About the Minor
2024 - 2025 Catalog
Poverty and Human Capability Studies minor
A minor in poverty and human capability studies requires completion of seven courses as follows. In meeting the requirements of this interdisciplinary minor, a student must use at least nine credits not also used to meet the requirements of any other major or minor.
- POV 101 or 103
- POV 450 or 453
- At least 10 credits chosen from below or, when approved, other courses or directed individual studies that focus on poverty, social inequality, and human capability. The Shepherd Program website lists some related courses that provide students substantial opportunity to address poverty and human capability (e.g. through a major project on a poverty-related topic). Students are also encouraged to petition other relevant courses for credit. These "related courses" must be approved by the director of the Shepherd Program and the course instructor.
CBL 100
CBSC 235
ECON 229, 234, 235, 236, 237, 251, 280, 286 (SOAN 286)
EDUC 369
ENGL 260
FILM 237S, 253, 273
HIST 232, 254
JOUR 240
PHIL 242, 253
POL 215, 388
POV 102, 121, 192, 193, 197 (maximum one credit), 202, 232, 241, 243 (PHIL 243), 245 (PHIL 245), 249, 253 (SOAN 253), 257 (SOAN 257), 258 (SOAN 258), 262, 280, 295 (LAW 221), 296 (often at the Augusta Correctional Center), 401, 402, 403, 421, 422
SOAN 217, 222, 227, 228, 244, 259, 263, 264, 265, 266, 268 (POL 268), 278, 279, 286 (ECON 286), 288, 290, and, when approved in advance as appropriate, SOAN 276
SPAN 347
- A capstone study that culminates in a major research project on a topic proposed by the student that focuses on poverty, social inequality, and human capability. Most minors will take POV 423. Others may petition to substitute for their capstone an independent study, honors thesis, capstone in another major or minor, or a relevant research project from a POV related course. These substitutes must be approved by the director of the Shepherd Program and co-advised by Shepherd Program faculty.
- Take one course from:
- POV 101 - Poverty and Human Capability: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite has not completed POV 103 An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects and possible remedies for poverty as a social, moral, political and policy, economic, legal, psychological, religious, and biological problem. The course focuses on domestic poverty but also considers poverty as a global problem.
or
- POV 103 - Poverty and Human Capability: An Interdisciplinary Introduction and Fieldwork
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite has not completed either POV 101 or POV 102 An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects, and possible remedies for poverty as a social, moral, political and policy, economic, legal, psychological, religious, and biological problem. The course focuses on domestic poverty in the United States but also considers poverty as a global problem. This spring term version of the course integrates service fieldwork into the introductory course taught in the fall and winter and offers the same credit as POV 101 and 102 combined.
- Take one course from:
- POV 450 - Shepherd Summer Internship
Credits 0 Prerequisite instructor consent Prerequisites: POV 101 or POV 103 or POL 215 or SOAN 268. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Supervised work with agencies in business and economic development, community organizing, education, environmental advocacy, health care, law, religious ministry, and social services that engage impoverished persons and communities. Eight weeks of full-time work is preceded by an orientation to prepare the interns to reflect critically on what they have learned. W&L students work with students from other participating colleges.
or
- POV 453 - Shepherd Summer Internship
Credits 3 Supervised work with agencies in business and economic development, community organizing, education, environmental advocacy, health care, law, religious ministry, and social services that engage impoverished persons and communities. Eight weeks of full-time work is preceded by an orientation to prepare the interns and followed by a closing conference for interns to reflect critically on what they have learned. W&L students work with students from other participating colleges. Students keep journals reflecting on their work. Financial support is available; in rare instances the Shepherd Program director may approve other internship programs to meet this requirement, but approval must be in advance with special conditions and stipulations.
- At least 10 credits chosen from among the following:
- CBL 100 - Introduction to Community-Based Learning
Credits 3 In this course, students learn the basics of community-engaged learning through working on projects and taking part in community service opportunities in Lexington and Rockbridge County. We discuss why community-based learning is a high-impact and civic-minded practice. Students acquire the needed dispositions, new ways of thinking, and skills necessary to succeed in a real-world collaboration with community stakeholders who have diverse backgrounds and stories.
- ECON 229 - Urban Economics
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A A study of the economics of cities. Students discuss why cities exist, what determines city growth, and how firms make city location decisions. We then shift our focus to within-city location decisions, and we discuss land-use patterns, housing, and neighborhoods. Our discussion of housing and neighborhoods focus on a number of issues related to urban poverty, including the effects of segregation and housing policies on the poor.
- ECON 234 - Urban Education: Poverty, Ethnicity and Policy
Credits 4 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A Same as EDUC 369. Students explore the determinants of education achievement and attainment in urban education through three weeks of fieldwork in schools in the Richmond area (Monday through Thursday each week) and seminar meetings in Lexington. Students observe and work to understand critical components of teaching and learning in the urban classroom. The readings and experience challenge students to consider factors including early childhood development, the role of the family, school finance, teachers, and curriculum. The students then evaluate the current policy proposals for school reform in the United States such as teacher merit pay, charter schools, and student accountability. In addition, students develop and present their own policy proposal for improving public schools. Housing is provided through alumni in Richmond.
- ECON 235 - The Economics of Social Issues
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A This seminar is based on readings that set out hypotheses developed by economists and other social scientists regarding the causes and consequences of a wide range of social problems. Evidence examining the validity of these hypotheses is scrutinized and evaluated. The course is writing intensive and interdisciplinary since readings are drawn from a wide variety of fields. Topics discussed include, but are not limited to, poverty, education, health, crime, race, ethnicity, immigration, and fiscal matters.
- ECON 236 - Economics of Education
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, 180, 180A, or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 Investigation of the role of education on outcomes for both nations and individuals. Understanding of the factors in the education production function. Emphasis on the challenges of pre-K-12 education in the United States; secondary coverage of postsecondary education. Analysis of the effect of existing policies and potential reforms on the achievement and opportunities available to poor and minority students.
- ECON 237 - Health Economics
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A An overview of the determinants of health using standard microeconomic models to analyze individual behavior, markets, institutions, and policies that influence health and health care. The primary focus of the course is the United States but also includes comparisons to health systems in other developed countries and very limited coverage of developing countries. Particular emphasis is given to challenges faced by disadvantaged groups. The course includes an optional service-learning component with placements involving health issues and/or health care services in Rockbridge County.
- ECON 251 - Women in the Economy
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A Students explore how economic theory and analysis can be applied to examine the multiple roles that women play in our society. In particular, we examine linkages and changes in women's human capital, marriage, fertility, family structure, and occupation and labor supply decisions in the post-World War II era. We also investigate the magnitude and causes of the gender wage gap. We assess how much of the gender wage gap can be explained by education and occupational choice, and how much appears to be due to discrimination. We also learn about {and try to explain} the differences in labor-market outcomes for women with and without children. Finally, we access the causes and consequences of teenage pregnancy and single motherhood.
- ECON 280 - Development Economics
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 A survey of the major issues of development economics. Economic structure of low-income countries and primary causes for their limited economic growth. Economic goals and policy alternatives. Role of developed countries in the development of poor countries. Selected case studies.
- ECON 286 - Lakota Land Culture, Economics and History
(SOAN 286)
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 4 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A Same as SOAN 286. This class focuses on the cultural, economic, and historical dimensions of the Lakotas' (Titonwan tawapi ) ties to their lands as expressed in their pre- and post-reservation lifeways. It includes a 10 day field trip to western South Dakota to visit and meet with people in the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations and the Black Hills.
- EDUC 369 - Urban Education and Poverty
Credits 4 Prerequisite EDUC 200, EDUC 210, ECON 236, POV 101, or any Education course numbered between 300 and 399 Same as ECON 234. In this course, students explore pedagogy, curriculum, and social issues related to urban education by working in schools in the Richmond area for three weeks. Students read about and discuss the broader social and economic forces, particularly poverty, that have shaped urban schools and the ramifications of those forces for school design. The Richmond schools provide the opportunity to observe critical components of teaching and learning in the urban classroom. Housing is provided with alumni during the week. Students return to Lexington for Friday seminars and for the fourth week of the term for seminars and discussion.
- ENGL 260 - Literary Approaches to Poverty
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement Examines literary responses to the experience of poverty, imaginative representations of human life in straitened circumstances, and arguments about the causes and consequences of poverty that appear in literature. Critical consideration of dominant paradigms (the country and the city," "the deserving poor," "the two nations," "from rags to riches," "the fallen woman," "the abyss") augments reading based in cultural contexts. Historical focus will vary according to professor's areas of interest and expertise.
- FILM 237S - Field Documentary
FDR HA Credits 4 Prerequisite Instructor consent Experiential Learning. Taught by W&L faculty at the University of Cape Coast as part of the W&L in Ghana program. This course teaches students how to research, conceptualize and develop a non-fiction story idea into a film. Students receive instruction on effective research strategies, idea development, production planning, and proposal writing and pitching. They learn the theoretical, aesthetic, and technical principles of non-linear editing for documentary. Principally, students are taught how to: digitize and organize source material, create basic effects and titles, develop sequences, and organize and edit their raw materials into a polished final product. In addition to making films, we screen various documentaries, analyze the techniques, and put them to use in our own creation and editing.
- FILM 253 - Field Documentary on Human Rights in Ghana
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite FILM 252 This course teaches students how to research, conceptualize and develop a non-fiction story idea into a film. We begin our work connecting with NGOs on the ground in Ghana, establishing a relationship with those organizations, and developing the research and preparation for creating a documentary about a human rights issue. These issues will alter from year to year, depending on the focus on the NGO. Students receive instruction on effective research strategies, idea development, production planning, and proposal writing and pitching. Students in this course learn the theoretical, aesthetic and technical principles of non-linear editing for documentary. Principally, students will be taught how to: digitize and organize source material, create basic effects and titles, develop sequences and organize and edit your raw materials into a polished final product.
- FILM 273 - Creating Field Documentary on Human Rights in Ghana
FDR HA Credits 3 Prerequisite FILM 272 This interdisciplinary spring term course combines Film Studies and Cultural Anthropology to explore issues of human rights and social justice in Ghana, West Africa. We will work with local grassroots non-governmental organizations who work on issues related to modern-day slavery, women's economic development, disability and development, and children's rights. Student's will work collaboratively with NGO partners to create short documentaries that will be used by the organizations to help educate and advocate for their cause. To this end, students will engage in rigorous cross-cultural engagement, learn techniques for effective storytelling and communication, and develop skills in the use of multi-media technology. In addition to film making activities, coursework will contextualize human rights issues in Ghana by visiting local organizations, exploring cultural sites and considering the role of national and international policy. By the end of the term, we will have immersed ourselves in Ghanaian culture, studied human rights issues from an ethnographic perspective, and completed three short documentaries about local organizations working in Ghana.
- HIST 232 - Popular Culture in Latin America
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course explores Latin America's diversity in cultures, focusing on the everyday expressions and experiences of working-class, Indigenous, Black, and Asian descent peoples. The course will first examine how economic and social relationships related to class, race, gender, and religion are experienced through labor, dance, dress, and forms of worship. The second half of the course examines the cultural
expressions of those relationships by scrutinizing themes such as music, sports, beauty, film, protest culture, and the internet. We will analyze the syncretic reality of cultural mixing, as well as the tension between the desire to maintain an authentic popular culture and the pressure to conform to the global culture industry. - HIST 254 - History of the U.S. Welfare State
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the history of the U.S. welfare state from the 19th century through today. Topics include Social Security, welfare, the War on Poverty and Great Society, the Reagan-Era War on Welfare. Students analyze contemporary public-policy questions in their historical dimensions, and use historical knowledge to better understand contemporary political and policy debates.
- JOUR 240 - Poverty in the Media
Credits 3 Prerequisite at least sophomore class standing An in-depth examination of portrayals of poverty, chiefly in the United States, from the late 19th century to the present through an intensive review of distinguished print journalism, nonfiction books, documentary film, and movies. By consulting social science literature as well, students gain a deeper understanding of the various conceptual paradigms through which poverty has been understood and explained.
- PHIL 242 - Social Inequality and Fair Opportunity
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An exploration of the different range of opportunities available to various social groups, including racial, ethnic and sexual minorities, women, people with low incomes, and people facing poverty. Topics include how to define fair equality of opportunity; the social mechanisms that play a role in expanding and limiting opportunity; legal and group-initiated strategies aimed at effecting fair equality of opportunity and the theoretical foundations of these strategies; as well as an analysis of the concepts of equality, merit and citizenship, and their value to individuals and society.
- PHIL 253 - Philosophy of Race
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 In this course, students will explore philosophical questions about race and ethnicity. Possible topics include the experiences of racism targeting members of different racial groups, colonialism, the concept of "whiteness," the value of diversity, epistemic issues surrounding stereotypes and profiling, metaphysical questions about the nature of race, hate speech, and resistance to racial oppression.
- POL 215 - International Development
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 A study of international development and human capability, with a focus on Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The course analyzes theories to explain development successes and failures, with a focus on the structures, institutions, and actors that shape human societies and social change. Key questions include measuring economic growth and poverty, discussing the roles of states and markets in development, and examining the role of industrialized countries in reducing global poverty. The course explores links between politics and other social sciences and humanities.
- POL 388 - Architecture of Urban Community
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite any POL course numbered between 100 and 199 This seminar investigates the literal and social architecture of democratic community in cities around the globe, examining how the physical spaces and political and economic power structures of urban life support or constrain the civic relationships of residents of varying backgrounds and unequal socioeconomic positions, shaping citizens' opportunities for collective empowerment and self-determination. Course addresses issues of poverty, exclusion, and environmental limits.
- POV 102 - Introduction to Community-Based Poverty Studies
Credits 1 Prerequisite POV 101 Sustained critical reflection on pivotal issues in poverty studies based on supervised volunteer work, journals, and weekly discussions and papers related to the readings in 101.
- POV 121 - Introduction to Effective Altruism
Credits 1 This weekly seminar introduces students to one of the most promising, if controversial, approaches to the responsible life: Effective Altruism or "Doing the Most Good." Participants will meet weekly to discuss some of the main questions related to effective altruism and some of the main objections to the movement. Because our focus is on doing the most good, the course will focus on applying the course ideas to our own personal, professional, and civic lives, both now and in the future.
- POV 192 - Blue Ridge Mile Training
Credits 1 This course provides students with the preparation and instruction necessary to become respectful and effective student leaders in the Blue Ridge Mile Clinic, a collaboration with Virginia's Drive to Work Program and the local courts. Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the systemic and unique individual challenges facing some of our local community members in the process of re-instaing or obtaining a driver's license following an encounter with the court system.
- POV 193 - Blue Ridge Mile Clinic
Credits 1 Prerequisite POV 191 or POV 192 This community-based learning course provides students with the opportunity to become respectful and effective student leaders in the Blue Ridge Mile Clinic, a collaboration with Virginia's Drive to Work Program and the local courts. Participants will meet with low-income and/or previously-incarcerated clients in a clinic setting, educate those clients about the steps required to obtain a driver's license or reinstate a driver's license that has been revoked following an encounter with the court system, and offer encouragement and assistance through the often-cumbersome and confusing process. Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the systemic and unique challenges the clients may face in navigating the legal system and of the impact that having, or losing, a driver's license can have on myriad aspects of a person's life.
- POV 197 - Bonner Program
(no more than one credit)
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent This course is offered to members of the Bonner Program at Washington and Lee and provides structured learning activities related to students' local internships and related leadership training. Students commit to 8-10 hours of service per week through this internship model.
- POV 202 - Respect, Community and the Civic Life
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent This course facilitates improved student understanding of the important intersections of community engagement, respect, and deepening conceptions of the civic life, and focuses on intentional synthesis of students' community engagement and community-based learning experiences (including POV 102, POV 453, and other discipline-based and co-curricular opportunities). Students consider what it means to live in community with others and explore topics of respect and responsibility on individual, institutional, and global scales in ways that unite their own experiences and questions with continued examination of the problems associated with poverty and marginality. A variety of perspectives are provided on what it means to live into the mission of Washington and Lee and the Shepherd Program as thoughtful, engaged citizens prepared to understand and address the causes and consequences of poverty in ways that respect the dignity of all. Students in this course engage in significant reflective work around their own community engagement experiences. As such, it is the expectation that all students enrolled engage in the Rockbridge Area through coursework, continuing community engagement, or other community-based learning opportunity.
- POV 232 - Race, Class, and Education Policy
FDR SS4 Credits 3 Prerequisite POV 101 or EDUC 200 The course is an interdisciplinary examination of education policy questions that are of particular importance to understanding and addressing barriers to equitable opportunity for historically disadvantaged groups. The course focuses primarily on barriers for those in the United States who experience poverty as well as the distinct experiences of Black, Latino/a, and Native American peoples. Drawing on perspectives from experts in disciplines such as economics, sociology, education, and demography, the course examines issues in K-12 and post-secondary education. Through discussion, written assignments, and oral presentations, the course will promote further development of your ability to analyze and critique apply policy analysis to public policy debates.
- POV 241 - Poverty, Ethics, and Religion
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as PHIL 241. This course introduces students to some of the most influential and compelling ethical arguments (both secular and religious) about our moral obligations regarding poverty. The course also examines the benefits and challenges of doing comparative religious and philosophical ethical analysis of a pressing moral and social problem. In particular, students will consider the arguments for and against including religiously inflected arguments in public deliberation about anti-poverty policy.
- POV 243 - Martin Luther King Jr.: Poverty, Justice, and Love
(PHIL 243)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as PHIL 243. This course offers students the opportunity to examine the ethics and theology that informed the public arguments about poverty made by one of the 20th century's most important social justice theorists and activists, Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the competing views of his contemporaries, critics, forebears, and heirs. The course asks the following questions, among others: How do justice and love relate to one another and to poverty reduction? What role should religion play in public discussions and policies about poverty and justice? Are the dignity and the beloved community King championed the proper goal of anti-poverty efforts?
- POV 245 - Poverty, Dignity, and Human Rights
(PHIL 245)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as PHIL 245. Is severe poverty a human rights violation? This course examines that question and others by means of an investigation of the main philosophical and religious debates about human rights. More broadly, the course provides students with the opportunity to examine our duties (individually and collectively) to those said to suffer from any human rights abuse. Questions considered include: Are human rights universal or culturally specific? What (if anything) grounds human rights? Are religious justifications of rights permissible in a pluralistic world? Is dignity a useful concept for defending and/or discerning human rights? Do we only have liberty rights (to be free of mistreatment) or do we also have welfare rights (to claim certain positive treatment from others)? What are the practical (moral, political. and legal) implications of identifying severe poverty as a human rights violation?
- POV 249 - Poverty, Oppression, and Privilege
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Same as PHIL 249. This seminar asks one overarching question: Are the increasingly common - and contested - concepts of "oppression" and "privilege" useful in poverty studies and in the pursuit of justice? Along the way, we consider the following more specific questions: Is poverty a form of oppression? Is systemic disadvantage always oppressive or is it sometimes justifiable? What is the relationship between privilege and moral responsibility? Is privilege blameworthy? Do the privileged have distinct responsibilities to advocate for the just treatment of the disadvantaged? For that matter, do the oppressed have their own distinct responsibilities or would such a burden be an additional form of oppression? Is advocating for the disadvantaged privileged and (sometimes) oppressive? If so, is failing to advocate even worse? Who is responsible for the pursuit of justice and what, if anything, should be done?
- POV 253 - Narrating Our Stories: Culture, Society, and Identity
(SOAN 253)
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Same as POV 253. Use insights from sociology, anthropology, and the humanities, students uncover how cultural metaphors, socioeconomic inequalities, and global realities inform and shape our identities and experiences. By reading different story-telling formats, we work towards recognizing how the ways we tell our stories impact our ability to see new outcomes and reshape cultural scenarios for ourselves, our families, and our communities. We utilize the Inside-Out Model for class instruction and assignments.
- POV 257 - Anthropology of Public Policy
(SOAN 257)
Credits 3 Same as SOAN 257. Traditionally, political scientists, economists, and even sociologists have mainly studied policy. In this course, we explore how anthropologists are uniquely positioned to read, understand, and interpret different policies and their effects through anthropological training. By using a variety of methods, anthropologists provide essential contributions to the field of public policy. We analyze how anthropologists have provided a unique perspective on problems caused particular policies, the success of some policies, the meanings policies hold for various types of actors, and the ways people engage with policies. Additionally, we learn how policies create social spaces and actors, manage populations, and transform political systems. Some of the policies we will discuss involve welfare, the family, the environment, humanitarianism, and immigration. We conclude by discussing ethical dilemmas related to the anthropology of policy. Upon completing this course, students will understand how anthropology contributes to the critique, analysis, and implementation of various types of policies.
- POV 258 - Ethnographies of Global Poverty
(SOAN 258)
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 Same as SOAN 258. When we research poverty, we tend to look first to large international organizations, such as the World Bank and United Nations, but given their emphases on data, statistics, and economic theory, we are left with an understanding of poverty without a human face. One rarely comes across discussions of global poverty derived from the everyday lives of people living in poverty. In this course, we learn about poverty through ethnographic accounts written by anthropologists. These accounts demonstrate that people living in poverty have names, ambitions, and histories, and their everyday lives are interconnected with our own in more ways than we imagine.
- POV 262 - Poverty, Equity and Empathy
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite POV 101 Same as PHIL 262. What role, if any, should the increasingly common, yet contested, concepts of "equity" and "empathy" play in understanding and addressing poverty and inequality in ways that respect the dignity of every person? This course asks students to define, examine, and evaluate both concepts as tools for working toward a more just world. Students will apply the concepts to an inequity or inequality important to them.
- POV 280 - Poverty Law
Credits 3 Historical and contemporary policy debates about poverty in the United States. Topics include the constitutional treatment of poverty, as well as the legal and policy treatment of questions of access to specific social goods, such as housing, health care, education, and legal services. Coverage of those topics include a look at the federalism dimensions of the legal approach to poverty in the United States. We also examine the intersection of the criminal justice system and poverty and touch on international perspectives on poverty.
- POV 295 - Child Abuse and Neglect Seminar
(LAW 221)
Credits 2 Prerequisite POV 101 or POV 103 This seminar examines the response of the legal system to issues of child abuse and neglect. Attempts by courts and legislators to define abuse and neglect are reviewed and critiqued. The seminar also explores the legal framework which governs state intervention to protect children from abuse and neglect. Attention is paid to both state and federal law, including the federal constitutional issues which arise in many child abuse and neglect proceedings. Issues relating to the professional responsibilities of lawyers involved in abuse and neglect proceedings are examined.
- POV 296 - Special Topics in Poverty Studies
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3-4 An intensive, in-depth examination of particular thinkers, approaches, policies or debates in the field of poverty and human capability studies.
- POV 401 - Independent Study in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Students engage in a course of independent study in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program.
- POV 402 - Independent Study in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent Students engage in a course of independent study in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The two-credit option requires two hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
- POV 403 - Independent Study in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent Students engage in a course of independent study in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The three-credit option requires three hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
- POV 421 - Independent Research in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits 1 Prerequisite Instructor consent required Students engage in a course of independent research in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The one-credit option requires one hour per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
- POV 422 - Independent Research in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits 2 Prerequisite Instructor consent required Students engage in a course of independent research in a topic relevant to poverty and human capability studies under the guidance of a Shepherd core or affiliate faculty member and with the permission of the Director of the Shepherd Program. The two-credit option requires two hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.
- POV 491 - Senior Symposium in Poverty and Human Capability Studies
Credits 1 The Shepherd Program weaves together empirical and ethical perspectives on matters related to poverty and human dignity. This culminating colloquium brings together senior POV minors from a variety of majors to reflect together on our transdisciplinary coursework and community engagement. By revisiting themes and questions previously encountered, but with the benefit of what we have learned in the interim, we will consolidate and advance our learning in poverty studies.
- SOAN 217 - Economic Sociology
FDR SS4 This course focuses on theories about how economic actors are "embedded" in social structures. It is based on a vision of economics and sociology as complementary disciplines. From economics, it starts with the idea that individuals are purposive actors who try to bring about their preferred outcomes, based on what they know and what they think others are likely to do. From sociology and anthropology, it takes the idea that when individuals interact, they make structures that feed back onto their behavior, and that these are socially and economically consequential. We read and discuss classic and contemporary work about how this works and consider implications for contemporary issues of practical concern.
- SOAN 222 - Data Science Tools for Social Policy
FDR SC Science, Math, CS Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite One of the following: BIOL 201, CBSC 250, DCI 202, ECON 202, POL/INTR 202, MATH 310, SOAN 218, or SOAN 219; or instructor consent Students learn about how we think about and estimate causal effects, and practice important contemporary techniques with real data, culminating in reports analyzing the effects of a policy intervention of their choice. All work will be done in R. No previous experience with R is required, but some basic previous exposure to linear regression will be helpful.
- SOAN 227 - What is Power?
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 People use the expression "power" all the time, yet defining this concept is far more difficult than it seems at first sight. What does it mean to have power? How is it accumulated, exercised, and resisted? Using classic and contemporary social theory, as well as documentaries involving case studies, this course offers an overview and discussion of the nature of power. In particular, we will debate two core ideas. First, the relational nature of power. That is, power is not just something people "have", but a set of structures linking social actors. Second, the relation between visibility and effectiveness of power. In other words, the most insidious forms of domination are the ones least noticeable to those involved in them.
- SOAN 228 - Race and Ethnic Relations
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 An examination of why and how society creates and maintains racial and ethnic boundaries in the US. We discuss some of the crucial questions, which include: What conditions constitute a privileged group and an oppressed group? Why and how do racial/ethnic minority groups, the poor, and women experience discrimination, oppression, and exclusion in social life? Is there any racial discrimination against privileged racial/ethnic groups? How can ordinary people, policymakers, and social scientists contribute to improving race and ethnic relations among different social groups in the US?
- SOAN 244 - Personal Networks and Social Capital
FDR SS4 Credits 3 This course will be a hybrid seminar/research lab that covers some of the most important findings and methods in the study of personal networks, with an emphasis on the application of network methods to the study of social capital. In the lab portion of the class, we will learn how to do personal network analysis in R, covering topics like (a) sampling and gathering personal network data; (b) descriptive statistics that allow us to measure and study structural features of people's local social environments; and (c) models for linking those measures of local structure to individual-level predictors and outcomes of interest.
- SOAN 259 - Global Urban Sociology
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 The course will explore the complexities of city life in an increasingly globalized world, focusing on three broad topics. First, we will examine the challenges caused by urbanization in both developed and developing societies: how to provide basic services for urban residents, avoid environmental degradation, and mitigate poverty, inequality, and violence. Second, we will discuss the economic role that cities have played during different historical periods. Third, we will consider how urban life may change in the future, looking especially at technology and climate change.
- SOAN 263 - Poverty and Marginality in the Americas
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 In recent decades, some global transformations have increased inequality and marginality in various regions of the world. Neoliberalism has generated both opportunities and challenges to human development In different countries. This course focuses on how the undermining of safety nets, the decline of models of economic growth centered on state intervention, and the internationalization of labor markets have affected societies in Latin America and the United States. Students analyze the structural causes of marginality and how the experience of poverty varies for people in both regions. We rely on anthropological and sociological studies to address key questions. How do disadvantaged individuals and families in the Americas deal with the challenges brought about by deindustrialization, violence, and environmental degradation? How do their communities struggle to sustain public life? What are the processes causing many people to migrate from one region to the other?
- SOAN 264 - States, Data, and Population Policies in the Americas
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SOAN 101, SOAN 102, POV 101, or LACS 101 While concentrating on the societies of the Americas, students focus on two of the main domains within which states seek to understand and influence populations: policies governing the collection of information about their residents, such as the census, and those governing migration. The course is made up of two interwoven parts, a traditional seminar portion that examines such policies from the perspective of historical sociology and a data-lab portion in which we perform exploratory visualization of historical and contemporary census and migration data from the region, using the "tidyverse" suite of R packages. We reflect critically on our own work, making use of perspectives afforded by the historical sociology portion of the course.
- SOAN 265 - Exploring Social Networks
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 This course will be a hybrid seminar/research lab that covers some of the most important findings and methods in the study of social networks (SNA), with a focus on analyzing sociocentric data (i.e., data about a whole network, as opposed to data about people's personal networks, about which I teach a different course), with an emphasis on the application of network methods to the study of social inequalities. In the lab portion of the class, we will learn how to do network analysis in R, covering topics like (a) basic network descriptive statistics; (b) visualization of networks; and (c) community detection and the identification of subgroups and roles in network data, along with other tools and ideas.
- SOAN 266 - Neighborhoods and Inequality
FDR SS3 Social Science - Group 3 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite One of the following: BIOL 201, CBSC 250, ECON 202, POL/INTR 202, MATH 118, MATH 310, SOAN 218, or SOAN 222; or instructor consent This course examines the ways in which residential context relates to social and economic inequalities. Drawing on empirical literature from sociology and related fields, we consider both (a) how residential contexts may shape individuals' opportunities and (b) the factors that may shape the persistence or change of concentrated advantage and disadvantage across those residential settings. Half of the course is a traditional seminar and half is a data analysis lab in which we learn tools of spatial data analysis and then apply them in individual student projects on contemporary cities.
- SOAN 268 - Migration, Identity, and Conflict
(POL 268)
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SOAN 102, POV 101, or POL 105 Same as POL 268. This course focuses on the complex relationship between migration, political institutions, group identities, and inter-group conflict. The course is a hybrid of a seminar and research lab in which students (a) read some of the key social-scientific literature on these subjects, and (b) conduct team-based research making use of existing survey data about the integration of migrant populations into various polities.
- SOAN 278 - Health and Inequality: An Introduction to Medical Sociology
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 This course introduces sociological perspectives of health and illness. Students examine topics such as social organization of medicine; the social construction of illness; class, race and gender inequalities in health; and health care reform. Some of the questions we address: How is the medical profession changing? What are the pros and cons of market-driven medicine? Does class have an enduring impact on health outcomes? Is it true that we are what our friends' eat? Can unconscious racial bias affect the quality of care for people of different ethnicities? What pitfalls have affected the way evidence-based medicine has been carried out?
- SOAN 279 - Conceptions of Race and Health: Black & White=Gray
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 This seminar tackles the question of what is "race" and how does it affect health? In the United States, "race" is a concept frequently taken for granted. But what does "race" signify? Does race denote something inherently biological, cultural, or structural about one's ancestry, background, or lifestyle? Is race truly a stable "ascribed" characteristic that has predictive implications for peoples' everyday well-being? By specifically concentrating on the case study of health disparities for African-Americans in the United States, we explore the concept of "race", and how societal conceptions of race affect health policy, people's health outcomes, their access to healthcare, and their relationship to the medical establishment.
- SOAN 286 - Lakota Land Culture, Economics and History
(ECON 286)
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 4 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 101, ECON 180, or ECON 180A Same as ECON 286. This class focuses on the cultural, economic, and historical dimensions of the Lakotas' (Titonwan tawapi ) ties to their lands as expressed in their pre- and post-reservation lifeways. It includes a 10 day field trip to western South Dakota to visit and meet with people in the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations and the Black Hills.
- SOAN 288 - Childhood
FDR SS4 Social Science - Group 4 Distribution Credits 3 This course explores the experience of childhood cross culturally, investigating how different societies conceptualize what it means to be a child. Our readings progress through representations of the lifecycle, starting with a discussion of conception, and moving through issues pertaining to the fetus, infants, children, and adolescents. We discuss socialization, discipline, emotion, education, gender, and sexuality, with special attention given to the effects of war, poverty, social inequality, and disease on children and youth.
- SOAN 290 - Special Topics in Sociology
Credits 3-4 A discussion of a series of topics of sociological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
and, when approved in advance as appropriate,
- SOAN 276 - Art & Science of Survey Research
Credits 3 Prerequisite SOAN 102 This course is designed as a group research project in questionnaire construction and survey data analysis. Students prepare a list of hypotheses, select indicators, construct a questionnaire, collect and analyze data, and write research reports. When appropriate, the course may include service-learning components (community-based research projects).
or approved independent-study courses that focus on poverty and human capability; or other course offerings ("related courses" on the Shepherd website) that provide students substantial opportunity to address poverty and human capability (e.g., through a major project on a poverty-related topic). These "related courses" must be approved in advance by the director of the Shepherd Program and the course instructor.
- SPAN 347 - Poetry and Power
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite SPAN 240 and SPAN 275 This is a course about reading. With tremendous care, and taking nothing for granted, we will read Spanish-American poetry on power and violence as a way of engaging and investigating the multifaceted and layered historiographies of the region. To intensify our reading, we also will "read" a diversity of pertinent cultural production, including paintings, murals, and music. Through these self-conscious acts of reading—that is, acts of identifying, evaluating, and critiquing form as much as content—we will enhance our ability to analyze and debate many different ways of defining power in the Americas from within, without, and in liminal zones. In this manner we will trace through poetry the complexities and tensions of transcultural, transnational, and transhistorical legacies of violence, all the while cultivating our abilities to read, write, speak, and listen rigorously in Spanish. This is also to say that our process will be thoroughly collaborative and interactive as we endeavor to discover the potentiality and even the hope in our difficult and sometimes even despairing project. Recurring motifs throughout the term will include sexism, racism, classism, and fascism, and each will be framed and examined by critical theory from leading scholars from the Americas and beyond. Students will leave the course feeling more confident and articulate in addressing through poetry many of our most urgent ideas about literatures, cultures, and historiographies of power and violence.
- A capstone study that culminates in a major research project on a topic proposed by the student that focuses on poverty, social inequality, and human capability.
- POV 423 - Poverty and Human Capability: A Research Seminar
Credits 3 Prerequisite POV 101, POV 103, or POV 453; and at least junior class standing An inquiry into principal factors or agents responsible for the causes, effects, and remedies of poverty. This examination is conducted through reading appropriate in-depth studies from various disciplines and perspectives, and it culminates with an independent research project into specific aspects of poverty drawing on students' internships and respective areas of study and looking forward to their professional work and civic engagement. This seminar serves as a capstone for undergraduate poverty studies and includes second- and third-year law students in Law 391.
Or students may petition to substitute for their capstone an independent study, honors thesis, capstone in another major or minor, or a relevant research project from a POV related course.
POV 450 or 453
Most minors will take POV 423. Others may petition to substitute for their capstone an independent study, honors thesis, capstone in another major or minor, or a relevant research project from a POV related course. These substitutes must be approved by the director of the Shepherd Program and co-advised by Shepherd Program faculty.