Current Students
MY COURSES

End-of-term party for doctoral students working with Professor Vavrus (back row, center) and Professor Bartlett (back row, third from right)

 

ITSF 4094-2:
Human Rights in Africa: Politcs, Policies, and Pedagogies

ITSF 4094-6:
Gender, Education, and International Development

ITSF 4890:
Cultural Perspectives on Education, Health, and International Development

ITSF 5090:
Education and Demographic Change

ITSF 5094:
Reading Development Policy Through Practice in Tanzania: Focus on Children's Rights

ITSF 6581:
Issues and Institutions in International Educational Development

ITSF 6590:
Doctoral Seminar

 

 

back to top

ITSF 4094-02: Human Rights in Africa: Politics, Policies, and Pedagogies

(click here to view syllabus in PDF format)

This course examines the historical conditions that have given rise to human rights violations in particular African countries and the efforts to protect human rights through policy and education. We will read and discuss relevant studies in anthropology, history, law, political science, and sociology, as well as interdisciplinary research in the field of human rights. Each session of the class, with the exception of the first and last classes, will be devoted to a case study developed through a book on the topic, scholarly articles, news stories, videos, and/or guest speakers. The first day of class (January 27 th) will be a two-hour session introducing the course and relevant debates on human rights theory that we will address throughout the semester. The following three classes will meet as full-day sessions (9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.) examining three human rights cases in specific countries: 1) slave labor in the Congo; 2) genocide in Rwanda; and 3) apartheid in South Africa. The final class will be divided into a morning session on current human rights issues on the continent and an afternoon symposium in which each student will present his or her final project. Throughout the course, you will work on either an analysis of a human rights policy or on the development of a human rights curriculum for a particular audience. You will also be required to attend at least one activity related to human rights issues in Africa or the African Diaspora in the New York or Washington, D.C. areas. Finally, you will be expected to familiarize yourself with current events in the African country upon which you will focus for the semester by reading African news sources on a weekly basis.

ITSF 4094-06: Gender, Education, and International Development

(click here to view syllabus in PDF format)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course examines how gender relations have influenced the fields of international relations, international development, and education. We will read and discuss relevant studies in anthropology, economics, history, political science, and sociology, as well as interdisciplinary research in the fields of development studies and women’s studies. We will begin by looking at theories of gender in international relations and how they have affected the study of nationalism and militarism. This section is followed by an examination of gender in international development, with an emphasis on the Women in Development (WID) and Gender and Development (GAD) perspectives. Combining the study of international relations and international development, we will then explore how gender and education affect labor patterns in the global political economy. The final section of the class takes up several current gender-related issues in international educational development, such as the gender gap in educational enrollment and the role of education in women’s empowerment. Throughout the semester, you will be reading articles, book chapters, and books on these broad topics as well as sources related to a specific topic of your choosing for which you will prepare an annotated bibliography.

back to top

ITSF 4890: Cultural Perspectives on Education, Health, and International Development (with Deb Rothenberg, M.D., Ph.D.)

(click here to view syllabus in PDF format)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to introduce students to the cultural dimensions of health and education in international development. The instructors will draw on their backgrounds in educational and medical anthropology in selecting readings and visual materials that illustrate the importance of cultural considerations in the design of health and education programs. The course will consist of three class sessions (two for non-credit students) and a discussion forum on ClassWeb. The first class explores the cultural dimensions of formal and non-formal health education programs in developing countries. The second class (optional for non-credit students) examines the impact of international debt on the provision of health and education services and on the lives of the women and men directly affected by the debt burden. The final class includes a presentation of students’ course projects and a discussion of the major themes in the course.

back to top

ITSF 5090: Education and Demographic Change

(click here to view syllabus in PDF format)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Education plays an important role in demographic change by affecting population growth, the organization of households, and social relations between men, women, and children. Educational opportunities are also shaped by demographic processes, such as migration, parental mortality, and fertility decline. In this course, we will examine three topics that are important to the fields of demography and international educational development: (1) fertility and population policy; (2) morbidity and mortality; and (3) migration.

Each unit consists of an overview of the demographic aspects of the major topic(s), case studies, and a student-led seminar applying relevant concepts to the field of education. For example, students focusing on the first topic might explore how U.S. foreign policy and population policy are related; the morbidity and mortality group might examine AIDS education programs in New York City; and the students working on migration might consider educational programs for refugee youth in the USA. In your group, you will select the readings for the seminar, lead the discussion, and engage the class in a learning activity of your choosing.

You will also prepare two projects for the course—a media portfolio and an annotated bibliography —that focus on the topic you have chosen to focus on during the semester. These two assignments will be discussed in greater detail during the second week of class. In brief, they are designed to encourage you to read a wide variety of popular and scholarly sources about your topic throughout the semester.

back to top

ITSF 5094A: Reading Development Policy through Practice in Tanzania: Focus on Children's Rights

*Refer to the Tanzania section of this website for more information

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This intensive field-based course provides students with a unique opportunity to engage in interpretive policy analysis in Tanzania with a focus on children's rights. In this course, the term policy is used to describe a statement, process, or outcome that articulates an institution's stance on an issue. Interpretive analysis , through the methods of interviewing, observing, and document analysis, is employed to explore the meanings that a policy holds for different groups of policy-related actors. We will use these methods to compare the perspectives of policymakers, educators, activists, parents, and children on policies related to children's rights in Tanzania . By interpreting the rights concept and rights-related issues from different viewpoints, students will gain a greater understanding of the assumptions about economic, political, and educational development underlying national and international policy as well as local practice. The goals of the course are to expand students' skills in the area of policy analysis and to enhance their awareness of the complexity of policy implementation at the local level.

During the spring semester, students will be expected to attend a preparatory meeting about travel logistics and to read several books about the cultural and historical context of Tanzania and about interpretive policy analysis. We will discuss these readings and others during the week of coursework at Teachers College, where we will also begin or continue with the study of Swahili. The following two and a half weeks will be spent in Tanzania learning about children's rights policies and observing in schools, homes, and non-governmental organizations. In particular, visits are planned to primary and secondary schools, at homes for orphans and street children, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (in Arusha), at the University of Dar es Salaam, at the NGO HakiElimu (Educational Rights), and at the Unicef office in Dar. Through these experiences, students will develop a deeper appreciation of the factors affecting children's lives and the goals of children's rights policies from different actors' perspectives.

back to top

ITSF 6581: Issues and Institutions in International Educational Development

(click here to view syllabus in PDF format)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course examines different theoretical frameworks used to explain the relationship between education and economic, political, and social development. It also explores the workings of institutions involved in educational development at the local, national, and international levels, and a number of current issues in the field of international educational development (IED). The course is designed for doctoral students in the Programs in Comparative Education and International Educational Development; therefore, it assumes prior knowledge of social theory and current debates in IED.

ITSF 6590: Doctoral Seminar

[click here to view syllabus in PDF format]

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This seminar is designed to guide doctoral students through the initial stages of planning the research they intend to pursue for their dissertations. These stages include identifying a suitable topic, developing research questions consistent with an established research paradigm, conducting a review of the relevant literature, familiarizing oneself with appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods, and designing a preliminary research strategy. Over the course of two semesters, students will consider a range of methodologies and methods, and will the most suitable ones to address their particular research questions. The goal is for each student to complete a preliminary dissertation proposal by the end of the spring term. The writing assignments and presentations for this seminar are all directed toward the development of a sound research proposal for your dissertation.

This seminar seeks to develop practical research design and methods skills, but it also probes broader questions about theory and methodology. These include queries about what can be known about the world through research, what kind of relationship a researcher ought to have with his/her informants, assumptions about truth and objectivity, etc. Thus, we will also be exploring the relationship among epistemology (What can we know about the world and how can we know it?), ontology (What is the nature of reality?), and methodology (What are the rules and procedures used to gain knowledge about the world?).

Throughout the seminar, students will be required to exchange drafts of their work with classmates and to present their work in formal and informal presentations. I will ask you to form small groups that meet regularly between class sessions, or the groups can exchange and comment on work electronically. The peer review process can be extremely beneficial for improving the clarity of one’s writing and the quality of one’s public presentation skills. I will also read versions of students’ work after it has been revised, and I will give critical commentary on both written and oral presentations throughout the year.

back to top