Economic Development, Spring 2010
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ECON 3351-1 and LEC 14855 Day/time: TR 2:30 PM 4:00 PM January 19 May 14, 2009 Room: AH 106 |
Instructor: Dr. Thomas R. DeGregori Ph. (713) 743-3838 (I prefer to receive emails) |
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THERE WILL BE NO EXAMS OR
QUIZZES THERE WILL BE NO FINAL EXAM |
Teaching Assistant: Jarrod Hunt E-mail: jarrodehunt@yahoo.com Office: 207 McElhinney
Hall Office hours: TBA |
Course objective:
The objective of this course
is to provide reading material and lectures which facilitate a better
understanding of the world, its politics, its geography, its conflicts and
resolutions, the changing global economy in which we live, the diversity of
different cultures and peoples and those who have experienced a dramatic
transformation and improvement in the conditions of their life and those that
have not. The diversity of the reading matter and topic assignment is considerably
greater than can be achieved in a three hour course in one semester. The
boundaries for the course are wide allowing the students to fashion a course
that responds to their particular needs and interests as long as they in some
way cover the main themes of development presented in the course and in the
reading - science and technology for development, agriculture, and
globalization and that they use all of the assigned sources and write largely
within the course boundaries.
Required reading:
and either:
http://www.ifpri.org/
In addition to the above, any
two of the following six:
Course Calendar:
·
First day of
classes Tuesday, January 19, 2010
·
Last day to add a
class Monday, January 25, 2010
·
Last day to drop
a course or withdraw without receiving a grade online before 11.59 PM, Monday,
February 1, 2010
·
Last day to drop
a course without hours counting towards the <http://www.uh.edu/provost/stu/stu_enrollcapqs.html>Enrollment
Cap for Texas Residents
Monday,
February 1, 2010
·
Spring break
March15-20 Monday - Saturday
·
Last day to drop
a course or withdraw with a 'W' before 5 PM, Tuesday, April 6, 2010
·
DUE DATE FOR ALL PAPERS - before 2 PM, - Friday April 27, 2010
(Guaranteed to be graded in time for the posting of final grades. If
papers are turned in later, they might not be graded in time for posting resulting
in an F for the course. If graded in time, late papers still face a late paper
penalty)
·
Last day of class
Thursday, May 3, 2010
·
Official closing
of the semester Friday, May 14, 2010
Except for the final due
date, in previous semesters, there were no firm dates for turning in your
papers. Students have often requested due dates for papers so I am providing
them below along with the penalties for late papers.
General guidelines:
Under current University
policy, your email address given in People Soft is considered the official
method of notification making you responsible for any information sent to that
address. The best advice is to check it regularly. Not having checked it will
not be an acceptable excuse for failing to comply with the instructions given
there.
Following the University rules, if all your papers have not been received by me
and graded at the time that I have to post my grades, you will be given an
"F" for the course unless you have a verified acceptable excuse (such
as a doctor's letter concerning an illness) for not having completed the work
for the course. The University now requires that for each "I" given,
there is a filled out form explaining the reason for the "I" and it
has to be signed by both the student and the instructor. It also has to be
approved by the department. Needless to say, without adequate documentation to
support the form, an "I" cannot be given. Unlike an "I," a
grade of "F' can no longer be removed except in the most extreme set of
circumstances. If towards the end of the semester, it becomes obvious to you
that you will not be able to complete your work, you might consider dropping
the course by the last day to drop a course or withdraw without hours counting
towards the <<<http://www.uh.edu/provost/
If you drop the course using People Soft and for some reason the system fails
to record your drop, contact the Registrar's Office in order to correct the
problem. Do not contact me or my T.A. or the Economics Department about this
matter. If you receive an "F," I will gladly change it to a
"W" if notified to do so by the Administration. I am not allowed to
do it on my own nor am I allowed to give you a "W" for a final grade
unless the final role sheet shows that you have dropped.
Every semester, a large number of students take my courses as independent study
without attending class. I have always sought to make my courses available to
those who could not attend for whatever reasons. This option remains open but
it is no longer encouraged except for those who have absolutely no other
options since past experience shows that those who attended class regularly
were vastly more likely to finish the course on time and not need an
"I."
If you turn in your papers for my class in the main economics office - 204 M -
as I often request that you do, please do not call or email me asking if I
received them. And do not ask what grade that you received. I do not mean to be
rude but your calls or emails will not likely be answered. Keep digital copies
of all of your papers in the very unlikely event that they are somehow lost.
After the - DUE DATE FOR ALL PAPERS before 4 PM, Friday April 30, 2010, (in
class or in the Economics office, 204 M), emails and calls will not be taken
and returned. There are NO EXCEPTIONS except one. If you have an acceptable,
verifiable reason beyond your control why you were unable to complete papers
such as hospitalization, then you may either bring or send the documentation to
me and receive an "I." Please no elaborate excuses, only documented
cases can be accepted. Since we have to fill out a form for the "I"
with your signature, send the documentation only if you are physically unable
to bring it.
Assignments:
You are to write four papers of (very) roughly 8 to 10 pages each. 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 all four is about 30 to 40 pages. For any
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. Given the large choice of topics, no deviation
should be necessary unless there is a topic of specific interest to you! I will
be offering the same range of topics which I used for previous classes though
some topics are vastly more relevant to one than to another. Do not pick a
topic that does not fit your readings.
In addition to the information below, I will announce in class the reduced
writing assignment for those who attend class regularly. However, the reduced
writing option expires when the final grades are posted meaning that a student
who takes an incomplete has to follow the syllabus as posted. Students in
filling out the course evaluations have repeatedly asked for due dates for the
assignments. I will repeat the due dates and announce in class the benefits for
meeting them and the penalties for failing to do so.
Students regularly attending class will be required to write three papers for a
total of 25 to 30 pages. This semester, three un-excused absences will be the
maximum permitted.
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 assigned source
unless it is either drawn from your own experience 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 quizzes, 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.
ALL GRADES ARE FINAL UNLESS THE STUDENT CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT AN ERROR WAS MADE
IN THE GRADING. FINAL MEANS FINAL. DO NOT ASK TO BE
ABLE TO RE-DO YOUR PAPERS IF YOUR GRADE WAS LOWERED BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO
FOLLOW THE CLEARLY POSTED RULES. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK SHOULD YOU NOT
UNDERSTAND THEM. REPEAT - YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO REDO YOUR PAPERS IF YOU
LOSE POINTS FOR FAILING TO USE ASSIGNED SOURCES. Ruining a 4.0 grade point
average or preventing you from graduating are not acceptable reasons for
allowing you to re-do your papers. Neither is the claim that a book or books
did not fit your chosen topics acceptable. You have a wide choice of topics so
pick topics in which you can use all of the assigned sources in doing them.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
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. NOTE ABOVE, I HAVE TIGHTENED THE RULES AND NOW REQUIRE THE
USE OF AT LEAST ONE ASSIGNED SOURCE IN EACH PARAGRAPH. 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 original 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 conclude" or "it is my judgment based
upon the evidence" etc. If you present solid evidence 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."
Assignment due dates (with some flexibility):
·
February 25 - A
ten page paper that makes substantial use of at least two of the assigned
sources. After this date, any ten page paper will lose a full letter grade.
·
March 4 - Students
who have exams or other academic commitments that make the February 25 due date
difficult, may turn in a fifteen page paper that makes substantial use of at
least three of the assigned sources without penalty. Ten page papers by this
date will lose one to two thirds of a grade on it - for example A- to either a
B+ or a B. After this date, any fifteen page paper will lose a full letter
grade.
·
March 9 -
Students turning in their first paper of fifteen page paper that makes
substantial use of at least three of the assigned sources by this date will
lose one to two thirds of a grade on it - for example A- to either a B+ or a B.
After this date, any paper of any length will lose a full letter grade.
·
March 26 - Second
paper due in Economics office before it closes (circa 3 PM)
·
March 26 option -
students who made a B+ or better on their first paper have the option of
combing two topics in a ten to fifteen page paper (bringing the total to 25 to
30 pages) using three previously not used assigned sources completing use of
all assigned sources. They will turn in a three to five page draft or outline
indicating the topics and how they will be combined. This will be returned OK
written on it and will be turned back in along with the complete paper on the
due date for the third paper.
·
April 2 - Second
paper due in Economics office before it closes (circa 3 PM) with a penalty of
one to two thirds of a grade on it - for example A- to either a B+ or a B.
After this date, any paper will lose a full letter grade.
·
April 27 - Third
paper due in Economics office before it closes (circa 3 PM)
·
May 2- Third
paper due in Economics office before it closes (circa 5 PM) with a penalty of
one to two thirds of a grade on it - for example A- to either a B+ or a B. After this date, any paper will lose a full letter grade.
·
April 27 - as
stated above - DUE DATE FOR ALL PAPERS - before 4 PM, Tuesday April 27,
2010 (in class or in the Economics office, 204 M) - guaranteed to be graded in
time for the posting of final grades. As often happens, I am able to grade late
papers in time for them to be recorded. However, after the due date, there will
be a grade penalty that increases the later the paper is turned. I will
consider removing the one third grade penalty for students who turn in two of
the three papers (including the final paper) by the due dates. Full letter
grade penalties will not be removed.
The due date for the fourth
paper, if you are required to write one, is before 4 PM, Tuesday April 27, 2010
(in class or in the Economics office, 204 M).
The suggested topics are:
You may two 10 page papers (plus your 3rd and possibly 4th paper on a topic
below) each on a different issue in African development or a 20 page on leading
issues in African development paper one or two other papers on a topic below.
Your need to use the Friedel book precludes your
doing all of your papers on a purely African topic.
1) African history, culture and geography as basis for
understanding Africa today
2) Global Agricultural Development since 1950 - including
the Green Revolution Why was Africa left
out?
3) Global Economic Development since 1950 Everywhere but
Africa? Why
4) Poverty and inequality, global, regional or in a
particular country and what can be done about it
5) Major issues in Development: IMF such as Debt.
6) The Asian Development model: What is it and what is its
future benefit for Africa if any?
7) The role of technological/scientific diffusion from
Asia and the Arab world in European
development
8) Sources for Economic development in the developed world
- 19th and 20th century technology and
science
9) Sources of opposition to the use of technology/science
for economic development
10) Health, nutrition and population in the 21st Century
11) Trade and African development
12) The role of "globalization" in economic development
13) Genetic Modification of Food
14) Globalization of Food Production - Implications for Africa
and the World
15) Feeding 9 Billion in 2040
16) Water for 9 Billion People
17) Trends in World Population - 1950-2040
18) Population - Issues of Child and Maternal Mortality
19) Environmental Implications and Potential of Biotechnology
20) Technology and the Future (with the past as a guide)
21) Global Environmental Issues such as global warming and its
implications for economic development
22) Clean, Safe, and Environmentally Friendly Food Production:
Meaning? Organic what is it?
23) AIDS and Development
In Fall
2009 semester, I offered group projects as a substitute for the third paper.
Most students took up the offer and the class was pleased with the strongly
outcome and recommended that I continue it. I was also pleased and will give
details in class for those who wish to choose it. In addition, I generally
allow students who will need an extra hour to graduate to take a one hour
special problems course. This semester it is open only to those taking this
course. A student can earn the extra hour by attending class, doing three
papers and participating in a project. The student must enroll in the special
problems course to be able to get credit.