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International Development Studies

IAFF 221 Cornerstone Seminar in International Development
A critical examination of various theories and approaches to the study of development, from both historical and contemporary perspectives. The focus is multidisciplinary. Open only to first-year students in the IDS program. (Fall)

IAFF 222 Development Policy and Practice
The course is intended to provide the incoming first year IDS students with an overview on economic development in developing countries. It will provide an overview of key challenges of economic growth, poverty alleviation and development. It would explore various dimensions of poverty and approaches to deal with the same. The coverage of the course will be both macroeconomic management and sector programs and policies.

IAFF 232 Assessing Aid Effectiveness
This course will survey the economic, political, and institutional impacts of aid, assessing its track record, examining current issues, and debating future prospects. Students will consider the roles of the World Bank and bilateral aid agencies and review recent initiatives such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, HIPC Debt Relief, and the US Millennium Challenge Account.

IAFF 238 Care of Children in Complex Emergencies
This course is designed to give students, as future policy and field practitioners, a broad understanding of the history of humanitarian assistance provision, as well as, an overview of the critical needs and challenges of serving children in complex emergencies. In exploring these needs and challenges, emphasis will be placed on understanding the nuances of care that accompany a comprehensive humanitarian response from a child rights perspective.

IAFF 238 Climate Change: Policy for the 21st Century
Climate change has the potential to be the pivotal social, political, economic and environmental challenge of the 21st century. As the planet warms communities across the globe will be faced with changing trends in agricultural production; alterations in the distribution of water; extreme weather events; collapsing ecosystems; and increased health risks. The immediate and far reaching effects will impact every nation but the poor will be hardest hit as they lack the governance structures, financial resources, and technological capacity to adapt.

IAFF 238 Development in Africa
There have been significant successes since the mid-90s in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of sustained increases in economic growth, better economic management, reduced conflict, expanded political liberalization, and better governance. The growth performance has been reasonably broad based: both resource rich and resource poor countries, accounting for about sixty five percent of the population, have experienced economic growth of 3-5% per year, posing the question of whether Africa has finally turned the corner. But still, a large part of the population remains extremely poor, caught in a set of "traps", including civil war, a dependence on exports of natural resources, and bad governance. Although efforts to control HIV-AIDS and Malaria have been hiked up significantly, both diseases remain formidable challenges. This course will examine the recent growth performance in some detail, and the challenges to keeping the growth going. It will also examine the reasons for continued stagnation in many parts of Africa, and discuss possible innovative international solutions to their problems. It will also discuss the latest developments in the control of HIV-AIDS, and in foreign aid, international trade, debt relief and international peace keeping. The course will close with a discussion of future prospects.

IAFF 238 Development Economics
Using current theories and models in development economics as a framework, this course will address key questions that have emerged from the performance of developing countries in the last quarter century. Issues to be covered include: Why did market-oriented reforms not deliver higher growth rates in Latin America? Why has growth in post-NAFTA Mexico been so lackluster? How did some of the East Asian economies manage to combine growth with equity? What explains China's economic success and why has it been unable to combine growth with equity? Are development traps in Sub-Saharan Africa primarily explained by institutional failures or geography? Why have only some of the "transition economies" (former Soviet Union & Eastern Europe) been able to transform into dynamic and equitable countries? What is the role of globalization in explaining the observed trends in inequality? In what ways have rich countries helped or hindered development in poor countries? How effective has foreign aid been and why? What will be the major "stress points" in the future: water scarcity, energy scarcity or food scarcity? Are the "good times" for developing countries here to stay or is there another downturn looming in the horizon?

IAFF 238 Development Paradigms in Latin America
This course will examine national and international development policies and actions geared towards promoting sustainable development and reducing poverty. It will also analyze the ongoing disconnect and social, cultural and political divergence among the key actors and stakeholders of Latin American society, and the low level of public trust by citizens for policymakers and public institutions.

IAFF 238 Environment and Development
The aim of this course is to explore, theoretically and empirically, the challenges faced by contemporary rural communities, the relationship of local livelihood security to a global economy dominated by neo-liberal policies and the nature of the dominant mainstream and alternative strategies for rural development. Central concerns of the course include: the empowerment of rural communities, the role of indigenous/local knowledge, participatory agricultural research, and local autonomy of production, all of which will be examined and problematized through specific cases, in relation to the influence of international institutions such as the World Bank, the WTO, etc., their development models, and the forces determining them.

IAFF 238 Gender and Development
A pragmatic course, focusing on useful frameworks for considering gender, the tools of gender analysis and the experiences of professionals working with gender and development in government agencies (USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation), multilaterals (World Bank),non-governmental organizations (International Center for Research on Women), foundations (Gates) and for-profits (Chemonics). The class will be run as a participatory seminar, with discussion, visiting experts, interactive exercises and close interaction of professor and students.

IAFF 238 HIV/AIDS and Development
The objective of this course is to examine the implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on development from various perspectives — economic, political, social/cultural, legal and ethical. We will examine the nature of the epidemic, its impact, the national and international response and the principal challenges to effective action to control the spread of HIV/AIDS. We will consider the roles of internal and external stakeholders, the impact of resources which are made (or not made) available in response to the epidemic, including the impact on other development priorities, and the reality on the ground — translating policy objectives and resources into practical results. Because Africa is the epicenter of the disease, with more than two-thirds of those infected/affected, the seminar will concentrate on Africa, although relevant experience from other regions will be examined. The point of departure will be the emergence of HIV/AIDS as a development issue and the challenges in making informed choices, establishing priorities and managing the often-conflicting pressures of dealing with a disease still shrouded in stigma, discrimination, inequity and fear. The goal of the course will be to broaden participant knowledge and appreciation of the dilemmas involved in addressing a significant development problem with limited resources, increase problem-solving ability, foster skills in teamwork and in the design of funding proposal to respond to a critical aspect of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

IAFF 238 Human Trafficking
This course will examine the global problem of trafficking in persons, which affects individuals, communities, and countries. Trafficking in persons is a complex human rights violation and international criminal activity that affects countries of origin, transit and/or destination. Factors such as structural vulnerabilities, poverty, the lack of economic opportunities, globalization, weak national laws and policies, corruption, and discrimination — among others — create conditions that allow traffickers to take advantage of individuals and keep them in forced labor situations and commercial sexual exploitation. The course will offer a survey of the trafficking situation in significant countries as a vehicle to examine international trafficking patterns and the impact of national policies on crucial concepts of victim protection, law enforcement and prevention.

IAFF 238 Internal Displacement: From the United States to Uganda
This course will explore the causes of internal displacement, from disaster, to conflict, to development; the institutional and legal frameworks for the protection of internally displaced persons; and the impact of displacement on individuals, communities and nations.

IAFF 238 Qualitative Methods
This course will introduce graduate students to methods and tools for the collection, management, analysis, and presentation of qualitative data in international development settings, thereby preparing them to contribute, as qualitative researchers, to the further improvement and expansion of "legitimate practice" in development research.

IAFF 238 Rural Development Strategies
The aim of this course is to explore, theoretically and empirically, the challenges faced by contemporary rural communities, the relationship of local livelihood security to a global economy dominated by neo-liberal policies and the nature of the dominant mainstream and alternative strategies for rural development. Central concerns of the course include: the empowerment of rural communities, the role of indigenous/local knowledge, participatory agricultural research, and local autonomy of production, all of which will be examined and problematized through specific cases, in relation to the influence of international institutions such as the World Bank, the WTO, etc., their development models, and the forces determining them. Particular attention will be paid to areas of contest — such as that between indigenous knowledge, farmers' rights and intellectual property regimes, and between contrasting definitions and measures of "sustainable development," based on a neo-liberal or social equity model — in order to gain new and productive insights into the origins and implications of different rural development priorities.

IAFF 238 Theory & Practice of Development
A critical approach to the study of development and contemporary development issues, viewed through a multidisciplinary lens.

IAFF 238 Violence, Gender and Humanitarian Assistance
The objective of the course is to engage students in developing a practical understanding of the issues, challenges, policies, and interventions around one of the most difficult protection issues in humanitarian emergencies. Gender-based violence (GBV), a multi-sectoral and inter-organizational problem with no easy solutions, straddles the blurry line between "humanitarian aid" and "development".

IAFF 239 IDS Capstone
The Capstone Project provides an opportunity for second-year students in the International Development Studies Program to undertake field-based research related to a specific problem faced by a development organization. During the Fall, each IDS student team prepared a Terms of Reference for their work with a chosen client organization. During the Spring, each team will prepare for and undertaken field research, typically scheduled for two weeks in March, and then write a final report summarizing their results and recommendations to the client.

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