Instead of a term paper you will be writing a series of "analytic essays" on the topics shown below. Please use the format described here (even further below). I will not grade the essays until the end of the course, when I can see them as a whole. Instead, I will respond to each essay with comments and suggestions as it is turned in.
| Due | Subject |
|---|---|
| 9/12 | Your experience |
| 9/12 | Country choice |
| 9/21 | History |
| 9/26 | Per capita GDP vs HDI |
| 10/31 | HdS and/vs. Ayolé on culture |
| 11/16 | Aid |
| 11/28 | LCRE and/vs. KRMH on aid |
| 12/2 | Debt |
| 12/14 | KRMH and/vs. MS on globalization |
| 12/14 | Reflection |
What countries have you lived in (or visited), why, and for how long? (Don't count instances where you merely zipped through one country on your way to another one.)
[Length: Short -- just give the list of countries, your length of stay, and a brief description of why you were there.]
I will be assigning each student in the class one country from the Third World (incl. the former Soviet bloc countries) to pay particular attention to during this course. Many of the analytic essays will ask you to apply the general issues raised in the course to this specific country. In some cases you will be expected to contribute information about your country in class. So your assignment is to list three countries, from which I will pick one. When you list each country, explain why you are suggesting it. Do you have any personal connection to it? Do you think it will be particularly important in your career? Have you just always been curious about it?
I will hereafter (i.e., below) refer to your country as "Tweedistan".
It should go without saying, but I will say anyway that you should provide citations for whatever external sources you use.
[Length: Short -- you don't have anything to prove or argue; just state why you're interested in the three countries.]
What are the historical origins of Tweedistan? In particular, what are the historical origins of its current regime? What are the major ongoing challenges to this regime, esp. the regime's legitimacy? One crucial question I want you to think about, regardless of whether you write about it here, is how Tweedistan is divided politically (or, by the same token, organized politically). Do people band together in terms of region? Social class? Family? Clan? Religion and/or sect? Culture? Don't forget to cite your sources!
[Length: 2-3 pages]
What is the current per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of Tweedistan? Where does that place it relative to other countries in the world? What is the current HDI (Human Development Index) of Tweedistan? Where does that place it relative to other countries in the world? If these numbers are substantially different, explain what creates the difference.
Some suggestions/cautions:
[Length: 1 page]
In Ch. 7, esp. pp.223 ff., Hernando de Soto argues directly that cultural explanations of capitalism's failure are basically bogus. The Ayolé video, on the other hand, seems to put culture in the forefront of development (as does the "Small Happiness" video). Compare and contrast these two points of view, and assess which seems more appropriate for people concerned about Tweedistan's development.
"Compare and contrast" means to discuss first the points of agreement between the two views and then the points of disagreement.
[Length: 3 pages]
How much foreign aid does Tweedistan receive? This is a more complex question than may appear, because (as we shall see) there are many different kinds of aid. For example, aid can be in-kind or (and/or) monetary. In-kind aid can be military assistance, or other services, or goods. Monetary aid can come with or without strings attached — the most common string being the requirement that it be used to purchase goods from the country giving the aid. Aid can come from governments through NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). Aid can be overt or covert — not that you will be able to find out much about covert aid, of course. And don't forget that aid comes from many countries other than the United States. As a consequence, some of the information you need will require digging. The UMD reference librarians can help you here if you aren't familiar with the library resources.
Anyway, the point of this analytic essay is for you to assess the aid "landscape" or "horizon" for Tweedistan.
[Length: 1-4 pages, depending on the complexity of Tweedistan's situation (and, of course, the depth of your research)]
Compare and contrast the LCRE text's view of U.S. aid to the KRMH text's view. Which view makes more sense in understanding Tweedistan?
[Length: 3 pages]
Get as accurate (and as recent) figures as you can for the following: Tweedistan's ...
If you have information on how these figures compare to other countries in the world, provide that also.
[Length: 1-2 pages]
Compare and contrast the KRMH text's view of globalization to the the MS text's view. Which view makes more sense in understanding Tweedistan? You may want to distinguish "globalization" from "globalism" in making this comparison and in thinking about Tweedistan.
[Length: 3-4 pages]
Assess the overall utility of the analytic essays for your experience in the class. Which essays were most useful? Which essays were least useful? What assignments might have been phrased better or differently? What assignments might I have asked but did not?
Note: This essay is required but will not be graded. To guard against my own bias, I will not to look at your answer(s) until I have turned in the course grades.
[Length: 1-2 pages]
Each analytic essay should be typed on 8.5 x 11" paper, double-spaced, with 1" margins all around. Please use a standard 12-pitch font (e.g., Times New Roman). Place your name in the upper-right-hand corner of the first page. If the essay has multiple pages, please staple them together.
As for all assignments, I expect you to write using good mechanics: spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, and so on. I expect the essay to be printed on a clean sheet of paper. I expect all quotations, paraphrases, data, and other things derived from external sources to be properly cited within the essay and of course included in a final bibliography. (I really shouldn't have to say any of this, but I have found that if I don't say these things explicitly, then students don't take care with their work.)
At the end of the semester, submit the essays bundled all together in a manila envelope with your name on the outside. (You might want to get the envelope now and store the essays there as they are returned.) Keep the essays in the order in which they were assigned.
You should use only www sources known to be reliable.
In citing web sources, include the exact URL, the page title, the date the page was last updated, and the date you accessed it.
URL: http://www.d.umn.edu/~schilton/3570/3570.AnalyticEssays.2005.Fall.html
Author: Stephen
Chilton [email] | Last
Modified: 2005-10-22
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