General Education Program
Extended Course Description

Course Content: This course has as its theme the global challenge of reducing if not eliminating poverty. In this era of globalization citizens of every country are affected by rapidly changing economic, social and political events. A new world order is emerging. However, Javier Perez de Cuellar says, "(W)e can not forget that while the iron curtain has been brought down, the poverty curtain still separates two parts of the world." At least a billion people in the developing world, one-fifth of humanity, struggle to obtain food, shelter, safe water, health care, work, and education. Furthermore, pockets of poverty can be found in the richer countries of the world. This course critically examines the issue of poverty. What is poverty? What causes poverty? How has globalization affected the world's poor (e.g., the international debt crisis, trade agreements)? What steps have been taken to assure a more equitable distribution of goods and services so that basic human needs can be met? What can we do personally and communally to alleviate the underlying causes of poverty? Exposure to poverty in the developing world through an intensive educational immersion experience will be an essential component of the course.

Continuity and Comparison: A comparative study of poverty in the more developed countries and in the developing world will be essential in this course. Who are the poor? Is poverty defined differently in different countries? Experienced differently? How have different countries addressed the causes of poverty? How has globalization affected those who suffer from poverty? How have domestic public policy initiatives (such as the War on Poverty and welfare reform efforts in the USA) affected the poor? What have been the most effective international policy initiatives for reducing poverty in this century?

Course Requirements: Using the method of social analysis, students will write a paper of eight to ten pages that examines an issue related to poverty. Students will explore the history of the issue, the major social structures that influence the situation, the key values that affect the problem or operate to maintain the structures, and the future direction for the situation. Students will do a service project aimed at alleviating poverty and keep a journal of their experience. Students will also spend two weeks in a developing country learning about the reality of poverty.

Benefit to the Student: Poverty has been a persistent and intractable challenge for the human race. Myths regarding it persist. It is important to consider how poverty degrades human persons and deters us from attaining the common good. Making personal and societal changes that will alleviate poverty are both possible and necessary. Students will learn what it means for the non-poor to have a preferential option for the poor.

(March 1999)

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