and Durability: Shaky Foundations of the World Food Economy"
Recommended: Stanley, "Industrial and Labor Market Transformation in the U.S. Meatpacking
Industry"
May 29, 31, June 3 - Working group presentations
June 5 - Wrap-up
Your major work for this course will be a term project, described below, that involves both an individual research component and a collaborative group component. In addition, you will be required to one write short (5-6 page) integrative essays, covering specific themes and materials we discuss in the course. You are expected to attend class regularly and participate in class discussions. Grades will be determined as follows:
Term Project - 75% of course grade
Class participation will also be considered in determining final grades, and can raise or lower your course grade by as much as ½ grade.
Each student will select a nation other than the U.S. on which to focus for the term project. Your task is to become an "expert" on the food, environment, resources, and population situation of that nation. The project will consist of two components.
1. Individual Component
This part of the project will consist of individual research on specific aspects of population, environment/resources, and/or food security in the nation you have chosen. The product of this research will be two papers, one focusing on population issues and the other on resources/environment, food security, or development issues in your country. Together, the papers should total approximately 20 pages, and will count for 55% of your course grade.
You have several options in structuring this part of your project:
1. You may split the two papers evenly (e.g., each counting for 27.5% of your course grade, and approximately 10 pages in length). In this case, the first paper, to focus on population issues, will be due around midterm. The second paper, to focus on food, development, or environment issues, will be due on the last day of class, June 5.
2. You may elect to focus more heavily on one topic, developing that as a longer and more in-depth research paper. In this case, the shorter of the two papers must be at least 5 pages in length, and would count for 15% of your course grade. The longer paper would count for 40% of the course grade. The shorter of the two papers will be due at the same time that 10-page papers are due; deadlines for longer papers will be determined according to the specifics of each project. (See me to work out these deadlines.)
3. In special circumstances and with prior approval, you can turn in a single, 20 page research paper, that may focus on issues not specific to a single country. In this case, you must submit a paper proposal to me no later than April 22. You should discuss your proposed topic with me prior to turning in the proposal. The proposal should describe your proposed topic and how it relates to the concerns of the course.
2. Collaborative Group Project
The second part of your project will be collaborative. Based on the nation you choose, you will be part of a "regional working group" (e.g., South America working group, Africa working group, etc.) Your working group will be responsible for developing statements of the population and food situation in that region, summarizing its current demographic and food security status, and stating key issues that the region faces. In other words, we will prepare our own "State of the World" report, based on your research and analysis. The purpose of this effort is to combine the expertise of all class members and learn from each other-and in the process, get a deeper understanding of the complexities of worldwide hunger and its solutions.
Each working group as a whole will be responsible for identifying key regional trends and issues. The group will prepare brief written synopses (one on population issues and the other on food/development/environment issues) that will be made available to all class members either via the class web page or in the library. The group will also be responsible for conducting class discussions dealing with its region at midterm and at the end of the term. Each of you will be expected to contribute to this effort by preparing brief statements on the situation of your country. You will also be expected to participate in the preparation of the group report and class presentation.
A note on deadlines
If you have a valid reason for requesting an extension, I will take that into account. However, any papers or assignments turned in late without prior approval will be marked down half a grade for each day they are late.
Selecting a Topic
Your paper(s) may focus on any topic of your choosing that fits within the subject matter and objectives of this course. If you choose to write one long paper for the individual portion of your project, you may focus on either on some aspect of population or an issue related to food production, development, and the environment. If you choose to write two shorter papers, the first paper should focus on some aspect of population, and the second should focus on an issue related to food production, development, and/or environment. In either case, your paper could take any of several approaches. For example, you could use data from your country to "test" some theory or theories of fertility decline. You could focus on population policy in your country, on specific projects and their impact, or you could analyze some aspect of development--whether planned or not--in your country. You may focus on contemporary issues, or look at the historical conditions that helped to shape the current situation in your country. There is no single theoretical approach that you must take in your paper--but the paper should be analytical, rather than simply descriptive. Some possible topics:
Start by doing some general reading on the country you have chosen to focus on for this course, to see what issues are most important, and also to assess the resources that you will have available for your research. Although Carleton has very good resources for your projects, our library collection is stronger for some countries than for others. Plan on consulting me early about topics that you are considering and resources that you plan to use in your research.
Format for Papers
Your paper should be prepared according to standard academic guidelines. That is:
Examples of citations in the body of the paper:
"Redclift (1992) argues that...."
"According to Franke and Chassin (1984, p. 134),..."
"Several authors have discussed the notion of the predatory state (Boone 1990, Evans 1995)."
Examples of references in a bibliography:
Bandyopadhyay, Jayanta. 1992. "From Environmental Conflicts to Sustainable
Mountain Transformation: Ecological Action in the Garhwal
Himalaya." Pp. 259-280 in Grassroots Environmental Action:
People's Participation in Sustainable Development, edited by
Dharam Ghai and Jessica M. Vivian. New York: Routledge.
Escobar, Arturo. 1991. "Anthropology and the development encounter:
the making and marketing of development anthropology." American
Ethnologist 18: 658-682.
Scott, James C. 1985. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant
Resistance. New Haven: Yale University Press.
To cite electronic sources, consult Carleton Library instructions on citing web sources.
For more examples, consult any issue of American Sociological Review. If you prefer, you may use any of several acceptable citation styles--but be consistent throughout your paper! Consult the Chicago Manual of Style, or any of the major academic journals for further guidelines.
Following is a list of resources on the World Wide Web that you will find useful for this course. Be sure to begin with the Guide to Research Resources prepared by the Carleton College Library for this class. This guide covers both electronic and non-electronic sources, that you will need to use for your research, and includes links to several web sites that you will find useful. The Carleton Library also provides information on how to cite web sources that you use in your term papers. Also, be sure to check the web page for Academic Resources of the Carleton Area Studies Program for the region in which the country that you are studying for this class is located. These programs include:
Below, I have listed some web sites that may be helpful in your research. Most of these web pages have been created by organizations involved in financing or carrying out population or development projects, or organizations that monitor the environmental, social, and human rights impacts of development policies and activities. A few of these sites provide bibliographic references or statistical databases. If you find additional sites that are particularly useful and pertinent to this course, please let me know. A general point to keep in mind as you surf the Web is that internet sources are not meant to be a substitute for academic journals and books. Rather, they are a valuable supplement that can provide information not available elsewhere.
General web sites and directories
Many of the governmental, international, and non-governmental organizations involved in population and development activities also maintain web sites. These organizations typically include information about their goals and philosophy. They also often include descriptions of current programs and projects. Some international and governmental organizations allow searches of their statistical databases and lists of publications. A few include links to other related sites.
Governmental and Inter-governmental Organizations:
Sustainable development/environment:
Population/international family planning:
Electronic journals, newsletters, and discussion groups:
Last modified: April 1, 2002
bnagel@carleton.edu