Political ecology is an active interdisciplinary framework with foundations in anthropology, geography, environmental studies and the biological sciences. Its central contention is that our understanding of environmental issues and environmental change must include an analysis of the social, political, economic, and cultural context in which they are produced.

This course examines patterns of illicit activity in the global economy. A political economy approach is used to understand reasons why illicit behavior occurs, how it occurs, and who the relevant actors are. Attention is focused on production and distribution of commodities, especially those that originate in developing countries. Commodities are broadly defined to include drugs, money, guns, people, diamonds, oil, timber, and intellectual property. The course concludes with a discussion of efforts by states and multilateral institutions to combat illicit transnational activity.

In 2008 the United Nations announced that for the first time in human history, more than half of the world’s population lived in cities. In 2016, POLITICO published the headline "Revenge of the Rural Voter" in an attempt to explain the dramatic right turn in US electoral politics. In the wake of that election, rural America is in the spotlight as (largely) urban scholars and pundits attempt to explain the dynamics of rural places to a (largely) urban audience. So, what might they be missing?

The base of the pyramid (BOP) refers to the billions of people living on very low incomes ($2-4 per day). Currently, various approaches exist as to how best to align business activity with the needs and potential of this segment of the global population. Those at the BOP can be seen as a large untapped market of demanding consumers, as creative entrepreneurs, as business partners, and as innovators. This course examines the various BOP perspectives to need satisfaction, poverty alleviation, and economic growth through business activity.

This course studies the interaction between states, markets and civil society, in the fight against global poverty. More precisely it analyzes the roles of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Corporations and social entrepreneurs. The course addresses a number of issues: What do NGOs do and how do they finance their operations? Can multinational corporations play a role in the fight against global poverty, and if so, how? How can we make sense of so-called ’social enterprise’? What is the role of the state in regulating and encouraging private solutions to poverty?

This course serves as an introduction to global development and provides an overview of several problems associated with development and globalization. There are two themes that run throughout the course. First, what are the tradeoffs inherent to the process of industrialization, globalization, and economic growth? Second, what are the political, social, and economic challenges faced by low-income countries?

This course trains students in the modern International Political Economy analysis of the battle between the winners and losers of economic globalization. The first part of the course focuses on political economy approaches to international trade issues, including discussions of trade policy in rich and poor countries, the role of government in assisting displaced workers, the regulation of labor standards, and the politics of multinational corporations.

Everyone eats, and therefore everyone has a relationship to global agriculture. But because less than one percent of the US population earns a living from farming, most Americans rarely think about where our food comes from. This course explores the origins of our current global food system, the political-economic relations that structure it, and emerging alternatives to industrial food. The course begins with an overview of the global food system, including the actors and ideas that have shaped its historical development.

Exploring the Chinese Economy analyzes the economic, political, and social facets of the Chinese economy and their relationships with globalization. First, we discuss China’s transition to a market economy and its rise as a global economic power. This includes the role of state and market actors, labor, and the rural-urban divide. Second, students think critically about the role of education and technology in the Chinese economy, including universities, the internet, and social media.

This course serves as an overview of the political, economic, social, and cultural processes shaping the region known as Southeast Asia. This course utilizes a range of disciplinary approaches in order to illustrate patterns of change in the Southeast Asian context. Throughout, the course integrates discussion of theoretical issues with examples from around Southeast Asia.