Syllabi:
Undergraduate
Syllabus by Professor Ananya Roy at the University of California, Berkley
Syllabus by Dr. Stephen Young at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Syllabus by Ethan Fosse, Harvard University
Syllabus by Nora Lustig and Samuel Z. Stone- Professor of Latin American Economics at Tulane University
This syllabus, by Chris Florio, is a course taught in 2017 at a maximum-security New York State prison. The course investigates the history of American poverty from the colonial period through the present day
Syllabus by Matt Bakker at the University of Colorado
Syllabus by Professor Mershon at the University of Virginia
This short, 7-week syllabus takes a macro-level look at poverty. Focusing on cultural and demographic factors, as well as public policy, the class is focused on broad causes and solutions of poverty. There are few assignments, with only a few papers being assigned for out of class work.
This course focuses on the impact that poverty can have on childhood development. focusing on the various aspects that poverty affects a young person, such as education, prenatal care, and early development, the course takes a more personal view of the effects of poverty. The class has weekly essays, based on readings assigned on class. There is a heavy focus on class participation and making links to previous lessons through critical thinking.
This course looks at systemic causes of global poverty, as well as different categories of this phenomenon. In addition to classwork, students in this class are expected to participate in an internship in their community. This helps give them hands on experience with issues discussed in class.
This sociology class takes a look at poverty, and how it affects group culture. Accepting the premise that poverty creates certain physical, economic and social conditions, the class analyses these effects from a sociological lens. Classwork includes student presentations on topics, as well as a large paper.
This course analyses the intersection between policy, health and poverty. The class explores healthcare policy, the ways that poverty affects health, as well as changing attitudes and strategies for combatting these issues over time. The class is structured as a seminar and encourages class discussion. A midterm and final test are assigned, as well as papers and group work.
Syllabus by Connie Snyder Mick, Ph.D., Co-Director of Poverty Studies Interdisciplinary Minor at Notre Dame University
More specific than just poverty in general, this class discusses economic inequality in the United States. With an emphasis on class discussion, the class looks to understand different perspectives on the causes of inequality, and potential solutions. This class also has many readings to fuel and expand upon in class discussion.
This policy-based class focuses on past efforts on the national and international level to eradicate poverty and provides analysis on why these efforts have failed. With a wide scope, the course analyzes both poverty in otherwise wealthy western nations, as well as poverty in the global south. The assignments for this class are mostly reading and writing, in addition to a midterm and final exam, and student presentations.
This class is centered around welfare. Specifically looking at the United States and Europe, the class looks at different ideologies regarding dependency and the role of the government in welfare. The effects of poverty on society are also examined. There are weekly readings, as well as a final paper.
This course’s focus is on the large-scale economic forces that perpetuate poverty. Among these are white supremacy, patriarchy and colonialism. The class analyzes the legacy of these forces in current laws and cultural norms. There is an emphasis on reading for this class.
This course dives into some of the semantics of poverty policy. This means that analysis is done to see how different conceptions and definitions of equality can affect policy and public opinion on those policies. Students are encouraged to focus on particular policy programs to contextualize the class into concrete examples that work in the real world.
This course, while not directly about poverty, provides interesting information that aids in discussion on poverty. The class focuses on inequality, especially in the context of political power. There is a wide variety of types of inequality discussed, with income, geography and ethnicity being highlighted as unique types of inequality. The class also requires a hands-on assignment to analyze income distribution to see for themselves the different levels of inequality and ways of measuring it.
This introductory, lecture-based class includes presentations by experts in various topics relating to poverty. As a macro-focused class, policy and sociological implications are studied. Additionally, the obstacles to writing quality poverty policy are analyzed and discussed. This course is heavier on assignments than others, with daily readings and writings compiled into a large portfolio.
This class is centered around the United States and pays special attention to perceptions about poverty. To do this, it discusses the efficacy of different measurements used to determine levels of poverty, and various theories about its causes and effects. The structure of the class emphasizes class discussion as opposed to lecture.