Poverty Alleviation and
Bottom-up Development

I taught the following course in the Fall 2017 and worked with Dr. Robert Maguire to adapt it to an online format. It will be offered come Spring 2020 online, with Dr. Maguire as the lead instructor through our GWU MIPP program.

Course Description

Development thinkers have expressed their frustrations with policies, outcomes and institutions charged with alleviating poverty. Despite considerable progress made, around 700 million people are living in extreme poverty having access to less than $1.90 per day.

This graduate seminar takes these analyses and results as a starting point to evaluate the prospects for change with the UN's aspirational Sustainable Development Goal 1 "End poverty in all its forms everywhere" by 2030.

Under the umbrella of bottom-up development, we review established, novel and radical approaches and mechanisms that aim to empower the poorest of the poor. We will extend our assessment of income poverty to include its multidimensional nature and inequality.

The seminar will close with a review of the pros and cons of these methods and approaches, and how to implement bottom-up development within professional settings of (back)donor-driven impact metrics. 

Goals of the Course 

In addition to imparting knowledge and exposure to ideas through readings, discussions, and other pedagogic techniques, the seminar will provide students with opportunity for self-exploration and critical analysis. In view of most students’ professional aspirations to become engaged in the field of development, this seminar aims to offer insights that will assist them to move beyond ‘business as usual’ approaches that ‘target’ the poor and ‘deliver’ aid, toward more critical and innovative thinking about more effective strategies to attain poverty alleviation goals. Students will also be encouraged to adapt a responsive, as opposed to prescriptive, approach toward development thinking that incorporates listening and genuine participation, greater consideration of local problem-solving strategies, reinforcement of local know-how, and the importance of consultation with, and being guided by, the ‘voices of the voiceless.’ Practical exercises will encourage students to make and analyze development funding decisions.

Throughout the course, students will have opportunities to improve their ability to read and assess critically, think creatively, and engage in independent research and improve writing skills. An in-class ‘development debate’ will provide an opportunity for students to practice skills in persuasion, argumentation and diplomacy.