Wednesdays 10-12 Noon
October 1 through November 12, 2003
D.O.C. House
What is economic development all about? Does foreign aid destroy indigenous cultures? How can poor countries address environmental problems as they seek to develop? What is sustainable development?
One in five people on our planet live in abject poverty, earning less than a dollar a day; and the planet's capacity to sustain all of us is rapidly eroding. The poor are the most vulnerable.
We will consider globalization and problems of foreign assistance. We will discuss the key environmental problems in a country context. The course will concentrate on the underlying causes, which drive developing countries toward unsustainable development. Field experiences in Africa, with additional reference to Asia and Latin America, will be used to illustrate programs that work; how they work and how they fail. These practical experiences will highlight the ingredients for success and point to the challenges ahead.
Class readings will include portions of three paperback books that tell development stories and a variety of photocopied articles and reports. Class discussion--questions, comments, participation will be encouraged.
Class is limited to 20 participants.
Townsend Swayze has thirty-five years of experience in the field of international development, working principally as an environmentalist, economist, and country officer on countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He worked for 25 years at the World Bank and before that for 10 years for the US Agency for International Development, which included three years in India. Recently, he has taught January term courses at Middlebury College. He has degrees in English from Harvard College and Oxford University. He has a Masters in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and a Masters in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
