GEOG/SIS 335: Geography and Development

Fall 2006

Instructor: Maureen Hickey Putnam
Location: Smith 407
Class meets: Tuesday and Thrusday 2:30 ñ 4:20 pm

Email: mhhp@u.washington.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 12:00 - 1:30pm or by appointment
Held in Smith 430
Mail Box Location: Smith 411

The reading packet is available at Rams Copy Shop on University Way and 42nd.


Course Syllabus

Course Assignments and Requirements

E-Reserves(background and supplemental readings)

Links and Resources


Evaluation Grids

• Midterm Evaluation of General Participation
• Evaluation of Reading Journal Entries
• More evaluation grids will be posted as the quarter progresses

Reading Journal and Discussion Groups

• Journal Due Dates by Group
• Reading Groups A & B
• Class Discussion Respondent List

Research Paper
New items will be added throughout the quarter. Please check back periodically.
Please also look in the Links and Resources section for writing and research resources.

• Research Paper Overview
• Suggested Topics
• Paper Topic Worksheet

Weekly Links & Announcements:

Pre-Term Announcements

• The Course Reader is now available for purchase at Ram's Copy Center (University and 42nd) on Monday, September 25. The cost is approximately $40.
• Our first class will be on Thursday, July 28

Introductory Session & Week One

• For an overview of devleopment and the approach we take in this class, please complete the introductory readings by our second class section.
• A general/background reading by Willis introducing development is available on e-reserve.
• Handouts for 9/28/06: Development Quotes, Excerpt of Truman Speech, Truman Speech Worksheet
• We read portions of President Truman's 1949 Inuguaral Address, the full speech is available here
• On Tuesday, 10/3/06 we viewed On Orientalism, a film that is available on reserve at Odegaard Media
• Handouts for 10/3/06: Useful Definitions (Modernity, Enlightenment & Teleology), Worksheet for film "On Orientalism"
• Additional/Background readings on Discourse and Development are available on e-reserve (including the introduction to Edward Said's Orientalism)
• Some links on Post-Colonial Studies, Orientalism and Edward Said
• Some helpful background information on Michel Foucault's ideas and influence is available here and here. If you are interested in how development scholars and others use Foucault's ideas to "do" discourse analysis, please read the two chapters by Rose, available on e-reserve.
• A review of Lutz and Collins's Reading National Geographic

Week Two

• Background information on captialism, Marxism, and the origins of the development project are available in the optional e-reserve readings for this week.
• For all of the links on Tuesday's Development Indicators Measurement activity, please see the Links and Resources Page
• We read the NYT Obituary of Walter Rostow, author of Stages of Economic Growth. See other obituaries of Rostow, here and here.
• For information on the history and organization of the IMF and World Bank, check out their websites (available on the Links & Resources page). Good overviews (from organizations critical of these institutions) are also available here and here.

Week Three

• A good online overview of dependency theory in development studies is available here.
• Andre Gunder Frankís official website and an obituary (he passed away in 2005).
• A short biography of Walter Rodney
• Eduardo Galeano is one of Latin Americaís most celebrated writers and activists. Here are some links: some background on Eduardo Galeano as a writer, a recent interview with him for UNESCO, and another interview with IdentityTheory.
• Doreen Massey is one of the most important geographers working today. Her website is here, and you can read a short article, ìThe geography of powerî here.
• On Tuesday we saw a clip of the PBS Documentary Series Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy. This excellent documentary series also has a comprehensive website that you may want to explore. Resources include downloadable clips, interviews and supplemental readings.
• On Tuesday we viewed ìLeasing the Rain.î Read the dispatches from the Democracy Center on the Bolivan ìwater warî in Cochabamba.
• You can also read about the Bolivian Gas Wars here and here.
• On Thursday we viewed ìT-Shirt Travels.î Check out the filmís website. Be sure to check out the filmmakerís Q&A, and the comments in the talkback section (or send your own comment).