This seminar seeks to highlight some of the key debates on gender and development. The first portion of the semester provides a brief overview of the history of gender in development and key frameworks. The second portion focuses on (1) contemporary policy debates, such as targeting and quotas, and (2) policy tools, such as mainstreaming gender and measuring empowerment. The course will focus on building critical writing, analytical and presentation skills as well as developing a broad understanding of the key issues and challenges at the intersection of gender and development today.
Student progress will be evaluated on the basis of performance along four criteria: (1) class participation, (2) leading class discussions and or debates with other classmates, (3) three short writing assignments, and (4) a 20-25 page (double-spaced) final research paper or research proposal on a topic of the student’s choice. Interested students will have the opportunity to work with either qualitative or quantitative data for a final project. Readings will include 4-6 journal articles or book chapters each week.