Bulls, Goats, and Pedagogy: Engaging Students in Overseas Development Aid
This article illustrates the profound learning that occurs—for students and instructor alike—when a class on third-world development attempts to undertake foreign aid. With undergraduate, graduate, and departmental money, I purchased bulls and carts for farmers, and goats for widows, in two West Afr...
Saved in:
Published in | PS, political science & politics Vol. 42; no. 1; pp. 181 - 187 |
---|---|
Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York, USA
Cambridge University Press
01.01.2009
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | This article illustrates the profound learning that occurs—for students and instructor alike—when a class on third-world development attempts to undertake foreign aid. With undergraduate, graduate, and departmental money, I purchased bulls and carts for farmers, and goats for widows, in two West African villages. Such experiential learning personalized for students the study of micropolitics under conditions of poverty, the development of organizational structure, and north-south dependency. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ark:/67375/6GQ-BKG5PLTS-N PII:S1049096509090179 ArticleID:09017 istex:A4622D2C86631324F6BA37BC3B078F0015B8C897 The author wishes to thank Professor John Portz, chair of the Northeastern University political science department, without whose unstinting support bulls, goats, and scholarships would not have become such a part of our students' learning experience. In the absence of conventional receipts for departmentally-purchased livestock, Professor Portz displayed particular fortitude vis-à-vis Accounts Payable. Professor David Rochefort has been an inspiration for experiential learning writ large. I also wish to acknowledge Professor Bruce Wallin who suggested that I write up my long-distance pedagogic experiences for the benefit of the profession. Undergraduates whose enthusiasm realized these projects include Nick Boston, Sobaika Mirza, Estella Moriarty, Sarah Tishler, and Kelsea Zetterman. Graduate students who have taken a leadership role include Alisa Houghton, Jennifer Hackbush, Kristen Hudak, Alison Uzdella, and Marketa Vavreckova. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1049-0965 1537-5935 |
DOI: | 10.1017/S1049096509090179 |