2018-2019 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses
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IDCE 320 - Food Production, Environment, and Health
Agriculture and animal production have changed dramatically over the last century, bringing higher yields and less expensive food. The changes also brought considerable costs to the natural environment and human health. This course will investigate the causes and consequences of the transformation. We will explore economic and political determinants of the industrialization of food and animal production; the effects on farmland and on water resources; the politics of nutrition guidelines; the costs and benefits of genetically modified organisms; the nutrition transition and global rise in chronic disease; the over-use of antibiotics; the potential benefits and costs of corporate organic food; regional food systems and other alternatives. While many topics focus on the United States, we will also look at topics from a global perspective. The course has a seminar format.
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IDCE 326 - Social Network Analysis
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.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 327 - Visualizing Human Rights: Culture, Law, and the Politics of Representation
What do human rights look like? This seminar examines the advocacy strategies NGOs use to make human rights visible to different audiences the general public, government officials, policy-makers, international courts, etc. Particular attention is focused on the tactics NGOs employ to mobilize expert opinions, popular sentiment, and material resources to contest the status quo and to promote the protection of human rights. Students will gain familiarity with some of the key actors, legal frameworks, and best practices used in the “human rights community,” including their main strengths and weaknesses. They will also develop a grounded understanding of human rights campaigns and the role advocacy efforts play in shaping international affairs, legal proceedings, and moral debates. Finally, students will enhance their ability to critically analyze and to ethically employ the digital technologies (e.g. mobile phones, social media, crisis mapping, satellite imagery) that shape how human rights violations are visualized today.
Prerequisites: Instructor’s Permission.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 329 - Property and Community
“Property is not a thing, but a social relationship,” is this course’s point of departure. Questions relevant to a “social relations theory of property” have captured attention within the social sciences on many fronts. For example, what are the rights ‘ownership’ in different societies? What gives property its value (prestige, power, privilege)? How do land tenure and property rights interventions change community relations, family dynamics, and/or improve environmental outcomes? Course readings are global in nature, allowing us to examine property as a social relation in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Students are involved in setting some of our collective learning objectives and learning outcomes / assessment tools. UG Capstone eligible seminar; Fulfills IDCE Conservation and Development & Gender and Identity concentration.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Varies
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IDCE 332 - Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
We confront one of the most pressing issues of our time: How can society transition to more sustainable development (SD)? Specifically: How can diverse social groups work in concert to vision a sustainable future, assess existing development, compare the impacts - economic, social, political, cultural and ecological - of alternative development pathways, and move towards more sustainable development? Our responses to SD challenges/opportunities require a synthesis of social and technical approaches in ways rarely seen: a) a dialogue-enabled multi-stakeholder assessment and planning process at the core; b) integrative information/communication and education technologies; c) multi-issue/multi-sector integration models (e.g. water * health * energy * food etc.); and d) ways to navigate inherent complexity, including the political context and the mitigation of corruption. The goal of the class is: to help students think about, design and consider the deployment of 2nd generation sustainable development projects. Case studies are used extensively for discussions, and simulations provide practice and insight. The course includes a major SDA&P Team Project Practicum based on either a domestic development case study or an international one (previous cases include the Cape Cod Wind Farm, the Three Gorges Dam in China, a mining project slated for Indonesia). Students work in their SDA&P Team to do three things: a) critically analyze how positive and negative impacts have been estimated (on what basis), also considering their spatial distribution; b) articulate the socio-economic, political, cultural and ecological contexts of the proposal, incl. the power dynamics; and c) design an improved socio-technical SDA&P process.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 333 - Development Mgmt in Developing Countries
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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IDCE 334 - Planning and Zoning for Community Developers
This master’s-level course introduces students to the field of planning and zoning for community development. The student will be exposed to a wide range of methods used in planning, while also taking into account some of the challenges inherent in their use. The course work helps students understand the city, imagine the future, and move to action, while building skills in writing, oral, and graphic communication, research and analysis, and team work. This course helps prepare students to join the planning profession or learn how to navigate it in other roles. Students are introduced to the broad scope of the professional field, which involves different functional topics, scales, and sectors. The course work focuses on the practical application of planning theory, with case studies and hands on experience to understand the implications of analysis, the different types of plan-making, and the role of implementation.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 335 - Strategies for Community Organizing
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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IDCE 336 - Capstone in Community and Global Health
The MHS Capstone course provides students with an opportunity to apply their graduate training to an initiative in the broad field of community and global health. Capstone students will work in small teams on various aspects of a faculty-led project. The projects will typically be problem-centered, meaning focused on real-world issues and challenges in which faculty are currently engaged as scholars and practitioners. Students will practice identifying key problems and questions, designing strategies to arrive at a deeper understanding of the problem, collecting and analyzing data, and producing final reports and other means of communicating their findings to diverse audiences. In short, the Capstone course offers students an immersive and integrative experience in which they will polish their professional skills through collaborative work. Open to MHS second year students.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Every semester
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IDCE 339 - Spatial Statistics with R
The objective of this course is to introduce students to the broad range of spatial statistical techniques available in the R statistical software to manage, visualize and estimate models applicable to spatial data. This course is ideal for students who want to learn R, study in depth spatial statistical techniques developed by the research community, and apply them to address research questions of their own interest. Topics include an introduction to R, how spatial data are managed and mapped using R, different functions that assess spatial point patterns, extensive capabilities of R to create a variety of spatial weights, global and local tests of spatial autocorrelation, fitting simultaneous and conditional autoregressive models, and geostatistical analysis. Different spatial statistical techniques will be demonstrated during the class and students will work on weekly assignments in order to master the material.
Prerequisites: IDCE302 Python Programming (or another introduction to programming course) and IDCE388 Advanced Vector GIS.
Prerequisites: IDCE302 Python Programming (or another introduction to programming course) and IDCE388 Advanced Vector GIS. Or by permission
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 340 - Fundamentals of Youth Work
Youth workers are the front line staff at youth serving organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club and youth centers. Youth workers have been referred to as “wizards” because they succeed with young people where other individuals and institutions have failed. Despite the critical role youth workers play in the lives of young people, they receive very little professional development or training; this comes to the detriment of the youth, the youth workers, and the field. There are emerging efforts in the United States to professionalize youth work and provide youth workers with critical training. This course is a one strategy to that end.
This course covers how to work with young people in a positive youth development framework—focusing on building protective factors (e.g. positive discipline, making referrals, and building relationships with families), reducing risk factors (e.g. violence, mental health problems, sexual behavior, and substance abuse) and building professional skills in program development and management. Reflection on youth work practice will be a key teaching and learning strategy in the course. Students in this class will be both community youth workers as well as Clark students. For Clark students who are not currently doing youth work, they will be matched with youth workers for an apprenticeship opportunity. Each week, a different youth development professional in the greater Worcester area will co-facilitate the course session. In this way, students have the opportunity to network with those working in the field.
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IDCE 341 - Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
Many practitioners and theoreticians, disillusioned with governments in the development process, propose building nongovernment organizations (NGOs) as development catalysts. This seminar explores the proposal in light of the difficulties and progress NGOs have experienced.
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IDCE 342 - Dynamic Modeling of Human/Environment Systems
The transition to “sustainable futures” will be achieved through a process of social-technical integration and innovation. Pivotal to this innovation is the participatory application of environmental models to represent baseline systems and to forecast what those systems may look like in the future. Environmental systems are complex, open systems. The course material has three parts: 1) An overview of methods and approaches to modeling; 2) the state of the art for modeling environmental processes; and 3) tools and models for management. Current and future developments are also discussed. The approach to the course is one that simplifies complex systems, introducing students to modeling software and tools using practical examples from climatology, ecology, hydrology, geomorphology and engineering. A group project applies one model or a cluster of models to a real place/issue of interest to students. The course text has an associated website containing color images, links to web resources and chapter support pages, including data sets relating to case studies, exercises and model animations.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall
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IDCE 344 - Going Local: Community Development and Planning
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.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall
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IDCE 345 - CDP Practice: Reflection and Deliberate Practice
The Reflection and Deliberate Practice seminar provides students an opportunity to develop a professional identity as a youth worker. By working through an action-reflection- theorizing- action cycle, students learn to reflect-on and reflect-in practice, ultimately increasing their effectiveness as youth work professionals.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 346 - Practicum in Community Development and Planning
Engages students to work as a team on a critical community-development project. Students gain skills in field research, applied qualitative and quantitative data analysis, multidisciplinary teamwork, negotiation with clients, and writing professional reports. Practicum clients and topics have included a project with the Worcester Public Schools to involve public-school students in urban secondary-school reform and work with the City of Worcester and two community-development corporations on assessing the economic impact of housing production in low-income neighborhoods.
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IDCE 352 - Conflict in Sudan and the Horn of Africa
This seminar explores the historical and cultural context of current political and military conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. We will examine issues of racial, ethnic, and religious identities in the region using academic sources, policy documents, and visual and oral narratives. Students will become familiar with the debates relating to ethnic and sectarian violence, forced migration, famine, and humanitarian aid through multi-disciplinary social science analysis and experiential case studies. The course combines delving into local and national circumstances for people living in the region and an interrogation of the objectives and practices of transnational actors.
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IDCE 354 - Beyond Victims and Guardian Angels: Third World Women, Gender and Development
How did Third World women and gender concerns enter economic development discourses? How have Third World women and gender been conceptualized within development practices? In turn, how have feminist theories about women and gender shaped economic development discourses? In exploring these issues this graduate seminar will eschew the divide between theory and praxis that plagues development literature
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IDCE 355 - Epidemiology and Biostatistics
This course will explore current issues in global health from a multidisciplinary perspective, with emphasis on the tools of epidemiology. At a time of immense global changes, we will examine the changing spatial and temporal patterns of disease in developing and industrialized countries; the major social, demographic, and environmental determinants of health and health disparities; and public-health approaches to global health problems at the population level. The course will prepare you to use the scientific and medical literature to research public-health problems; integrate a range of disciplinary perspectives on health; and analyze public-health problems from a population perspective. The course has a seminar format with class discussion and student presentations. Case studies will include problems related to environmental health, such as air pollution and respiratory conditions; infectious diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS; and chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 357 - Sex and development: the intersection of sexuality, morality, and modernity
This course explores historical and contemporary efforts to regulate sex, birth, death, and fertility as part of ideas about moving towards modernity, progress, and building healthy, stable, moral and productive societies. Drawing on approaches ranging from demography to anthropology and global health, we will explore the theoretical conceptualization of sex, sexuality, fertility, mortality, morbidity, and population growth and examine large and small scale attempts to control and alter sexual behavior and demographic patterns in different societies.
Prerequisites: ID120
ID125 or
ID121
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IDCE 358 - Advanced Topics: Policy Analysis
Development and the environment are linked by concepts such as sustainability, vulnerability, and most recently, resilience. How development and the environment come together around these concepts depends on the issue at hand - whether climate change adaptation or mitigation, conservation, or natural resource governance. Further, this intersection depends on who we are talking about - their gender, age, social rank, livelihoods, religion, etc. This course will span the academic literature, policy documents, and donor guidance frameworks to help us understand what sustainability, vulnerability and resilience reveal and obscure for contemporary development in the anthropocene. May be repeatable for credit.
FALL 2018 TOPIC- Section 1: Policy Analysis
Nonprofit and public affairs professionals are faced with finding viable solutions to increasingly complex public problems-from raising revenue to fix congested roadways to reducing poverty. To do so they rely on policy analysts to investigate problems, formulate solutions, forecast outcomes, and choose between competing policy proposals. This course introduces students to the major institutions and processes involved in the development and implementation of public policy in the United States. We will examine why some problems reach the public agenda, why some solutions are adopted and others rejected, and why some policies appear to succeed while others appear to fail. The course will also explore a selection of current issues in American public policy that can impact the work of nonprofit and public affairs professionals such as criminal justice, social welfare, immigration, education, health, and the environment. This course is designed to strengthen students’ problem-solving, analytic, and research skills in defining and crafting solutions to public problems.
FALL 2018 TOPIC- Section 2: Education and Youth in a Global Context
The human population is younger today than ever before. At the same time, education is seen as the most influential source of socialization for youth to become citizens, workers and change agents. This course, “Education and Youth in a Global Context,” is a graduate and upper level undergraduate (juniors and seniors) seminar that explores the natural synergies of youth and education from a global perspective. We will analyze the intersection of education and youth in thematic areas such as: self-discovery, identity and belonging; jobs and livelihood; vulnerability of youth; and the ways in which youth are viewed with suspicion and hope. Additionally, while acknowledging the virtues of education in youth, we also critically deconstruct how education and schooling can exacerbate some of the very conditions that challenge youth development. Consequently, we examine youth and education/schooling in the context of areas such as gender and sexuality, equity and equality, and justice in its various forms. While we use these themes as analytical frames for youth and education globally, the course also engages with their place-based and context-specific relevance.
The course aims to foster a critical and reflexive understanding of some of the most important themes and issues that emerge at the nexus of education, youth and social change by examining global educational interventions for youth. We will also engage with the impact of youth on the concept and practice of education in the context of community and global social change. The course aims to integrate practical field-based experience with classroom-based learning. Such practical experiences may take place through opportunities in Worcester and/or internationally (possibly Jamaica, Haiti or South Africa).
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 360 - Development Theory
An interdisciplinary graduate seminar which provides a critical overview of classical and contemporary theories of development by introducing students to writings on development across many disciplines (political economy, anthropology, geography, sociology, feminist theory). The seminar encourages students to think historically, politically and analytically about the multiplicity of development processes and the complex relations of power that underlie them.
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IDCE 361 - Development Program and Project Management
This course is an introduction to the professional field of development management. Over the semester, we will explore patterns of success and failure; obstacles to and possibilities for effective, project-induced change; intended and unintended effects of intervention; and the challenge of sustainability. The course methodology emphasizes case studies, action learning, and group participation and encourages students to take an active part in the course through project teams, discussions, working groups, and role-playing sessions. We begin the course with discussions of the political and institutional contexts of development management and strategic planning. The second part of the course carries us through the project cycle, including: participatory project identification; needs assessment and planning; construction of logical frameworks; professional communication and proposal writing; design of performance indicators; budgeting; and monitoring and evaluation. We then conclude with discussions of leadership and project implementation, then explore advocacy as an example of a non-project approach to social change.
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IDCE 362 - Energy System Transitions
This course explores energy systems, both the technological and social dimensions, with a focus on the potential for a low-carbon transition in electricity systems, transportation systems, and other energy systems (buildings, manufacturing, etc). The social structures and processes that reinforce and perpetuate fossil fuel reliance will be interrogated, as will the opportunities and challenges of alternatives. Fundamental tensions associated with systemic versus incremental change, centralized versus decentralized systems, and infrastructural lock-in versus flexibility will be explored through semester-long team projects in which students will contribute to existing, on-going, actual initiatives designed to advance energy system change. These projects will require students to learn through assessment of and engagement with non-academic “real-world” energy system transition initiatives.
Prerequisites:
EN 101 Environmental Science and Policy: Introductory Case Studies
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 364 - Educational Policy Issues in “Developing” Countries: Governance, Management, and Financing
This course examines some of the most significant policy issues that “developing” countries grapple with in their efforts to improve the capacity of “human resources” to meet the assumed needs of the new knowledge economy. The course focuses on key policy issues in a variety of national settings in the areas of governance, management, and financing of education. It examines the basic socio-economic needs and conditions that drive educational policy in “developing” countries, the practical and ideological considerations that influence policy responses, and the results and implications of various policy choices. While focusing on these broader issues, we explore the role of different stakeholders, including the state, local, regional and international organizations, and citizens in these policy debates and practices. Additionally, we will critically examine globalization’s impact on educational policy, particularly its ideological influence on the financial and management arrangements for the provision of education.
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IDCE 366 - Principles of Negotiation and Mediation: An Overview of Conflict Resolution Approaches
This skills-based course offers an overview of the principles of conflict management that can be applied internationally as well as interpersonally. A general framework for the understanding of conflict is presented that Includes: power-, needs-, interest-, and relationship-based conceptualizations of conflict management. Gives students a theoretical as well as practical experience of working effectively in conflict contexts. It explores some of the psychological obstacles that impede the resolution and implementation process and engages in a number of experiential exercises that help the student develop the wide range of skills needed to transform conflict relationships.
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IDCE 370 - Emerging Scientific Worldviews and Global Sustainability
In this course, alternative scientific worldviews are considered as potential means of reconciling the destructive relationship between modern civilization and the Earth, and the rift in modern science between matter and spirit. Our basis is a critical and creative exploration of the literature, supplemented by numerous video screenings, guest lectures and intellectually stimulating discussions. We will begin by critically examining defining characteristics of the dominating scientific view of the Earth and universe and themes such as modernism, materialism, reductionism and duality. We will explore how these attributes are influencing scientific conduct, government policy and human behavior, and consider various limitations and flaws of this worldview from the perspective of contemporary sustainability and social challenges. Emerging and alternative scientific paradigms are then examined from diverse fields such as ecology, biology, quantum physics, neuroscience and life sciences. Other alternative worldviews scrutinized include Gaia theory, non-duality and the unified field, in addition to indigenous worldviews and spirituality. Insights from these diverse areas of inquiry are meshed together to propose an alternative view of humanity, the Earth and universe based on principles such as consciousness, oneness, non-duality, interconnectedness and holism. It will be argued that this could provide the necessary human intelligence to guide society towards sustainability and unprecedented human development throughout this century. The practical and policy implications of this emerging vision of reality will also be thoroughly explored in relation to diverse areas such as climate change, environmental management, international politics, human and economic development, health and agriculture.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 376 - Spatial Database Development
Spatial database development, a key component of GIS project management, focuses on the organization of location-based data. Participants will learn database development best practices, data collection and standardization, and how to apply topological rules to a database. Throughout the course, students will work on final database projects which will build skills required in professional GIS positions, with an emphasis on collaboration and real-world applications of data.
Prerequisites: P=IDCE 310
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IDCE 377 - Approaches to Global Health
Global health examines the impacts of structural inequalities on the health of populations and suggests ways to ease the burdens of disease and premature death. Students in this course will gain familiarity with the history, politics, and possibilities of global health as a discipline of study, professional field, and vibrant arena of activism and social change. Central to the discipline are the principles of cultural sovereignty and self-determination. We will center solutions arising from the global South as we interrogate the political and ethical dimensions of the changing roles of the global health professional.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annual
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IDCE 381 - Critical Cartographies: Mapping Culture, History, and Power
This interdisciplinary seminar explores the political and cultural effects of cartographic projects in different colonial and post-colonial settings. The first half of the course focuses on the role map-making technologies have played in these projects, while the second half directs attention on a series of case-studies. These include: state formation, the management of mobile populations, the creation of political forests, and the re-territoralization of sovereignty following the neo-liberal turn, among others.
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IDCE 382 - U.S. Environmental Pollution Policy
In this course, we study approaches to regulating pollutants in air, water, and land in the United States. The course will provide an in depth review of the process of environmental policymaking in the U.S., while exploring the pros and cons of different regulatory approaches. The course has four primary objectives: (1) examining the trades-offs inherent in crafting pollution policy; (2) the role of science in the policy making process; (3) the different approaches used to motivate various societal players to act in ways that minimize the release of environmental pollutants; and (4) business perspectives on environmental policy and risks. The course draws on a wide range of academic and professional materials, including economic theories, political science, environmental law and policy, and technical/scientific information.
The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act are two of the major environmental statues in the United States, which we will explore as part of the course. Each law has spurned a wide range of regulations and standards, which have been shaped and modified by subsequent legal decisions, new scientific data, and changing administrations. We study these laws by studying their key provisions and the resulting regulations, and by analyzing their implementation in specific cases. The following key questions are addressed: At what point in the pollution generation process to intervene? What type of intervention to take? What societal issues to consider in the regulatory decision? At what level of government to regulate? How to apportion the responsibilities among different levels of government? What scientific data to use and what analytical methods to apply? How to motivate polluters to comply with the regulations?
In addition to these major media-based statutes, we will also focus on emerging environmental issues, including the environmental risks and debate surrounding the expanded role of “fracking” in oil and natural gas production in the United States, and the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Because of the advanced and ever-changing nature of the material for this course the readings are taken from many sources: excerpts from books, published articles, the web, the Federal Register, internal reports from research organizations, and so on. In addition, students perform independent research on specific topics, especially recent relevant case studies.
The course has a seminar format. Students have regular writing assignments, give presentations in class, and are expected to actively participate in class discussions. Attendance is mandatory except for well justified personal hardship cases. In addition to the weekly seminars, the course will include a seminar on environmental databases, data manipulation, and data presentation. The seminar will include instruction on some of the advanced functions and features of Microsoft Excel.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 383 - Cultures in Exile
This course explores both the concept and context of exile in the contemporary world from the perspective of those who experience it, create cultural artefacts about those experiences, and contribute to transformations—small and large—of the communities and cultures that define their identity in exile. While we will draw on social science analyses of exile, home, belonging, diaspora, transnationalism, and so forth, special emphasis will be given to narratives exploring these concepts created by exiles themselves.
Prerequisites: A Qualitative Research Methods class, such as:
IDCE 30285 - Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
IDCE 30283 - Qualitative & Quantitative Research Methods: Intermediate
IDCE 30290 - Participatory Research Methods
IDCE 30291 - Qualitative Research Design and Methods
PSYC 306 - Qualitative/Interpretive Methods
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall
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IDCE 387 - Workforce Development and Urban/Regional Employment
Needless to say, in the knowledge-based society the race to achieve higher levels of development and productivity has become very much one of expanding the human capital base of societies and countries. Thomas Piketty in his book Capital in the 21st Century has called it the “rising human capital hypothesis”. In the same book, however, he also poses a very provoking question: “Has the apparently growing importance of human capital over the course history been an illusion?” This question is extremely relevant, especially when we hear and see all kinds of ways in which we destroy or waste “human capital”. Workforce development encompasses a variety of employer-based, place-based, and people-based policies, strategies and programs to boost the employability, skill base and education of workers, improve the matching of workers and employers in labor markets, increase the competitiveness of industrial sectors, urban areas and regions, and to address multiple kinds of labor market dislocations resulting from enterprise restructuring, deindustrialization, technological modernization, and occupational obsolescence. This course examines, first, basic theories about the functioning of labor markets (neoclassical, human capital, segmentation/dual labor markets) and the structural forces behind the deterioration of jobs, such as the growth in low-wage employment, globalization, declining quality of jobs, unemployment, and labor market deregulation. Secondly, the course examines the workforce development regulation of the USA, the variety of workforce development strategies and programs (adult education, employability programs, work-first, sectorial/cluster-based, career-ladders, etc.), and the role of various actors (government, community colleges, labor market intermediaries, unions, networks) in the formation and implementation of such programs. Also, we ask about the evidence on the performance of programs under the various approaches. Thirdly, we examine the specificity of programs to support a variety workers (youth, women, immigrants, low-wage workers, incumbent workers) overcome various kinds of labor market disadvantage. Finally, the course explores the connection between workforce development policies and community/regional economic development, especially in small and midsize cities and their regional context: industrial cluster development, the emerging green economy, and the new agriculture, uses of leading edge technologies in the food industry. The course relies mainly on material from the US and Western Europe, but with applicability to other regions of the world.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varies
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IDCE 388 - Advanced Vector GIS
This course builds upon the concepts of GIS introduced in Introduction to GIS, and focuses on the more advanced analytical vector GIS tools. Topics include exploratory spatial data analysis, spatial statistics, interpolation techniques, 3D data presentation and analysis, network analysis and multi-criteria decision making. Hands-on laboratory exercises illustrate GIS applications in natural resource management, global change, environmental justice, urban and environmental planning, public health, and census data analysis. Students work individually and in groups to develop solutions to a weekly spatial problem, using ArcGIS or GeoDa software. Final project is required. Knowledge of basic statistics is useful. This is a prerequisite for the 5th year masters program and is a requirement for the GISDE masters program.
Prerequisites: GEOG 190 /GEOG 390 /IDCE 310 .
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 390 - CDP Research Seminar
The general objective of the seminar is to engage students of the CDP Program (Accelerated MAs and 2-year MAs) in the process of defining, preparing, and shaping their final projects in order to meet the requirements of the CDP Program. Students will prepare proposals for one of the three possible kinds of projects they can choose to complete the CDP Program: (1) Research paper; (2) Practitioner Project or (3) Thesis. These projects have distinctive characteristics because they require approaching problem definition, research and practice in no equal terms. The seminar discusses some of these differences. However, more specifically, the seminar focuses on producing a good navigational chart for your project, a fluid proposal for a doable (and meaningful) project. The seminar starts with a “self-interview” about “what-do-you-want-to-do.” Then, it continues into crafting a proposal with a defined question, an applied problem, or a hypothesis; a working bibliography; and a methodological section.
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IDCE 391 - GISDE Professional Seminar
Required for M.A. in Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment. The seminar is restricted to GISDE M.A. students and focuses on applications of GIS and formulation of the research proposal. Examines applications of GIS to environment and development.
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IDCE 395 - Culture, Environment, and Development
This course/seminar explores a wide variety of themes at the intersection of culture, development and contemporary environmental problems. The course/seminar is built on two key premises: first, humans are part of nature as each society exists within the natural world, and second, environmental problems are social problems as they concern human relations with the natural world and the politics of resource access, use and control. We investigate these issues through an examination of infrastructure development, resilience, and agricultural knowledge and technology innovation. Students are involved in setting some of our collective learning objectives and learning assessment tools. UG Capstone eligible seminar; fulfills IDCE Conservation and Development & Gender and Identity concentrations.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Varies
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IDCE 397 - Master’s Thesis
Master’s degree candidates may register while working on research for their thesis or published paper.
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IDCE 398 - Internship
Academic experience taking place in the field with an opportunity to earn credit.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor needed.
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IDCE 399 - Directed Study
Students construct an independent study course on a topic approved and directed by a faculty member. Offered for variable credit.
Anticipated Terms Offered: every
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IDCE 30101 - The Political Economy of Food and the Ethics of Eating
Is it possible to eat in an ethical fashion in world with more than seven billion people? What would this entail? And what are the likely consequences of our choices upon others as well as the environment?
This course examines the evolving political-economy and ethics of food production, distribution, and consumption and its effects upon our ecosystems, animal welfare, worker safety, consumer health, and cultural identities. Course readings introduce different theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches to the study of what we eat. They range from: historical accounts to food exposés and detailed empirical studies to forecasts of what we will eat in the future. All of them are provocative and they provide us with the opportunity to develop critical perspectives on the following:
1)The development of a global food system and the industrial techniques used to sustain it: confinement livestock operations, genetic homogenization, fisheries and aquaculture, and (trans-) national supply chain management;
2)Contemporary debates over food safety: genetically modified organisms, oversight mechanisms, regulatory regimes, famine prevention and humanitarian relief;
3)The possibilities and limits of ethical alternatives: organics, locavore, fair trade, biotech, and food sovereignty.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall
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IDCE 30102 - Case Studies in Environmental Issues and Policy Analysis
Many environmental policy issues are considered “messy” problems. These types of complex problems are characterized by scientific uncertainty, difficulty making progress on one dimension without trading off progress on another, and differences in underlying values leading to very different decisions. Examples include evaluating the risks and benefits of new chemicals, managing the multiple uses of natural resources, and using nuclear energy for climate mitigation policy. Through a series of case studies, this course will introduce students to a range of approaches for structuring and analyzing complex environmental problems, including decision-tree analysis, value of information, benefit-cost analysis and benefit-risk analysis, multi-attribute analysis, data synthesis techniques, and uncertainty analysis. Students will gain a working knowledge of these methods and the strengths and limitation of the different approaches, be able to construct simple models using DecisionTools software, and communicate the results and uncertainties to decision-makers.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 30103 - Networks and Analytics of Development
This course introduces students to advanced analysis of data related to development and interpretation and communication of quantitative data. We begin with an overview of theoretical approaches to data analysis, explore their use, and guide students in applying them to individual projects. We will learn ways of organizing, analyzing, visualizing, and presenting data from publicly available national and international databases. The first half of the semester will include quantitative analytics, visualization, and presentation of health-related data. The second half of the semester will consist of ways of researching mobile, hidden, and vulnerable populations using social network analysis. Social network analysis, not to be confused with social networking, is a specialized methodology that examines the patterns of relationships among individuals, community, countries, etc. to identify who the most important people are in a network, who has the most influence or social capital, sub-groups, and if time permits, “hidden or shadow networks”. SNA can also be used to evaluate collaboration, coalition, and partnership networks.
This course will assume that students will have basic information/quantitative literacy and are not intimidated by data and numbers.
Classroom sessions include lectures, discussions, and lab sessions. Course open to IDCE graduate students; ID seniors or ADP students with previous analytics experience. If space permits, graduate students from other departments may request permission to enroll in the class.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Spring 2017
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IDCE 30104 - Citizen Engagement in Urban Design
The course will expose students to the tools and techniques needed to enhance citizen engagement in urban design, urban revitalization, urban environmental preservation, and public space management and restoration. Course draws from domestic and international case studies.
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IDCE 30106 - Political Economy of Urban and Regional Revitalization
We demand quite a bit of our regional economies: we want them to grow and to provide jobs; we want those jobs to provide a living wage. We want the private enterprises that comprise the urban and regional economies to earn enough profit or generate enough revenue to make significant contributions to workers’ health care and pensions, on the one hand, and to public budgets in order to fund a range of public goods including schools, roads, and environmental stewardship, on the other. In short, we care about the functioning of the urban and regional economy, the outputs of that economy, and the distribution of those outputs. Some metropolitan regions are on an upward trajectory on the “bundle of these indicators” (i.e., providing sufficient jobs at living wages in the context of a metropolitan regional economy where a high quality of life is widely enjoyed). Others, however, are not. This course will take a political economy approach to examining proposals for inventions that are aimed at significantly altering metropolitan regional trajectories.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30107 - Development, Urban Refugees and Forced Migrants
This course seeks to understand the experiences of urban refugees and forced migrants from a range of countries of origin and living in a number of cities, and how humanitarian actors, municipal authorities, and other actors incorporate these populations into urban planning and development initiatives. According to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), over 60 per cent of the world’s refugees and 80 per cent of those displaced within their countries of origin live in urban environments. The UNHCR and its humanitarian partners now recognize that cities must play a key role in hosting refugees given the limitation and shrinking hopes of voluntary return to a peaceful country of origin for large numbers of refugees. This course considers a number of questions, including: What do we know about the lived experiences of urban refugees? How can we maximize the potential of urban refugees? What livelihood options allow urban refugees to cope with their displacement? Does a strategic focus on urban refugees contribute to a shift in the discourse of migration-related development? Coursework is comprised of readings, discussion, and a final project of the student’s choice.
Corequisites:
Course Designation/Attribute: No
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually Online
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IDCE 30108 - Research Methods for Forced Migration: Hidden, Vulnerable, and Mobile People
This 7-week module provides an introduction to research methods in conducting research, both qualitative and quantitative, with hidden, vulnerable, and mobile people. The module introduces the main theories and research approaches on hard-to-reach, excluded, and mobile populations using different frameworks and techniques. It is designed to complement existing research design, qualitative and quantitative methods courses by providing tools to address key issues such as the lack of a known sample frame; difficulties in accessing research participants, and working with mobile networks of people across geographic space. The module explores topics such as: estimation and sampling techniques; participatory research; respondent-driven sampling (RSD), social network analysis; crowdsourcing and the use of technology in researching multi-sited populations; and ethical considerations arising when conducting research with hidden, vulnerable and mobile people.
Prerequisites:
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 30109 - Introduction to Epidemiology and Biostastistics
In contrast to clinical medicine, which traditionally has focused on health in individuals, epidemiology investigates the distribution and determinants of health at the population level. Social epidemiology tries to understand how social and economic factors influence population health and contribute to disparities in health. Biostatistics provides the analytical tools needed to understand and critically evaluate, interpret, and communicate findings from epidemiological research. This course will cover basic principles of epidemiology and biostatistics and the use of epidemiological methods to study the associations between exposures and the risk of disease. We will also investigate how social and economic factors influence exposures, particularly among susceptible populations-and how epidemiologists and biostatisticians study and communicate these interactions.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 30110 - Social Policy: Qualitative methods for design and analysis
This course will prepare students to conduct qualitative research that informs the design and analysis of social policies related to poverty and inequality. It will explore how qualitative research methods are utilized to advance the field’s understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality, and how this kind of policy research can inform the development of policy alternatives. Research techniques to be covered in the course include: question formulation; semi-structured interviews; focus groups; participant observation and field methods; case study research; and participatory action and community-based research. The semester will also include case profiles of how qualitative research can influence policy makers.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 30112 - Housing Policy and Practice
People’s ability to secure safe, affordable housing is essential to building community and thriving economically. Yet in many places, this goal remains elusive. This master’s level course delves into the history, policy, and development practices that shape housing production today. The course work focuses on the practical application of housing development, including how national and local housing development polices and planning shape neighborhoods. Through this work, students will develop a critical introduction to the field of housing development with a focus on equity as a framework for planners and community developers.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 30117 - Place-Based Ecological Knowledge
The complex challenges of the 21st century require transdisciplinary collaborations that integrate different ways of knowing our environment. This course explores the diverse knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and others who live in close relation to land, such as smallholder farmers, herders, hunters, fishers, and gatherers. We begin by examining theories of ecological knowledge developed by anthropologists, human ecologists, and ethnobiologists, including the work of Indigenous scholars. Next, we demonstrate research methods used to engage place-based ecological knowledge, focusing on participatory research in which communities are involved in research design, data collection, interpretation and validation. In the last part of the course, we will consider how place-based and scientific ecological knowledge can work together to address ecological challenges, including wildlife management, food production, and adaptation to climate change. Graduate students taking the course will work in teams to conduct research in local communities, develop a short publication to be shared with community partners, and present their findings to the class.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually- Spring
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IDCE 30118 - Science meets Policy in the Real World
Despite the wicked problems of our 21st century, the role of science in shaping environmental policy and practices is increasingly uncertain. What science and knowledge matter? What are the policy alternatives and implications? Who is affected by policy and what role might they play? The goal of this course is to engage the complexities at the science-policy interface, learn how to describe and navigate them, and find ways to innovate relations between science and policy. We will begin with foundational literature to develop an integrative framework for analysis of science-policy relations in domestic and international contexts. Most of the semester will be devoted to three case studies, including: 1) international efforts to address global climate change (incl. Kyoto and Paris accords); 2) storage of spent nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada; and 3) the Second Green Revolution in Africa and the future of agrobiodiversity. Each case exposes students to the messiness of real-world issues, including the challenges of problem formulation, knowledge gaps and uncertainties, limits of technical capacity, and scientific vs. non-scientific influences. Students will take on the roles of government agencies, civil society organizations, and private sector institutions as they engage each other in discussion and debate. The course will culminate in a synthetic analysis of the three cases that considers how to transform science-policy relations into a more effective process with desirable outcomes.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually- Spring
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IDCE 30120 - Analytics & Visualization for Development
This course introduces students to advanced analysis and visualization of quantitative data related to development. We begin with an overview of theoretical approaches to data analysis, explore their use, and guide students in applying them to individual projects. We will learn ways of locating, cleaning/wrangling, organizing, analyzing, visualizing, and presenting data from publicly available national and international databases. The first half of the semester will include quantitative analytics, visualization, and presentation of health-related data.
This course will merely give you a taste of what data analysis is about, and how you can use it to make effective and well-thought-out decisions. We will not, unfortunately, dig too deeply into analytics (although that would be tons of fun!), but by the end you will be comfortable enough with the process of analyzing and visualizing data that you might want to pursue it further on your own.
No prior statistical knowledge will be assumed. However, a familiarity with using Excel is essential for success in the course. For those who are not very familiar with Microsoft Excel, they will be required to complete an online (free) training course in the first two weeks of the course. Success in the course will largely depend on students’ curiosity and not being afraid to look at the world through a different analytic lens.
Classroom sessions include lectures, discussions, and technical sessions.
Course open to IDCE graduate students; ID seniors or ADP students with previous analytics experience. If space permits, graduate students from other departments may request permission to enroll in the class.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Bi-Annually
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IDCE 30184 - Gender Analysis of Power and Conflict
Explores the experiences of women and men in armed conflict and in the time just after conflict. We investigate dynamics of masculinities and femininities and their power consequences. We look at how diverse local and international actors roll back or exacerbate gendered inequities and violence.
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IDCE 30185 - Sustainability and the Role of Higher Education
Sustainability and the Role of Higher Education Course. This course explores both the theory and practice of sustainability and sustainable development by examining the role of higher education in promoting change toward sustainability. The societal role of higher education involves more than providing formal course instruction for enrolled students; institutions of higher education are also critical places of discovery and innovation, centers for political discourse, and catalysts for political action and social change. This course explores the unique potential that institutions of higher education have to contribute to a sustainability transition. The focus on the university provides a lens for examining how organizations with complex structures make a myriad of decisions with environmental consequences, a context for considering the broad role of education in sustainable development, and a framework and perspective with direct and personal connections for us consider the challenges of promoting sustainability. In addition to reading and writing about the challenges of sustainability and the role of the university in promoting sustainable practices in society, we will engage directly with the challenges associated with promoting sustainable behavior and fostering institutional and social change through team projects right here in the Clark and Worcester communities. Graduate students enrolled in this course should be prepared to take on a leadership role with an associated team of undergraduate students.
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IDCE 30186 - Social Enterprise Practicum
This course involves the operation and organizational development of a 501c3 nonprofit corporation, the Community Development Training Institute (CDTI). The organization is transitioning from historic (1984) to a new governance structure–a student-run and inspired nonprofit, operated by graduate students and alumni at Clark University. The hope is to create a solid base in professional skill areas, to develop relationship networks and begin formulating training and consultancy resources to use in the future. The goal is use CDTI as an institutional base where we can promote mainstream classic and alternative community development tools and implementation strategies. In the process, students seek to shift community development discourse and practice by employing socially and ecologically transformative processes and practices. This will be accomplished by offering consultancy services and offering our innovative skills and ideas to clients. Some of this will be fee based and pro bono. Additionally, we will be promoting alternative tools and strategies by developing training programs for interested community organizations. The students will be responsible for the successful and ongoing operations of CDTI. During the ‘credit period’ with CDTI, students will learn about social enterprise governance which will prepare them for possible board membership after the credit period. During the credit period, students will provide staffing capabilities and consultancy to the CDTI student board. Board membership is solely by invitation only, extended after demonstration of capabilities, post-credit period time commitment, interest, and team-work propensities.
A component of the work will also be grounded in theory with academic elements; namely, exploring state of the art community development strategies, social enterprise and implementation accompanied by corresponding literature and research.
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IDCE 30196 - Special Topics in Community and Global Health
This course is meant to engage in deeper conversations about different topics related to Community and Global Health (GCH). The course will be in a seminar format.
The topics covered range from methods, to theories, to applications from GCH emerging scholarship. May be repeatable for credit.
FALL 2018 TOPIC: Community and Global Health
This course will examine a number of key theories that have been used in health promotion globally (e.g., health belief, stages of change, PRECEDE-PROCEED and social-ecological models, among others). We will draw on real-world examples to explore the strengths and weaknesses of these various approaches. Additionally, students will be introduced to detailed case studies of specific health “interventions”, and will explore why some interventions succeed and others fail. Case studies will largely be drawn from the Global South and will focus, among others, on infectious disease control programs (e.g., TB, malaria), reproductive health (e.g., maternal health), sexual health (e.g., sexually transmitted infections) and child health (e.g., immunization campaigns). The course will discuss these issues from a multi-disciplinary lens that encompasses anthropological, feminist, global health and public health perspectives.
Course Designation/Attribute: No
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 30203 - Program Evaluation for Youth and Community Development Initiatives
This course provides students with skills required to apply research methods to the assessment of youth and community development programs. By gaining exposure to the various types of program evaluation (e.g. process evaluation, impact evaluation, empowerment evaluation, etc.), analyzing evaluation case studies, and working on an actual evaluation of a program. Students will leave this class with an understanding of the importance of and challenges involved in conducting high quality program evaluations. Students will gain enough skill to assist in the development and implementation of evaluations.
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IDCE 30204 - Advanced Community Development Finance and Research
This Masters or PhD level course is designed for students who demonstrate competence in real estate or business finance and/or have successfully completed an introductory course ‘Community Development Finance’. An expansion of a basic Community Development Finance course, this course includes advanced lectures on financial feasibility sensitivity; market analysis; real estate appraisal; the RFP process; project mediation & implementation; construction contract negotiation; tax increment financing & bonding; loan guarantees; tax credits; brownfield financing and other complex public & private finance partnership concepts/programs/issues. Students are expected to be knowledgeable of debt and equity underwriting techniques and rationale. They also are required to have the ability to construct an Excel spreadsheet. A two hour introductory course ‘Community Development Finance’ DVD, produced by the instructor, is available to assist in ascertaining potential students’ competence for this level of study. Alternates every other year, in spring, with Advance Community Development and Planning Policy—Advanced/Long Term; ½ unit, in 2nd module;
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IDCE 30205 - Climate Change, Energy and Development
This course explores climate change, energy and development from multiple perspectives, disciplines and scales. Fusing perspectives from both the natural and social sciences, this interdisciplinary course will grapple with diverse themes and issues at the intersection of environmental science and policy. Climate change related topics deal with the evolving science of climate change, current observations, extreme weather and long term impacts, in addition to climate ethics and international climate governance. Our analysis of climate change will also include an examination of geoengineering, carbon capture and storage and the phenomenon of climate denial. Energy related themes deal with renewable energy (wind and solar), gas fracking, methane hydrates and an examination of the pros and cons of nuclear energy. Development dimensions then deal with human dimensions of climate change and energy challenges and address ethical and economic perspectives, diet and food and human security. This is a graduate level course, required for all Environmental Science and Policy (ES&P) graduate students.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 30209 - Research Project Development for Environmental Science and Policy
This course provides students with perspective on and skills in developing and managing research projects at the nexus of environmental science, technology, and policy. This course aims to: 1) guide students’ understanding of the research process, its principles, approaches, and challenges; 2) introduce some specific research methods and techniques (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed); and 3) engage students with their own individual research process. In addition, the course will provide a forum for focused discussions related to professional development for emerging careers in environmental science and policy. This course may be repeatable for credit.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually
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IDCE 30213 - Master’s Final Research Paper
A year long seminar for second-year IDCE master’s degree students writing their final research paper.
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IDCE 30216 - Sustainable Fisheries Management
This course explores the complexities of marine and freshwater fisheries and aquaculture, including basic fish science and monitoring, policy and regulation. The emphasis is on vulnerable fish stocks under international multilateral treaties and policies. A range of scales and perspectives will be used: small-scale fisheries and communities; international fisheries and the Law of the High Seas; and aquaculture including shell fish, shrimp and salmon. Students will use case studies from specific fish treaties as the basis for team research on sustainable fisheries science and policy. The course is highly interdisciplinary and deals with national and international controversial topics such as fish science and monitoring, marine sanctuaries and IUU (illegal, un-flagged and unregulated) fisheries.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30217 - Economic Fundamentals for International Development
This course is primarily intended for students entering the IDCE masters program. Its objectives are to introduce economic history, as well as microeconomics and macroeconomics to the noneconomist, while illustrating practical applications of these techniques in real-world situations. A flexible seminar format is used, in recognition of the diverse backgrounds and perspectives that students bring to this class.
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IDCE 30218 - Community Development Decision Making & Negotiations
This graduate level course will integrate negotiations with the process of making strategic decisions. The field of community development is practiced at all levels (e.g., manager, technician, project director, and support staff) and at all venues (e.g., government, and non-profit/for profit). Success in the community demands compromise and solution fitting for both basic and complex situations. Very often issue resolution involves two or more competing parties with disagreements over ultimate goals. Achieving a “win-win” scenario is an objective of competent negotiators. Students will learn the skill of negotiations, including the importance of information, the value of time and negotiated ‘position’ planning and execution.
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IDCE 30221 - Education and Development
Education (formal, non-formal and informal) has played a strategic role in shaping society over the past century, and continues to inform development at the community, national and international levels. This course examines the historical evolution of education and explores its continued local and global relationship to the process of international and community development.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30222 - Advanced Topics in Development Theory
Advanced Topics in Development Theory. This seminar provides students with an opportunity to engage in an in-depth study of some classical theorists of modernity and development. It aims to establish firm theoretical and textual foundations for the future study of politics, economics, culture and social relations related to “third world development.” Topics vary. May be repeatable for credit.
Spring 2019 topic: DISPLACEMENT AND REPRESENTATION: ART, ADVOCACY, AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
The movement of people is depicted in many forms and for many purposes. Often used to inform or influence, the stories and portrayals of displaced people have become common topics in everything from news broadcasts and documentaries to museum exhibits, social protest art, and avant-garde performances. Moreover, art and visual mediums produced by displaced people have become important means of countering stereotypes, supporting humanitarian projects, aiding community formation and providing therapeutic expression for individuals.
In this class we will focus on the representation of displaced people and visualization of displacement more generally in a variety of creative and informative formats. We will take a broad view of displacement comparing and contrasting the experiences forced migration, homelessness, refugeeism, and restrictive immigration processes. We will pair these experiences with particular visual forms: documentary film, ethnographic photography, protest performance art, and therapeutic graphic arts. Students will engage with theory and case studies as well as produce their own visual project centered on representing the experiences of displaced people.
Anticipated Terms Offered: typically in the spring
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IDCE 30225 - Grant Writing for Community Developers
Students go through a step-by-step process to gain fundamental grant research and writing skills. Writing problem statements, goals and objectives statements, program activities, evaluation templates, and logic models are covered. Students learn about public and private funding sources. The end product of this seven-week module is a completed grant proposal for an organization of the student’s choosing.
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IDCE 30229 - Program Monitoring and Evaluation
This course examines the evolution of the range of paradigms, methodologies, and methods of program and project monitoring and evaluation. It focuses on qualitative, participatory, and empowering approaches and helps students develop the range of practical skills and tools necessary for developing and conducting program evaluation. The course emphasizes the iterative action and reflection cycles of conceptualizing, planning, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, utilizing, and communicating data. The course examines a range of evaluation methodologies including participatory evaluation, utilization-focused evaluation, empowerment evaluation, outcome and impact evaluation. Students will be required to work with a local or international agency/program in the development, implementation, and assessment of a monitoring and evaluation plan.
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IDCE 30231 - Humanitarian Assistances in Complex Emergencies/Disasters
Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (DCHE) have become increasingly common. Within the context of an emerging global political economy, effective delivery of humanitarian assistance has become complex and controversial. This course explores the theoretical and policy issues in DCHE with an emphasis on the roles of governmental and nongovernmental organizations in them. Drawing from a wide variety of case studies, this course will focus on the factors that shape risks and the vulnerability of affected populations and responses of government and NGOs. This course will provide students with comprehensive insights into the needs and policy challenges in DCHE situations and equip them with the awareness, understanding and skills that are essential for effective service in a humanitarian crisis. It will be particularly useful for those interested in working with international and governmental organizations as well as NGOs. This is a reading-intensive, interdisciplinary course designed for a range of backgrounds and experiences.
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IDCE 30235 - Trafficking: Globalization and Its Illicit Commodities
This course turns a critical eye towards the different cultural, political, and economic processes that make contemporary forms of “trafficking” possible. It examines these transnational processes from three different vantage points, each composing one part of the course as a whole. Part one will engage many of the key concepts that inform the existing literature on “trafficking” (e.g. commodification, shadow economies, transnational criminal networks, and regulatory authority) to explore both their assumptions and their limits. Special attention is focused on the ways scholars, policymakers, and activists have historically constructed trafficking as a “problem” either for analysis or action, and how the different legal and policy frameworks created to combat it have changed over recent decades. Part two examines the above concerns in greater detail through a series of case-studies on different forms of human trafficking, the global market for organs, genetic information, animal parts, and endangered species, among others. Part three will consider some of the opportunities and dilemmas (theoretical, methodological and ethical) such practices present for those who wish to study, to manage, or to advocate on behalf of those affected by different forms of trafficking.
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IDCE 30238 - Public Communication Seminar
This master’s level course introduces students to public presentation, professional writing, and record keeping skills as used in public and private planning practice and the community development field.
Gain experience verbally communicating professional objectives, research findings, and various viewpoints through improved public presentation skills in informal and formal settings. Obtain necessary tools for producing professional written documents and organized and accurate record keeping principles as it relates to the project management and public administration tasks of planners and community development practitioners. Students will also become familiar with strategies to avoid common communication pitfalls in the field. The class format is structured around various public speaking activities with opportunities for peer and instructor feedback as well short, focused technical writing tasks that reflect practicing planners’ typical assignments
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IDCE 30239 - Microfinance, Gender & Newliberalism
Today, micro-finance is the dominant policy in the poverty alleviation strategies world-wide. The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Mohammad Yunus, a leader in micro-finance in Bangladesh. Increasingly micro-finance is used as important instrument in development policies concerned with income generation, sustainable development, gender inequality, empowerment, reproductive health, education, good governance etc., Hence, the need to develop increasingly flexible, responsive and sustainable financial products constitutes perhaps the most compelling challenge facing in development interventions. This course will take an in-depth critical look at micro-finance from developmental, political economy and operational perspectives. It is based on case studies and analysis of microfinance models and experiences in different geographical regions in order to understand the strengths and weaknesses of micro-finance based financial intermediation in development. It will also examine the strategic planning, implementation and evaluation strategies of micro-finance projects. The purpose is to provide a sound theoretical and practical knowledge of micro-finance.
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IDCE 30240 - Community Development Planning Studio
The community planning studio is an applied, results-driven exercise typically required in planning (and architecture) graduate programs. The objective of the exercise is to place students in direct contact with a real-life planning scenario in an urban setting, working with real organizations and community stakeholders. The topic of the studio changes every year. Students tackle one common problem working in teams to address distinct dimensions of the task at hand. In previous years, students assessed the capacity of community-based organizations in Holyoke (MA) to pursue federal funding from the Dept. of Education, and provided support to a network of community-based organizations and Clark University to plan for the development of the Main South Promise Neighborhood Partnership, Worcester (MA). Depending on the nature of the project, students used a variety of research and local planning methods: surveys; strategic use of data; interviews; multi-media; economic analysis; needs assessments.
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IDCE 30241 - Environmental Toxicology
Focuses on the assessment of hazardous properties of toxic chemicals in the environment and on development of public-health policy. Covers the principles of absorption, distribution, excretion, and toxic action of chemicals on humans; animal testing; and human epidemiology. Also covers assessment of public-health risks on the basis of animal and human test results, development of standards for air and water contaminants, and uncertainty in regulating hazardous chemicals.
Prerequisites: One semester of organic chemistry or permission of the instructor.
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IDCE 30243 - Seeing Like a Humanitarian Agency
Since World War II, several different but overlapping regimes have emerged to help structure humanitarian responses to large-scale forms of displacement. In what ways do these evolving regimes enable humanitarian agencies to “see,” and in what ways does their particular field of vision differ from that of states, academics, policymakers and the displaced themselves? What kinds of blind-spots (theoretical, methodological, and ethical) inevitably result? This seminar will explore these questions from three different vantage points, each composing one part of the course as a whole. Part one will provide an overview of the literature and the main concepts of the course. Special attention is focused on the ways scholars and policymakers have historically constructed displacement as a “problem” either for analysis or action, and how these concerns have shifted over the past three decades. Part two will consist of ethnographic studies of humanitarian interventions in different geographic settings, which will highlight the relevance (and limits) of concepts and methods drawn from the social sciences, including anthropology. Part three will address some of the opportunities and dilemmas humanitarian emergencies present for those who wish to study or to manage them.
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IDCE 30245 - Natural Resource Management
Natural resource management is the planning and operation of ecosystem components and processes for human benefit. Management of natural resources can be approached from many sometimes conflicting perspectives such as exploitation versus conservation. The purpose of this course is to explore the science of natural resource management by examining the fundamental topics that include ecology, climatology, and economics; latest concepts and technology such as mathematical modeling and life cycle analysis; and policy and institutional frameworks such as planning and policy development.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30248 - Gender and Health
This course introduces students to social science perspectives on the intersection of gender and health. In the course we will examine theoretical approaches to gender and health, such as feminist and political economic perspectives, and explore historical and contemporary case studies that analyze particular dimensions of gender, health, and sexuality. We will explore health issues such as health disparities along lines of gender, race and class, the regulation of reproductive health by nation-states and the “development industry”, and political and social struggles for reproductive rights. We will also consider some dimensions of gender and occupational health, and contemporary health challenges such as gender violence and HIV/AIDS. These issues will be explored mainly in the context of developing countries with some cases drawn from the United States.
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IDCE 30250 - People and Places: Theories of Community Development and Planning
This course deepens students’ understanding of social, economic, and political forces that shape places. Students learn to critique assumptions, values, and methods of various approaches in order to more effectively apply them to actual cases. Topics covered include political economy of urban areas, race, social construction of space, and planning models and theories.
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IDCE 30253 - Sustainable Communities
Communities around the world are taking a lead role responding to sustainability challenges, including climate change, by pursuing various forms of sustainable communities which seek to re-imagine the relationship between human societies, the built environment, and ecological systems. This course will explore the different approaches to sustainable community development and it will interrogate the assumptions, philosophies, and economic models that underlie these different approaches. It will investigate the many dimensions of sustainability that are valued in lived communities, including ecological integrity, economic security, empowerment, responsibility, and social well-being, and it will consider the extent to which different approaches to sustainable communities support these goals. Case studies will be drawn from around the world.
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IDCE 30261 - Immigration and Knowledge-Driven Industries
Deepening economic and cultural globalization has transformed the dynamics of migration. In 1990, there were 120 million international migrants and by 2000 there were 180 million. Among the migrants we find both highly skilled and not so skilled ones. They move for numerous reasons, but undeniably the global demand for their labor and services (mainly in rich countries) is a fundamental one. For poor countries, the growing share of their skilled moving to and residing in rich countries (brain drain) represents a staggering loss, and the outflows may entrap countries into further pauperization. In the receiving countries, immigrants find employment in practically all segments of the labor market yet we see a strong bifurcation. Large numbers are going into the lower echelons of the labor market as menial service and manual laborers but also more educated immigrants are increasingly fitting into the upper echelons of the knowledge-based economy. In the receiving countries, we listen to arguments about critical occupational shortages, labor displacement and replacement, and competition between domestic and foreign born workers. In addition, we also hear stories of distorted incorporation, doctors from poor countries unable to practice in the receiving country because of certification problems, or mathematicians working as cab drivers because they lack language skills. With globalization, we are also witnessing the creation of transnational communities of professionals connected to global value chains, processes of offshoring, and the diffusion of know-how. This course will be divided into three sections. First, we will learn about general theories of migration, especially to explain global flows of labor with multiple kinds of human capital attributes (selectivity), and to understand the complex political economy of the current global distribution and circulation of talent, and regulatory regimes. Secondly, we will learn about the processes of incorporation that both professionals and proletarians experience in the labor market of receiving countries. We will address both supply-side factors (human capital, demography, entrepreneurship, etc.) and supply-side factors (economic restructuring, technology, industrial organization, geographic division of labor, deskilling, labor flexibility, internal labor markets, etc.) In this section, even though we will consider some material from the European experience, the emphasis will be on the incorporation of immigrants in three critical sectors of the US national and regional economies: high-tech, bio-tech and health. Finally, we will examine the workforce development practices and strategies needed to meet the current and future development needs of these industrial sectors, and how such strategies are considering the incorporation of foreign born workers (career ladders, sectorial strategies, public-private partnerships between “ed’s and med’s” and communities, labor market intermediaries, regional economic development strategies, workforce development networks, and transnational networks).
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30262 - Web Mapping and Open Source GIS
This course introduces core principles and procedures of spatial database development and open source GIS and internet mapping. This course emphasizes a hands-on learning approach to real-world problem solving. Several programming languages will be used simultaneously to gather, manipulate, and display spatial data on the web. Topics to be covered include spatial data representation, principles of open source database design and management, open source internet mapping, and online mapping applications development with spatial databases. All tools used by the course are free and open source, meaning they can be used, modified, and distributed without cost anywhere with an internet connection.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30264 - Environmental and Social Epidemiology
Epidemiology investigates the distribution and determinants of health at the population level, in contrast to medicine, which traditionally has focused on health in individuals. Social epidemiology tries to understand how social and economic factors influence population health and contribute to disparities in health. This course will cover basic principles of epidemiology and social epidemiology and the use of epidemiologic methods to study the associations between environmental exposures and the risk of disease. We will also investigate how social and economic factors influence environmental exposures, particularly among susceptible populations. Lectures, discussions, problem solving.
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IDCE 30272 - Environmental Justice in Latin America
Environment and Justice in Latin America From fishing communities along the Baja California coast, to indigenous organizations in the Peruvian Amazon, to citizen coalitions in the Argentine Patagonia, growing numbers of communities and groups are contesting development plans and projects considered to be socially, culturally and environmentally damaging. This seminar explores the intersection of environment, social justice, democracy and human rights debates in contemporary Latin America. We will examine the drivers of economic development in the region and link them to specific examples of socio environmental conflict emerging from extractive industry activity, large-scale infrastructure projects and energy development among others. We will examine how communities respond to such conflict and consider emerging initiatives that seek more inclusive and environmentally sustainable forms of development.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30275 - Gender in Development Planning
This mini-course explores the rationale for incorporating gender into development planning and analysis and builds knowledge, expertise and skills, which will enable course participants to integrate gender analysis into their various fields of academic and professional responsibility. We clarify approaches and identify tools for gender analysis in the context of participatory research, institutional change and community empowerment. We also explore methods of gender analysis for their usefulness to national policies and programs and for the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs and projects
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IDCE 30277 - Sustainable Consumption and Production
The increasingly unsustainable pressure on the Earth’s natural systems calls for radical changes in the way people in the industrialized and in the rapidly growing economies satisfy their appetite for goods and services. Some believe that innovation in technologies is our great hope, while others emphasize the need to change the consumption patterns of individuals and societies. Both necessitate changes in institutions, values, and social arrangements. This advanced seminar examines the role that changes in technology, institutions and culture might play in bringing about the necessary change toward more environmentally sustainable development. Four types of innovation are discussed: in the production process, in product design, in function delivery by way of products and services, and in a larger sociotechnical system. The course draws on theories of technological innovation, consumer behavior and institutionalism as well as empirical case studies from the United States, Europe and some developing countries. The course considers the key drivers of change, such as government policy, market forces, cultural norms, activities of mission-oriented organizations, social movements and others.
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IDCE 30281 - Community Needs and Resource Analysis
Community Needs and Resource Analysis students develop skills in identifying and analyzing community issues through community resources and first-hand community observations and contacts.
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IDCE 30282 - Community Based Health Research
This advanced IDCE course will provide students with an overview of community health through a “hands on” experience in conducting research in the field. A trans-disciplinary course, it will draw on and integrate the theoretical and methodological perspectives of fields including medical anthropology, community and population public health, and medicine. As part of a global health initiative within IDCE and in collaboration with UMASS Medical, it will be an advanced course that builds on methods and health courses across the department that use both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
In this course, students will work on an ongoing community-based health research project that uses social network analysis and storytelling to understand pregnancy-related advice sharing networks and to try to understand perinatal cultural practices and beliefs.
The project, “Networks of Informal Helpers in Perinatal Care Practices and Beliefs among Immigrant Women in Worcester, MA”, will use a mixed-methods cross-sectional design by integrating network surveys with semi-structured interviews with immigrants and refugees in Worcester. Since we are interested in the quality, intensity, and trust in information-sharing health networks, a mixed-methods approach will allow us to complement network structures with case-level ethnographic understanding of health-seeking behavior and decision-making related to health treatment.
The specific aims of the research project include:
- Use Social Network Analysis to understand the networks of information sharing about pregnancy in immigrant communities in Worcester, as well as identify the natural helpers who are most commonly referred to for pregnancy-related information.
- Enhance the capacity of local providers to convey culturally-appropriate health messaging to African-born patients, and to engage patients in primary care instead of free health clinics.
Over the course of the semester students will work in teams to design and conduct a study, using qualitative or quantitative approaches or mixed methods that combine the two. They will also develop a literature review to situate their work in the appropriate literature. Student teams will also be meeting with residents and faculty from the University of Massachusetts Medical School for debriefing. Each group will present their study to the class and team partners and also critique the study designs of the other project groups. Preliminary assignments include a research design, critiques of the research design and methods of recent journal articles, data collection, data analysis, and reporting on results.
This course requires a significant time commitment outside of class for the research in the community. It will also have a steep learning curve at the beginning for those not familiar with SNA.
Since this is an advanced course, students will be expected to be familiar with quantitative data analysis techniques (univariate and some bivariate) and be comfortable using data analysis tools such as Microsoft Excel, and nVivo or equivalent software for the qualitative research. Only students who have taken a research methods course and who are able to pass a basic qualitative and quantitative data analysis screening will be admitted to the class.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Annual
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IDCE 30287 - Fundamentals of Environmental Science
This foundation science class 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 the over-exploitation of natural resources. It will also strengthen your math skills and quantitative ability. It has three main objectives. Knowledge Objective: That students be able to describe and understand how principles from science (especially Physics and Chemistry), as well as methods from Math, are used to model two main types of environmental problem: 1) problems of pollution; and 2) problems of natural resource over-exploitation. Skills Objective: That students be able to apply simple, yet powerful mathematical models to such problems, manipulating quantitative data and interpreting diagrams and tables that use these data. Attitudes Objective: That students become comfortable with handling quantitative data, equations and models, and more confident in their own abilities to understand and apply scientific and technical information.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall
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IDCE 30288 - Applied Ecology
This is an active field- and project-based course using citizen science approaches such as bioblitzes to explore natural resource management and community engagement. Bioblitzes are rapid assessment approaches to biodiversity surveys recently used by the US National Parks and National Geographic Society to explore the state of ecological resources within protected areas. In this applied course, students will work in teams to design, develop and execute a local bioblitz using Clark’s Arboretum and Coes Reservoir. As a field-based practicum (‘learning by doing’), students will work in teams to explore field design and ecological assessment methods, work with local stakeholders, learn basic statistical approaches and online databases on biodiversity. This course is designed for students interested in applied ecology, resource management and policy.
Anticipated Terms Offered: varied
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IDCE 30289 - Community Development Finance
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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IDCE 30291 - Qualitative Research Methods
Provides an introduction to qualitative inquiry and explores the major assumptions, language and logic of qualitative research. The course emphasizes the modes of thinking and the practice of collecting qualitative data. Student will conceptualize and design their own qualitative studies, which includes an emphasis on developing research questions; sampling, research ethics and IRB, and methods for data gathering, analysis and interpreting qualitative research. Fulfills IDCE Skills course or an elective within the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Effectiveness concentration.
Anticipated Terms Offered: Fall or Spring
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IDCE 30292 - Participatory Development Planning
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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IDCE 30296 - Nonprofit Management I
This class will be taught from the perspective of community spirited action associated with civil society. Missions of examined organizations will include social services; economic justice; human rights and advocacy; and housing endeavors covering both programs and projects. Topics will include a coursework related to mission selection and definition; gender-related trends; administrative and governance issues; budgeting; personnel management; public relations; and leadership approaches. These are generally generic topics relevant to both nonprofits and NGOs. The course will prove valuable for students intending to work for—or start-up—a U.S. nonprofit (NP) or an international nongovernmental organization (NGO). The course will compare issues associated with domestic NP and international NGOs. Generally, this skills course will inform the students how to start and/or operate a NP along with the basic core elements of running–or working within a NP or NGO. Also, this course would be useful to those interested in governmental services at the local or regional levels, including potential careers in housing, economic development, equity advocacy, environmental planning or other enterprising nonprofit organization. This course is a prerequisite for IDCE 30298.
Anticipated Terms Offered: annually
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IDCE 30297 - Displacement and Development in the Contemporary World
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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