This page includes several films and videos assigned for the class as well as assigned readings.
[Smillie] = Smillie, Ian. Mastering the Machine Revisited: Poverty, Aid and Technology. Practical Action, 2000. ISBN: 9781853395147.
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS, FILMS AND VIDEOS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | |
| 2 |
Development role play D-Lab philosophy of development Stakeholder analysis & Participation | Crosette, B. "Kofi Annan's Astonishing Facts." |
| 3 | History of development: (1950-1970): The colonial legacy |
[Smillie], pp. 3-47. Film: Life and Debt (2001) |
| 4 |
History of development: (1970-1990) Appropriate technology Intermediate technology |
Schumacher, E. F. "Social and Economic Problems Calling for the Development of Intermediate Technology." Part III, chapter 2 in Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. Harper Perennial, 1989, pp. 181-201. ISBN: 9780060916305. [Smillie], pp. 86-103. |
| 5 |
History of development: (1990-present) Millennium development goals Participatory development Co-creation Guest speaker: Mitch Resnick (MIT Media Lab) |
Chambers, R. "Poverty and Livelihoods: Whose Reality Counts?" Environment and Urbanization 7, no. 1 (1995): 173-204. ( United Nations Millennium Declaration [AKA "millennium development goals"]. September 8, 2000. |
| 6 |
"Entrepreneurship, government, and development in Africa" Guest speaker: John Kufuor, (former president of Ghana) | Tayo, S. "Ghana: Following the Gentle Giant." The World Today, November 2008, 64, no. 11. |
| 7 |
Agriculture Agricultural technology showcase: Post-harvest processing | [Smillie], pp. 104-36. |
| 8 | Projects and partners | VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas). The Role of Volunteers in International Development. |
| 9 |
More projects and partners Agricultural technology showcase: Drip irrigation |
Fuller, P. "More Crop Per Drop." New Agriculturist (September 1, 2004). Smith, A. "D-Lab Technology Brief: Low-Cost Drip Irrigation." (PDF) Film: Peanuts (2002) |
| 10 | Country team meetings | |
| 11 |
Agricultural focus groups: - Green revolution |
The Green RevolutionRosset, Peter. "Lessons from the Green Revolution." Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy. April 8, 2000. External AidAristide, J-B. "Haitian Pigs Meet Globalization." May, 2000. Gaertner, P. "Whether Pigs Have Wings: African Swine Fever Eradication and Pig Repopulation in Haiti." 1990. [Smillie], pages on Lake Turkana project Human RightsSmaller, C. "Planting the Rights Seed: A Human Rights Perspective on Agricultural Trade and the WTO." THREAD, March 2005. (PDF) Daley, J. "Forget Fairtrade - Only Free Trade can Help Poor," Telegraph (UK), February 25, 2008. Velasquez-Manoff, M. "The Challenge of Fair-trade Chocolate." The Christian Science Monitor, June 9, 2009. Fairtrade Foundation. "OCFCU - Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union." Optional: Structural Adjustment and AgricultureLee, Christine. "All Pain No Gain: How Structural Adjustment Hurts Farmers and the Environment." Global Pesticide Campaigner 11, no. 1 (April 2001): 8-10. International Monetary Fund. "The IMF's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF): Is It Working?" September 1999. Hampwaye G., E. Nel, et al. "Urban Agriculture as a Local Initiative in Lusaka, Zambia" Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 25, no. 4 (2007): 553-72. Baffoe, J. K. "Structural Adjustment and Agriculture in Uganda." International Labour Organization, Working Paper WP.149, March 2000. Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International Network (SAPRIN). "Impact of Agricultural Sector Adjustment Policies on Small Farmers and Food Security." Chapter 6 in The Policy Roots of Economic Crisis and Poverty: A Multi-Country Participatory Assessment of Structural Adjustment. April, 2002. ( |
| 12 |
Energy: Biomass, biogas and biodiesel Energy lab: Charcoal |
[Smillie], pp. 137-53. Warwick, Hugh, and Alison Doig. Smoke: The Killer in the Kitchen. ITDG Publishing, 2004. |
| 13 |
Energy: Sun Energy Labs: Photovoltaics, LED lighting Guest speaker: Jim Bales (MIT Edgerton Center) | Bishop, J., J. Bales, et al. "The Photovoltaic Primer." D-Lab Technology Overview. (PDF - 1.3MB) |
| 14 |
Energy: Human power Energy Lab: Human power production | Wilson, D. G. "Understanding Pedal Power." VITA Technical Paper #51, 1986. |
| 15 |
Energy: Wind and water Guest speakers: Shawn Frayne (Humdinger Wind), Peter Haas (AIDG) |
Practical Action. Micro-Hydro Power. 2009. ———. Energy from the Wind. 2008. |
| 16 |
Modeling energy systems HOMER Village energy assessment | NREL. Getting started Guide for HOMER Version 2.1. April 2005.  (PDF) |
| 17 | Water Lab 1: Bacterial testing | |
| 18 |
Water issues in the developing world Guest speaker: Susan Murcott |
UNICEF and WHO. Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target: A Mid-Term Assessment of Progress. 2004. Film: FLOW: For Love of Water (2008) |
| 19 |
Harnessing the wind Guest speaker: William Kamkwamba | Supplemental videos: William Kamkwamba at TED |
| 20 | Water lab 2: Chemical testing | |
| 21 |
Institutions of development: WB and IMF Guest speaker: Rachel Glennerster | [Smillie], pp. 226-45. |
| 22 |
Institutions of Development Discussion Role of NGOs in Development |
[Smillie], pp. 48-66. Sanyal, B. "From the Benevolent to the Evil State: History of the Rise of Anti-government Sentiment in Developmental Discourse." In Cooperative Autonomy: The dialectic of State— NGOs Relationship in Developing Countries. Geneva, Switzerland: International Institute for Labour Studies, 1994. pp. 3-27. ———. "Rural Development and Economic Stabilization: Can They Be Attained Simultaneously?" Chapter 9 in Africa's Agrarian Crisis: The Roots of Famine. Edited by S. K. Commins, et al. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1986. ISBN: 9780931477607. |
| 23 | Microfinance |
Jain, P. S. "Managing Credit for the Rural Poor: Lessons from the Grameen Bank." World Development 24, no. 1 (1996): 79-89. Hammond, A., and C. K. Prahalad. "What Works: Serving the World's Poor, Profitably." World Resources Institute, 2004. ( |
| 24 |
Micro-enterprise case study: Grameen phone Guest speaker: Iqbal Quadir |
Isenberg, D., D. Lane, and C. I. Knoop. "Iqbal Qquadir, Gonofone, and the Creation of Grameen Phone (Bangladesh)." Harvard Business Review. Case: 807099-PDF-ENG, March 12, 2007. MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship. "Bangladesh Calling." (Video profile of Iqbal Quadir, by CBC, March 2008). Accessed March 4, 2010. |
| 25 |
Discussion of Drowned Out Development Role Play Guest speaker: Balakrishnan Rajagopal |
Rajagopal, B. "India's Water Crisis: When the Rains Fail." The Economist, September 10, 2009. Shukla, N. "Power, Discourse, and Learning Global Citizenship: A Case Study of International NGOs and a Grassroots Movement in the Narmada Valley, India." Education, Citizenship and Social Justice 4, no. 2 (2009): 133-47. DOI: 10.1177/1746197909103933 Film: Drowned Out (2002) |
| 26 | ICT4D | Brewer, E., et al. "The Case for Technology in Developing Regions." IEEE Computer 38, no. 6 (2005): 25-38. |
| 27 |
ICT4C Guest speaker: Mitch Resnick |
Resnick, M. "Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society." Learning and Leading with Technology (2007): 18-22. ( Optional: Video of talk at Google, October 26, 2006 (54 min) |
| 28 |
Creative capacity building Concrete lab | Deora, A. "Toilet Talk: Appropriate Toilets for Developing Countries." (PDF) (Courtesy of Amy Deora. Used with permission.) |
| 29 | Cooking lab | |
| 30 | The AIDS/HIV crisis |
UNAIDS. "Executive Summary." In Report on the global AIDS epidemic. ( Film: Living with AIDS (On the Frontlines of AIDS) (2005) |
| 31 |
Health issues in the developing world Guest speaker: Jose Gomez Marquez (MIT D-Lab: Health, IIH) | Gordon, B., R. Mackay, et al. The Atlas of Children's Health and the Environment. WHO, 2004. |
| 32 | Team presentations | |
| 33 |
Valuing indigenous knowledge Cultural taboos Cultural implications of development | Packing List and Tips for Traveling (PDF) |
| 34 |
Market approaches to development Supply chains Guest speaker: Paul Polak, IDE |
Polak, P. "The Three Great Poverty Eradication Myths." Chapter 2 in Out of Poverty. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008, pp. 27-48. ISBN: 9781576754498. [Preview with Google Books] Edwards, M. Just Another Emperor. 2008. ( |
| 35 |
What works: Lessons from JPAL Guest speakers: Kamilla Gumede (Jameel Poverty Action Lab) |
Duflo, E., M. Greenstone, et al. "Cooking Stoves, Indoor Air Pollution and Respiratory Health in Rural Orissa." Economic & Political Weekly 43, no. 32 (2008): 71-6. ( Kremer, M., E. Miguel, et al. "Water Technologies: What Works Best in Poor Countries?" Boston Review, September/October 2008. |
| 36 |
Climate change Sustainability Guest speaker: Ben Linder | |
| 37 | Panel discussion with Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) fellows | [Smillie], pp. 246-61. |
| 38 | Evaluations | |
| 39 | Final posters and presentations |