AEM 1106

FWS:Food Systems In The Developing World: Health, Poverty, Opportunity

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

What is it like to be a subsistence farmer in the developing world? What choices and challenges do they face—how do they balance priorities and pursue opportunities in order to maximize the health and happiness of their families? This seminar explores smallholder food systems and household welfare in sub-Saharan Africa, employing an interactive farmer-simulation game, diverse readings, and writing assignments from a farmer's perspective. Throughout the semester, each student will seek to maximize the welfare of a given farming family by making planting and investment decisions, allocating family labor, and dealing with crises of weather or health. Writing assignments will include some research, and will often take the form of farmer reports to the United Nations, assessing the effectiveness of "development" policy recommendations.

When Offered Fall.

Satisfies Requirement First-Year Writing Seminar.

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