I attended a workshop yesterday as part of Korbel’s Center on Rights Development’s (very well-done) annual Symposium. During the workshop the presenter showed a video which, at first, seemed like a lighthearted way at getting the viewer’s attention. It was video of young Haitians in impoverished settings reading off a list of “first world problems”. I hate the first world problems…
I’m sure you’re asking yourself right now, “Is a degree in international development actually worth so much time and money?” It’s a question I’ve thought about recently as I get started on my second quarter at Korbel. In a lot of ways this question is as controversial as foreign aid itself. There are dozens of…
This week we read Joanna Macy’s Dharma and Development for Dr. Joshi’s Politics of Development class. It’s a quick read and would appeal to anyone tired of hearing the arguing between neo-liberals, protectionists, and Marxists about who’s got the best approach (unless you’re Robert Gilpin, then you can choose all three). Dharma and Development is the story of a development…
It struck me as a little funny that the first key to a stronger neighborhood listed on the Placemakers website is the same as many international development indicators: good governance. Is the development cities do for their communities in America the same as the support agencies can do other countries? Is it transferable? Take a…
That’s the question Professor Devan Joshi asked us first day in his Politics of Development class. Since then we’ve had hundreds of pages of readings to decide on an answer, but, honestly, I feel more ambivalent than ever. Part of the problem is the nonspecific nature of the term “international development”. But that’s a cop out answer, especially…
There are about a dozen of us up here on the third floor of Cherrington Hall that houses the (I’ve heard prestigious) Josef Korbel school. We weren’t trained as heavily in Korbel propaganda or talking up the competitive advantages of Denver weather as I’d thought. In fact we were told to be candid and sincere.…
