POLITICS OF THE THIRD WORLD PSC 326 FALL

Transcription

1 POLITICS O THE THIRD WORLD PSC 326 ALL 2018 Dr. Jeneen Hobby MC 323, MW 10:15-11:05 am Office Hours MW 12:30-1:30 and by appointment j.hobby@csuohio.edu Phone: Office: Rhodes Tower 1742 COURSE DESCRIPTION This course seeks to examine what constitutes contemporary politics in the Third World as it is/was called, or as we also refer to it as, the developing world. As we shall discover, words matter when it comes to naming this region/economic strata/experience. The Third World as it was so described during the Cold War, was used to refer to what was left over after the irst World of Western industrialized democracies and the Second World of the Communist/Socialist bloc countries were designated. This was the Cold War, after all, and the irst World and the Second World were in mortal conflict, albeit not immediately hot between each other, and the doctrine of containment alludes to the fact that the United States and the West in general did not want the Soviet bloc to encroach upon and make inroads into, and/or de facto colonize, the Third World. Indeed, the West wanted control of that vast region of territory, resources, and strategic opportunities for itself. As the third book we will read makes clear, it was in fact the nexus between the promotion of the military-industrial complex of the West and the desire for economic and political gain that has fueled the wars that the developing world is in many places enmeshed in today, many of which were originally proxy wars between the two main Cold War adversaries. Economies and conflicts, therefore, are interrelated and intertwined, throughout history, and today. That said, we will most definitely be focusing a good part of our study on so-called development issues, i.e. ways in which people in the Third World are increasingly experiencing lives that are not entirely plagued by poverty, disease, malnutrition, starvation, inadequate health care, poor education systems, poor governance, violence, and premature death. As the first book we will read holds, the developing world is in the ascent. One big indicator that such a change is underway is the growth of middle classes in many countries that were formally in conditions of abject poverty and underdevelopment. We will assess the extent to which growing a middle class leads to a certain kind of stability in a society, politically as well as economically. But as our second book shows, the bottom billion people living in the poorest and most unstable countries in the world are definitely not in the ascent, and have been left out of what many economists describe as something akin to a miracle in much of the developing world. So we will in effect have a thesis balanced by an antithesis with those two analyses, leading us to be critical thinkers in academia and critical actors in the world, better able to gain and use knowledge of the political, economic, cultural, and environmental challenges facing us all, in order to address them. It is, after all, just one planet, and the people living on this globe share space. So our lives are all intertwined, whether we are living in London or Luang Prabang.

2 Lastly, we have a book by Muhammad Yunus, who with the Grameen Bank he founded in Bangladesh, won the Nobel Peace Prize in Yunus pioneered the concept and practice of microcredit: i.e. providing poor people mostly women with small loans they use to launch businesses and lift their families out of poverty. Research shows that women are vastly more apt to repay the loans they receive than men. This second book by Yunus we will read, Creating a World Without Poverty, describes the idea of social business, of using capitalism for good, basically, targeting humanity s greatest challenges, such as poverty, pollution, illiteracy, and lack of health care, by applying entrepreneurialism to social problems. It is for us to decide, then, what the future of the Third World will look like, as we go forward. COURSE REQUIREMENTS A. Readings. The first requirement is that you complete all of the readings on time and be prepared to discuss them in class. Always bring the book we are working with to class with you. The following books are required, and are for sale in the campus bookstore or can be found in libraries, other bookstores, or online. 1. Steven Radelet, The Great Surge: The Ascent of the Developing World. Simon & Schuster. 2. Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are ailing and What Can Be Done About It. Oxford. 3. Vijay Mehta, The Economics of Killing: How the West uels War and Poverty in the Developing World. Pluto Press. 4. Muhammad Yunus, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the uture of Capitalism. PublicAffairs. B. Two papers. Papers will be 8-10 pages each, 12-point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all the way around. Due OCTOBER 5 TH and NOVEMBER 30 TH. The essays will be uploaded to Turnitin, the university s antiplagiarism website, by midnight the riday they are due. On that day, we will NOT HAVE CLASS. I will be making available possible paper topics for the first paper next week. You will have a choice of topics from which to choose. If you have another idea for a paper other than one that I offer, you may vet that topic with me. You need to consult at least seven academic sources for your papers meaning academic books, peer-reviewed journal articles, or other reputable sources. Each paper is worth 35% of the final course grade. C. Class participation. Class participation includes attendance, contributions to the group learning process, and in-class writing assignments. In-class writing assignments cannot be made up. They will ascertain how well you are reading and absorbing the course material, as well as how you critically examine it. They are not graded, but count towards the course participation grade. There are four writing assignments currently specified on the course schedule; however, there will be others interspersed throughout the course as needed as we go along. The course fosters open discussion as an integral feature, and it is hoped that students will all eventually feel comfortable and safe enough to express and share their ideas with one another. The classroom environment will maintain a climate of tolerance and peace, even though controversial or contentious opinions may be discussed.

3 Such a practice of open communication is vital not only to the value of a university education, but to the intellectual and social well-being of citizens and their societies. Worth 30% of final grade. COURSE POLICIES Academic Integrity: Honesty and integrity are values which are considered fundamental to academic institutions. Plagiarism or cheating on an assignment are violations of these values, and at a minimum will result in an on the particular assignment, but can also result in ejection from the course or expulsion from the university. Students must take care to use proper bibliographic citation methods in crediting the work of others. Sources for the papers must be accurately cited according to the APA (American Psychological Association) Manual of Style. That includes material found on the Web. The Writing Center on the ground floor of the library is an invaluable resource for you to use to help structure and improve your writing. The Writing Center has copies of the most recent APA Manual of Style, and the Center has many resources for you to use, including: * drop-in 30 minute tutorials * scheduled tutorials (through Starfish for undergraduates) * online tutorials * writing workshops held in the library * style manuals and writing textbooks * many web-based handouts on all sorts of subjects The Writing Center is located on the first floor of the library behind the Reference Desk; hours are M-Th 9:30-7 and 9:30-4. University policies on attendance, honesty, physical abuse, appropriate conduct, sexual harassment, and irresponsible student behavior will be followed. You should be familiar with these policies. None of these inappropriate behaviors or infringements will be tolerated. Disability: Any student with a documented disability who needs to arrange accommodations must contact both me and the office of disability services at the beginning of the term. Grades will be calculated as follows: A % A % B % B 83 85% B % C % C 70 74% D 60 69% below 60%

4 SCHEDULE O READINGS If we don t finish one of the day s readings on the scheduled day, we may go over into the next. But it is very important to keep up with the readings. WEEK ONE August 27 M Introduction W The Great Surge, Prologue and chapters 1-2 The Great Surge, chapters 3-4 WEEK TWO September 3 M NO CLASS, LABOR DAY W The Great Surge, chapter 5 The Great Surge, chapters 6-7 WEEK THREE September 10 M The Great Surge, chapters 8-9 W The Great Surge, chapters The Great Surge, chapters WEEK OUR September 17 M Bottom Billion, chapters 1-2 W Bottom Billion, chapter 3 Bottom Billion, chapter 4 WEEK IVE September 24 M Bottom Billion, chapter 5 W Bottom Billion, chapter 6 Bottom Billion, chapter 7 WEEK SIX October 1 M Bottom Billion, chapter 8 W Bottom Billion, chapter 9 IRST ESSAYS DUE on the antiplagiarism Turnitin link on Blackboard, by 11:59 pm. NO CLASS THAT DAY

5 WEEK SEVEN October 8 M Bottom Billion, chapter 10 W Bottom Billion, chapter 11 and Postscript WEEK EIGHT October 15 M Economics of Killing, Introduction and chapters 1-2 W Economics of Killing, chapters 3-4 Economics of Killing, chapter 5 WEEK NINE October 22 M Economics of Killing, chapter 6 W Economics of Killing, chapter 7 Economics of Killing, chapter 8 WEEK TEN---October 29 M Economics of Killing, chapter 9 W Economics of Killing, chapters WEEK ELEVEN November 5 M Creating a World Without Poverty, Prologue and chapters 1-2 W Creating a World Without Poverty, chapter 3 WEEK TWELVE November 12 M VETERANS DAY OBSERVED; NO CLASS W Creating a World Without Poverty, chapter 4 Creating a World Without Poverty, chapter 5 WEEK THIRTEEN November 19 M Creating a World Without Poverty, chapter 6

6 W THANKSGIVING; NO CLASS WEEK OURTEEN November 26 M Creating a World Without Poverty, chapter 7 W Creating a World Without Poverty, chapters 8-9 SECOND ESSAYS DUE on the antiplagiarism Turnitin link on Blackboard, by 11:59 pm. NO CLASS THAT DAY WEEK ITEEN December 3 M Creating a World Without Poverty, chapter 10 W Creating a World Without Poverty, chapter 11 and Epilogue Conclusion