Modern Third World

3 units

Most understandings of the Third World are embedded in a discourse that promotes development and/or tries to explain why the Third World is so poor. This seminar aims to circumvent this view. After an introduction to development and development theory, the course explores how landscapes and livelihoods interact with modernization, globalization, and the agrarian transition. Case study examples and topics to be discussed include household livelihoods, income strategies, informal housing, off-farm labor, cultural landscapes, and environmental transformations.