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Course Criteria
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1.00 Credits
This course will give you the literacy and skills you need to understand the science behind environmental problems that affect us all: water pollution, air pollution, environmental health risks, population growth and exploitation of natural resources. The course aims to provide a solid foundation in important scientific principles, complementing courses with a joint science-policy orientation or a more policy-oriented approach. It applies basic ideas from physics, chemistry and biology to environmental problem solving. It will also apply math skills–especially algebra and some basic calculus–to strengthen your quantitative ability. Students will be encouraged to think critically, work in teams to solve problems, present solutions and discuss topics. Real-world applications and case studies will be used to place the methods and models in a practical context. Three fieldwork sessions will also be held using instruments to measure contaminant levels in air, water and soil. Graded elements include a study journal, homework problems, class participation and a final paper on a relevant topic of your choosing.
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1.00 Credits
This course introduces students to the field of community development, with a particular focus on finance. The class explores the roles of various “field actors,” such as developers, community-based community-development corporations, other nonprofits, for profits, banks, local governments and low-income residents. Students learn about the use of governmental subsidies to achieve public purposes, hot and cold commercial and housing real-estate markets, the basics of identifying financial feasibility gaps in public-spirited projects, the financial analysis necessary to attract debt and stimulate equity investment, strategies to fill the gaps in community needs and funding and ways to sustain projects. Familiarity with Excel spreadsheets is useful.
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0.50 Credits
The course combines participatory theory and practice in a seven week module. The first two classes will cover the rationale for using participatory tools in development planning and action. The second two classes will introduce a wide variety of participatory data collection, analysis, and planning tools. The next two meetings will be conducted in a field setting (probably a Friday night and all day Saturday) in either Manchester or Concord, New Hampshire with Bhutanese refugees. Your role as a member of the class will be to lead exercises in the workshop, using some of these tools. The goal will be to help the refugee community advance from its present state of semi-disorganization all the way through a process culminating in a community action plan that the entire group both supports and will implement. Our final class will be a review of the action plan and an evaluation of the methodology. Grades will be based on field performance and two short (6 pages) papers. One will focus on evaluation of a particular tool and its usefulness in our exercise. The second will be your design of a community planning exercise for an urban setting. Nepali speakers are especially urged to take the course.
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1.00 Credits
This course investigates the development practices and theories that have emerged to address population displacement in its various forms. It looks at the relationship between forced displacement and the nation-state, the changing nature of humanitarian emergencies in a globalising world, and the role of diaspora. The course also explores the issues around urbanisation, urban development and displacement, and transnational networks and associations in development processes and agendas.
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1.00 Credits
Intro to Geographic Information Systems / Lecture, Laboratory This graduate-level course introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a powerful mapping and analytical tool. Topics include GIS data structure, map projections, and fundamental GIS techniques for spatial analysis. Laboratory exercises concentrate on applying concepts presented in lectures and incorporate two widely used GIS software packages - IDRISI (created by Clarklabs) and ArcGIS (created by ESRI). These exercises include examples of GIS applications in environmental modeling, socio-demographic change and site suitability analyses. Although the course is computer-intensive, no programming background is required. This course counts as skills course for IDCE graduate students.
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0.50 Credits
This is a seven-week module that will provide students with an overview of the key concepts (what is SNA, network theory, graph theory, ego networks vs. whole networks), special topics (social support, cliques, social capital, corporate networks, social movements, and cyber communities) and methods of social network analysis (sampling, network dynamics, network visualization, cliques and structural equivalences). The main goal of this course is for students to learn how to do social network analysis through interviews and online research.
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0.50 Credits
This module provides students with a structured process of identifying their research focus for their MA paper and to begin designing their research plan. The course will help students to: 1) identify and explore a research topic, 2) explore main paradigms of social research (qualitative, quantitative, participatory, and mixed), 3) begin the process of conducting a literature review for their research project. In addition, the module will provide students with the opportunity to engage in focused discussions related to their potential project with other first year students.
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1.00 Credits
In attempting to fulfill the real and perceived needs and aspirations of their people, "developing" countries have employed (through both coercion and agency) various approaches to manage development policies. Yet such development initiatives and the processes of implementing them face enumerable structural constraints, both local and global. This course engages with these concerns and introduces students to the administrative and policy contexts of development in "third world" settings. We critically examine some of the central administrative paradigms and practices that have been used to implement post-war development policies. Consequently, we explore such ideas and practices as public bureaucracy, the new public management, and good governance in developing countries. Significantly, too, the course examines major conditions that third world states encounter as they pursue post-war development aspirations, including public debt, international immigration, international free/fair trade, and crime and violence.
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0.50 Credits
The objectives and strategies of community organizers in the United States since the early-20th century are reviewed, from Hull House to Alinsky to faith-based organizing. The course concludes with a discussion on whether globalization makes a difference or whether community organizing does. When possible, discussions with regional veterans will be part of the course. Reading load is moderate.
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1.00 Credits
The purpose of this seminar is to introduce students to theories, debates and practical strategies regarding the development of urban communities. Students gain an enhanced understanding of the complexities inherent to the concepts of community and participation. They critically analyze “community” as a set of social relations, as a local economy, as a built environment, and as a political organization. Students begin to recognize the importance of race, gender, age, class, identity, and culture in working with communities. Finally, they examine the roles and effectiveness of the methods, models and strategies used by informal neighborhood organizations, banks, private developers, local nonprofits, and government agencies in rebuilding communities and their economies. Case examples and articles from across the United States will be used. Worcester's neighborhoods—which provide excellent examples of physical, social, and economic development strategies—will be highlighted throughout this course. Worcester's Piedmont and Main South neighborhoods will be a particular focus throughout the semester.
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