Global Poverty, Local Solutions 15 EC (Minor GPLS B: Voices from the Ground)

After decades of reduction, poverty is again on the rise. This course introduces global poverty: its drivers, solutions and the challenges ahead.

Global poverty remains the most pressing social problem of our time. This minor provides students with tools to develop their concern for global poverty by introducing concepts, theories, trends and illuminating case studies on poverty and poverty-reduction interventions. This minor is coordinated by the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS; part of Erasmus University Rotterdam), the leading centre for the study of international development and taught at the Woudestein campus, with occasional activities in The Hague campus.

This minor introduces students from all academic backgrounds to the analysis of global poverty. It helps students develop their interest for global affairs and social change by guiding them into discovering how contemporary social sciences are applied to the study of global poverty.
The first module of this minor course introduces students to the concept of global poverty and its evolution over time; to the changes in global poverty dynamics through the history of different regions of the world and to the main drivers of contemporary dynamics of global poverty and inequality. The course examines the contrasts and commonalities between poverty in high-income countries and low and middle-income countries. Students will become familiar with the philosophical foundations of different ways to define and conceptualise poverty and the main methods used today to measure its incidence and understand its underlying dynamics. The second module of the course examines how poverty interacts with global transformations such as demographic change; globalization; environmental conflicts; climate change and natural resource extraction to understand how people living in poverty experience these crises differently.

Students will be able to:

• assess global trends in poverty and impoverishment;
• identify and contrast the most salient arguments in debates about the drivers of deprivation and social exclusion;
• understand and apply different concepts in the study of poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion;
• recognise the philosophical foundations of the different conceptualizations of poverty, the methods used in poverty analysis and the policy tools designed for intervention;
• critically interrogate how poverty interacts with other environmental and socio-economic crises

No prior knowledge of economics is required. Sessions are in person, predominantly in Woudestein but with some sessions at the ISS in the Hague.
In addition to this minor, students are welcome to consider also enrolling in Global poverty, local challenges B: Voices from the ground to obtain 30 EC in total, as the two sections build on each other and ensure a holistic and exhaustive engagement with contemporary poverty studies.

Teaching methods
This minor is taught through a series of two-hour lectures, weekly workshops and small group tutorials. There will also be movies, group presentations, and visits to organizations working in the field of international development.

Teaching materials
Students will be expected to read two articles before each lecture. An additional optional reading list will also be provided. All reading material will be made available online. In addition to academic articles, there will be media notes, movies, and role playing games.

Method of examination & Composition final grade
Invigilated exam (40%), final essay (50%), group presentation (10%)