Economic
Development of China, India or Asia/Vietnam, Summer 2007
Economics 6355, Section
7938
Thomas R. DeGregori
4 to 6 PM MTWTh, Summer
IV
Office: 209D M
Room 108 AH
Office hrs. MTWTh - by appointment
Ph. (713) 743
3838
by appointment when in town
I prefer to receive emails
-
Email: trdegreg@uh.edu
homepage - www.uh.edu/~trdegreg
Summer IV ECON6355, 7938 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF ASIA
16001800 MTWTH AH 110 - last date to turn-in papers - August 8,
2007
This is a special problems course that can be taken for 3 hours
credit. The course will meet on the first day indicated in the schedule
for the class assignments. If you wish to enroll for less than 3 hours credit,
please see Marion Foley in 208B M.
You have the option of registering for it
in any of the summer sessions since it is entirely a independent study course
except for those in the study abroad programs where there may be lectures. The
course will meet on the first day indicated in the schedule for the class
assignments. If at all possible, it is very strongly recommended that students
sign-up for the summer sessions where the last day of class is in August. This
will allow you more time to complete your papers as we will be following the
University catalog closely and will be giving incompletes only to those who
qualify by University rules. Some exception will be made for those in study
abroad programs. You may obtain the books and start work on your papers as soon
as this syllabus is posted in February indicating that it has been approved for
the summer programs.
THERE WILL BE NO EXAMS OR QUIZZES.
There were three options for the course - (1) Focus on
The World That Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy, 1400
to the Present by Kenneth Pomeranz and Steven Topik, M.E. Sharpe.
Origins of the Organic Agriculture Debate, by Thomas R. DeGregori, Blackwell.
China and Vietnam by Brantly Womack, Cambridge
University Press
Science and Civilization in China, Volume 6, Biology and Biological
Technology, Part 2, Agriculture by Joseph Needham and Francesca Bray, Cambridge
University Press and do a major paper on Chinese agriculture.
Any two of the following three books
Shorter Science and Civilization in China, Volume 1, by Colin A. Ronan,
Cambridge University Press.***
Shorter Science and Civilization in China, Volume 3, by Colin A. Ronan,
Cambridge University Press.***
Shorter Science and Civilization in China, Volume 5, by Colin A. Ronan, Cambridge
University Press.***
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India Option
A Concise History of Modern India (2nd Edition) by Barbara D. and Thomas R.
Metcalf, Cambridge University Press
Agriculture, Food Security, Poverty, and Environment: Essays on Post Reform
India by C H Hanumantha Rao,
Oxford University Press, 2005.
The Far Enemy by Fawaz A. Gerges,
Cambridge University Press
Origins of the Organic Agriculture Debate, by Thomas R. DeGregori,
Blackwell.
The Environment, Our Natural Resources and Modern
Technology by Thomas R. DeGregori, Blackwell
Professional.
Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 6,
Biology and Biological Technology, Part 2, Agriculture by Joseph Needham and
Francesca Bray, Cambridge University Press and do a major paper on Chinese
agriculture.
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All Asia/Vietnam Option
Rhodes Murphy, A History of Asia, Addison, Wesley, Longman paperback,
latest edition.
Globalization and the Developing Countries by D. Bigman, ed.,
The Rise of Early Modern Science:
Bountiful Harvest by Thomas R. DeGregori,
Cato.
Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 6,
Biology and Biological Technology, Part 2, Agriculture by Joseph Needham and
Francesca Bray, Cambridge University Press and do a major paper on Chinese
agriculture.
Assignment:
You are to write two papers of (very) roughly 10+ pages each and one paper
of 20 to 30+ pages. No paper is to be less than seven pages.You have considerable latitude as to the
length of each paper as long as the total for the first two is about 20 to 25
pages. You are required to do either Nos 1 or 2 but
can not do both. Students often write at great length on topics 1 or 2 which is
fine but no more than 10 pages are counted towards the required 20 to 30 pages.
Pick one other topic for your second paper. Graduate students will be required
to do a 20 to 30+ page paper on Chinese agriculture in addition to two 10 page
papers. You may be allowed to substitute a book from one option for one in your
chosen option provided that you indicate the books involved and the reason you
wish to do so. Most often it will be because the exchange is necessary inorder to do a particular topic - example writing on
Global Terrorism would very likely require using The Far Enemy by Fawaz A. Gerges. For this and any other deviation from the syllabus,
an exchange of emails is required - verbal authorization is not sufficient -
with the email granting permission being attached to your papers.
The suggested topics:
1) Asian history and culture as basis for understanding Asian
economies today
2) Asian Culture, Geography & Politics to understand
3) Asian agriculture
4) Asian Economic Development since 1950.
5) Asian Economic Development since 1979.
6) Poverty and inequality in
7) Major issues in Asian Development: IMF, Debt etc.
8) The Asian Development model: What is it and what is its
future?
9) Global Terrorism
In each of the above suggested topics, you may substitute
THERE WILL NOT BE A FINAL EXAM.
ALL PAPERS HAVE TO INCLUDE CITED MATERIAL (source, date and pages cited)
FROM THE ASSIGNED READINGS. Each paper must include at least one of the
assigned sources though you may use as many as you wish on any paper. All
papers taken together must show that all assigned sources have been read and used. Every paragraph in your papers must have
at least one cited source unless it is either drawn from your own exerience or is a concluding paragraph. Each paper should
have a separate reference page that does not count towards your page
requirements. You will loose one letter grade for each assigned source that is
not "substantially" used (in other words, used in a way that
indicates an understanding of what the book is saying). This may seem like a
rigid requirement but since there are no exams or quizes,
it is the only way that I know (or think that I know) that you have done the
reading and that the paper is yours and not found on the web.
YOU MAY USE OTHER RESEARCH MATERIAL AS WELL. IF YOU USE INFORMATION FROM
THE WWW, PLEASE GIVE AS COMPLETE A CITATION AS POSSIBLE INCLUDING THE URL. I
have posted supplementary instructions on my webpage; please consult it and
follow the instructions. You are not allowed to have two paragraphs in a row
that use only non-assigned sources. As a rough rule of thumb, use only sources
published this century unless there is a compelling reason to use an older
source. All material that is not orginal to you must
have a citation. Quotation marks are required only when you are using someone
else's wording. If you are using their ideas and facts that are put in your own
words, you still need to cite the source but quotation marks would be
inappropriate. Please do not start a sentence with "I feel." Instead
use phrases such as "I conlude" or "it
is my judgment based upon the evidence" etc. If you present solid evedence on an issue and then follow with a rational
argument to reach a conclusion, I will assume that this is not only your
conclusion but it is also how you "feel."
***These books are three of many of the abridged and re-written volumes of
Joseph Needham's massive, monumental, multivolume work,
Science and Civilisation in
**UH Enrollment Schedule
http://www.uh.edu/enroll/rar/enrollment_schedule.html
Thomas R. DeGregori, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Houston
Department of Economics
204 McElhinney Hall
Houston, Texas 77204-5019
Ph. 001 - 1 - 713 743-3838
Fax 001 - 1 - 713 743-3798
Email trdegreg@uh.edu
Web homepage http://www.uh.edu/~trdegreg