Geographies of international development
GEOG 3682-001, Maymester 2008
MTWHF, 9 am-12:15 pm, RAMY N1B23
University of Colorado at Boulder
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/class_homepages/geog_3682_sum08/
development portfolio project
The major project in this course will be to create a portfolio of several smaller projects. The main goal of this portfolio is to give you the chance to demonstrate that you’ve acquired new skills for thinking about development. Each assignment you do for this portfolio is a variation on a single task: make connections, find relationships, figure out what fits together for you and what doesn’t. Each assignment must be typed (double-spaced 12pt Times, 1-inch margins) and clearly labeled. When submitting the portfolio at the end of the semester, include all previously-graded assignments in a folder or paper binder.
You will be required to submit all parts of your development portfolio project to Turnitin.com – you can find instructions on how to do this at the course homepage. Any student violating the CU Honor Code will receive a grade of F in the course. This includes submitting the same paper or part of a paper for two different classes without the express permission of both instructors. If you have any questions about plagiarism, proper citation, or Turnitin.com, contact your instructor or teaching assistant.
Here is a checklist for what your portfolio should include:
☐ 12 in-class reponses
☐ 2 film responses
☐ country report, section 1
☐ country report, section 2
☐ country report, section 3
in-class responses
On most days of the course, you’ll write a short in-class response to a reading or topic we’re discussing. The purpose of these responses is to capture in writing some of the connections you are making between ideas. A paragraph or two should be enough. Grading is simple: you get 2 points unless your response contains a clear misunderstanding of the material under discussion, in which case you get 1 point. You get nothing (0 points) for submitting nothing. These responses will be collected at the end of each class.
film responses
We will be watching a number of films in class. Like the in-class responses, the purpose here is to work out connections between our readings, our discussion, and your own ongoing research on a country. These are not film reviews or analyses, but rather a chance to connect the discussions we’ve been having in class with real-world cases. Each response is worth 8 points: 2 points each for submitting a response, for proper spelling and grammar, for clearly stating the connection between the film and something else from class, and for suggesting why this connection is interesting or important. You can turn in responses anytime during the semester – don’t scramble at the end! [Updated 2008-05-12: Responses should be about 300-400 words.]
country report
The country report is the most important part of the portfolio, and is the product of both guided and independent research during the semester. You will choose (or be assigned) a country and a region to research. You will have time in class to work on these reports, but I expect that most of your time spent on this report will be outside of class. The report is broken into three 4- to 5-page sections, with each section due at the end of each week of the semester.
Each section is worth 10 points: 3 points for spelling, grammar, and documenting sources, 4 points for fulfilling the purpose of the section, and 3 points for making a clear argument that is sensitive to your sources and main themes of the course (see course objectives for quick reference). The web will be a key source of information for this project (the course website is a good place to start), but I expect you to use supplementary journal articles and other library resources. Properly document all of your sources – see http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/about/citing.htm for guidelines. You might consider using RefWorks to make the process easier: http://ucblibraries/how/refworks.htm.
section 1: country background. This purpose of this section is to “situate” your country historically. Depending on your country, this might include a discusion of historical legacies (like colonialism or war), the political situation, sociocultural context, changes in macroeconomic policy or performance, etc. While is it up to you to determine what background will be important, focus on succinctly summarizing and synthesizing existing research from as broad a range of sources as possible – at least 5 different “institutions” (e.g. The World Bank, the World Trade Organization, a national government, The Economist magazine, an NGO, etc. each count as a single institution).
section 2: analysis. The purpose of this section is to analyze specific development programs in your country – think of this as a recent history of development in your country. In the first half of this section, summarize three significant and qualitatively different development programs underway in your country (e.g. health, water quality, small business development). In the second half, analyze these programs as a development geographer: Are they reducing or contributing to uneven development? Do they rely on national averages or other “gross” statistical measures? Are issues of physical geography addressed, and if so are they framed as part of the problem or the solution?
section 3: conclusions and outlook. The purpose of this section is to connect your work in the previous sections with major themes and topics we’ve discussed from readings, films, and other sources. This section should address the following questions (at least a full page for each): Given your country’s unique background, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the current development projects you researched? Explain how a reading or two from this semester helped in thinking about these projects in a new way. In what ways has your understanding of development changed in this course, and how have new ideas helped you “see” your country in a new way?
regional presentation
In addition to your written portfolio, you will participate in a regional presentation made up of people reporting on other countries in the same geographic region as yours. You will have time in class to work together to plan your presentation and draw some conclusions about regional instead of national issues. What similarities or differences about your respective countries has your regional group discovered? [Updated 2008-05-27: Regarding the development issues we’ve studied, what similarities or differences has your regional group discovered about your respective countries? Explain why it is feasible (or not) to talk about regional development?] The presentation is worth 10 points, 4 for clarity and organization of the group’s performance overall, 3 for your individual verbal contribution, and 3 for your demonstration of thinking at the regional instead of national scale. The schedule will be posted on CULearn.