AFST 40700 - Anthropology of Poverty

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

Africana Studies

Description:

What is poverty? What does it mean to be poor, destitute and powerless? Does poverty in the developed world refer to the same conditions and factors that determine poverty in developing and undeveloped countries? What does genteel poverty mean? Does the ability to possess material goods and to consume indicate lack of poverty? What is the cycle of poverty? Can one break out of it? This course will address these and other questions on poverty through anthropological analysis. The course is divided into two parts: a) poverty in the pre-industrial era, and b) poverty in contemporary societies. Topics covered in Part A include the beginnings of poverty and social inequality in the earliest complex urban societies of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, urbanism, production, distribution and poverty in various time periods including classical Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era, and slavery, colonialism and poverty. Part B will address issues such as the relationship between industrialism, colonialism and poverty in the 19th and 20th centuries, instituted poverty in post-colonial and post-industrial societies, and global manifestations of poverty in the 21st century. The course materials include readings from anthropology (archaeology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology), history, economics, theology, political science, as well as documentaries and films.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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