Instructors: Dina Franceschi (with Aaron Seymour, Katherine Kidd or Winston Tellis)

Office: Donnarumma 313

Telephone: 254-4000 x 2850

E-mail: dfranceschi@fair1.fairfield.edu

Description:
This interdisciplinary course combines the insights of history, politics, philosophy, anthropology/sociology, business, and economics to examine problems of poverty and justice in the developing world – including health, education and environmental sustainability - with a particular focus on Central America. Central to the course is a one-week immersion in Nicaragua during spring break. The trip to Nicaragua is not required but participation is strongly encouraged. Each student will plan and carry out a research project asking the critical questions and using the research methodologies of their academic major or minor. The trip to Nicaragua will provide the students with an intensive field research opportunity the findings of which they will incorporate into their final papers. Both the instructors in the course must approve all research projects.

Objectives:
1. Students will become familiar with the problems faced by individual citizens, groups and governments in developing nations including their histories and the complexities that attend solutions.
2. Students will learn to apply the methods of their own disciplines, supplemented by the insights of the other disciplines in the course, to the discovered conditions in Nicaragua.
3. Students will learn how to keep a research journal and how to incorporate field research results with traditional academic sources.
4. Students will enrich their learning and familiarity with Spanish and Hispanic culture. Knowledge of Spanish is not a requirement for this course. Students with knowledge of Spanish will be encouraged to use it in all aspects of the course.
5. Students will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) materials in their research and papers. The GIS lab is in Donnarumma 132 and is open Monday – Friday 9:00 – 4:00.

Texts:
Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom, Anchor Books, 1999
A course pack of readings to complement the presentation of guest lecturers. There will be 50-80 pages of readings from the course pack each week.

Requirements:
1. Completion of all reading assignments in advance of each class as per the syllabus.
2. Active participation in class discussion – 25% of grade. All students will provide structured written feedback to classmates on their research presentations.
3. Submission of a 1-3 page statement of a research project by the third week of class – 10% of grade.
4. Weekly reflection papers on the readings and the class discussion – 25% of grade. The 3-5 page reflection papers should focus on how issues of justice are raised in the readings for the week.
5. Completion of the research project and presentation to the class – 40% of grade. Students who cannot go to Nicaragua will work with the instructors to identify a research topic that they can complete using traditional library sources.
6. While in Nicaragua, students will keep a journal including notes for preparing a strategy for site visits such as written questions developed in advance, write reports of site visits, and participate in evening group discussion sessions. Grades for this work will be counted in determining grades for class participation and weekly written assignments in 2 and 4 above.

Schedule of Readings and Discussions:
Week 1: Introduction to the course including discussion of research design – Aaron Seymour and Dina Franceschi.
Week 2: History and Politics of Central America and Nicaragua in particular – Walter Petry. History readings from course pack and Sen chapters 1,2 and 6. The class will have dinner together and an evening activity to begin to get to know each other in preparation for the trip.
Week 3: Latin American culture – Nick Hill and Katherine Kidd. Readings from the course pack, "Memory and Modernity" through The Gospel of Solentiname. Paper topics must be approved and list of questions on your topic for Nicaraguan planners must be submitted.
Week 4: International economics, economic development and issues of justice – Mark LeClair and Dina Franceschi. Readings from the course pack and Sen chapter 12.
Week 5: Business and other private sector groups and development – Winston Tellis and Aaron Seymour. Readings from the course pack and Sen chapters 3, 4 and 5.
Week 6: Theological and ethical questions and the response of institutional churches –  Joy Gordon. Readings from the course pack. Class dinner and orientation session for the trip.
Week 7: Spring Break Trip to Nicaragua
Week 8: Reentry with Paul Carrier to question students to elicit deeper reflection on their experience and to connect their new knowledge from the field more closely to their research.
Week 9: Sustainable development and the environment – Lisa Newton. Readings from the course pack and Sen chapters 7, 8 and 9. Class dinner and time for further discussion of re-entry issues.
Week 10: Physical and mental health – Dee Lippman and Suzanne MacAvoy. Readings from the course pack and Sen chapters 10 and 11.
Week 11: Class presentations of research projects.
Week 12: Class presentations of research projects. First draft of paper due.
Week 13: Class presentations of research projects
Week 14: Review of course and lessons learned. Faculty from the Nicaragua group and Deans will be invited to this class. Final draft of paper due on the last day of classes.