Economic
Geography Fall 2007
ECONOMICS 4389 Section
4543
Thomas R. DeGregori
Office: 209D M Office hrs. MW 12 - 1PM and - by appointment
Ph. (713) 743 3838
I prefer to receive emails
-
Email: trdegreg@uh.edu
homepage - www.uh.edu/~trdegreg
THERE WILL BE NO EXAMS OR QUIZZES.
Required reading:
The Geography of the World Economy by Paul L. Knox, Paul L.; John A. Agnew,
Jand Linda McCarthy,
The Eastern Origins of Western Civilization by John M Hobson, Cambridge
University Press.
Origins of the Organic Agriculture Debate, by Thomas R. DeGregori, Blackwell Professional.
The World That Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy, 1400
to the Present by Kenneth Pomeranz and Steven Topik, M.E. Sharpe.
The Environment, Our Natural Resources and Modern
Technology by Thomas R. DeGregori, Blackwell
Professional.
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Last day of classes, Saturday, December 1, 2007
Last day of our class, Wednesday, November 28, 2007
DUE DATE FOR ALL PAPERS - MONDAY, NOVEMEBR 26, 2007 - guaranteed to be
graded and on the final role sheet
Except for the final due date, there are no firm dates for turning in your
papers as you complete them. As a rough rule of thumb, your first paper should
be turned in by the end of the 5th week or the beginning of the 6th week of
class at the very latest followed in four to five weeks by your second paper.
Following the University rules, if all your papers have not been received
by me and graded at the time that I have to turn in my role sheet, you will be
given an "F" for the course unless you have a verified (such as a
doctor's letter) for not having completed the work for the course. The
University now requires that for each "I' given, there is a filled out
form explaining the reason for the "I' and it has to be signed by both the
student and the instructor. Needless to say, without adequate documentation to
support the form, an "I" can not be given. Unlike an "I," a
grade of "F' can no longer be removed except in the most extreme set of
circumstances. If towards the end of the semester, it becomes obvious to you
that you will not be able to complete your work, you might consider dropping
the course by the last day to drop a course or withdraw before the <<http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/general/acade2.html#q_grade>http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/general/acade2.html#q_grade>Q<<http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/general/acade2.html#q_grade>http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/general/acade2.html#q_grade>
grade eligibility period ends, Wednesday, October 31, 2007. You will not be
given a failing grade for withdrawing since I have not given any exams.
Every semester, a large number of students take my courses as independent
study without attending class. I have always sought to make my courses
available to those who could not attend for whatever reasons. This option
remains open but it is no longer encouraged except for those who have
absolutely no other options since past experience shows that those who attended
class regularly were vastly more likely to finish the course on time and not
need an "I."
Assignment:
You are to write three papers of (very) roughly 10+ pages each. No paper is
to be less than seven pages. You have considerable latitude as to the length of
each paper as long as the total for all three is about 30 to 40 pages.
For any deviation from the syllabus, an exchange of emails is required - verbal
authorization is not sufficient - with the email granting permission being
attached to your papers. Given the large choice of topics, no deviation should
be necessary unless there is a topic of specific interest to you! I will be
offering the same range of topics to both my classes this semester even though
some topics are vastly more relevant to one course that another. Those taking
both course are required to select different topics
for each course.
The suggested topics:
1) Regional history, culture and geography as basis for
understanding developing economies today
2) Global Agricultural Development since 1950 - including the
Green Revolution
3) Global Economic Development since 1950.
4) Poverty and inequality, global, regional or in a particular
country and what can be done about it.
5) Major issues in Development: IMF, Debt etc.
6) The Asian Development model: What is it and what is its
future?
7) Global Terrorism
8) The role of
technological/scientific diffusion from
9) Sources for Economic development in the developed world -
19th and 20th century technology and science.
10) Sources of opposition to the use of
technology/science for economic development
11) Health, nutrition and population in the
21st Century
12) The role of "globalization" in economic development
13) Genetic Modification of Food
14) Globalization of Food Production - Implications
15) Feeding 9 Billion in 2040.
16) Water for 9 Billion People
17) Trends in World Population - 1950-2040
18) Population - Issues of Child and Maternal Mortality
19) Environmental Implications and Potential of Biotechnology
20) Technology and the Future (with the past as a guide)
21) Global Environmental Issues such as global warming and its
implications for economic development
22) Clean, Safe, Environmentally Friendly Food Production: Meaning?
Organic – what is it?
23) AIDs and development
The objective of this course is to provide reading material and lectures
which facilitate a better understanding of the world, its politics, its geography,
its conflicts and resolutions, the changing global economy in which we live,
the diversity of different cultures and peoples and the condition of those who
have experienced a dramatic transformation and improvement in the conditions of
their life anf those that have not.
THERE WILL NOT BE A FINAL EXAM.
ALL PAPERS HAVE TO INCLUDE CITED MATERIAL (source, date and pages cited)
FROM THE ASSIGNED READINGS. Each paper must include at least one of the
assigned sources though you may use as many as you wish on any paper. All
papers taken together must show that all assigned sources have been read and used. Every paragraph in your papers must have
at least one cited source unless it is either drawn from your own experience or
is a concluding paragraph. Each paper should have a separate reference page
that does not count towards your page requirements. You will loose one letter
grade for each assigned source that is not "substantially" used (in
other words, used in a way that indicates an understanding of what the book is
saying). This may seem like a rigid requirement but since there are no exams or
quizes, it is the only way that I know (or think that
I know) that you have done the reading and that the paper is yours and not
found on the web.
YOU MAY USE OTHER RESEARCH MATERIAL AS WELL. IF YOU USE INFORMATION FROM
THE WWW, PLEASE GIVE AS COMPLETE A CITATION AS POSSIBLE INCLUDING THE URL. I
have posted supplementary instructions on my webpage; please consult it and
follow the instructions. You are not allowed to have two paragraphs in a row
that use only non-assigned sources. As a rough rule of thumb, use only sources
published this century unless there is a compelling reason to use an older
source. All material that is not original to you must have a citation.
Quotation marks are required only when you are using someone else's wording. If
you are using their ideas and facts that are put in your own words, you still
need to cite the source but quotation marks would be inappropriate. Please do
not start a sentence with "I feel." Instead use phrases such as
"I conclude" or "it is my judgment based upon the evidence"
etc. If you present solid evidence on an issue and then follow with a rational
argument to reach a conclusion, I will assume that this is not only your
conclusion but it is also how you "feel."
**UH Enrollment Schedule
<http://www.uh.edu/enroll/rar/enrollment_schedule.html>http://www.uh.edu/enroll/rar/enrollment_schedule.html
Thomas R. DeGregori, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Houston
Department of Economics
204 McElhinney Hall
Houston, Texas 77204-5019
Ph. 001 - 1 - 713 743-3838
Fax 001 - 1 - 713 743-3798
Email trdegreg@uh.edu
Web homepage http://www.uh.edu/~trdegreg