Senior Capstone: Ending Global Poverty: the Millennium Development Goals, Debt Cancellation

Senior Capstone: Ending Global Poverty: The Millennium Development Goals, Debt Cancellation and the role of global citizen advocacy

UNST 421-CRN 43952, Section 538/6 credits total, Winter Term, 2011/Tuesday-2:00PM-3:50PM, NH366

Instructor: Pat Rumer

Office: Room 370B, Urban Center

Office Hours: Tuesday, 12:00PM-1:30PM and by appointment

Phone: (503)233-4428 (home)

E-mail:

The United Nation’s Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) seek to halve global poverty by 50% by 2015. 182 nations agreed to these goals in 2000. The first seven goals such as access to education and health care apply to poor and developing nations while Goal 8 is directed to wealthier nations, including the United States and commits these nations to increase their foreign aid and to cancel the debt owed by poor nations.

The UN’s Millennium Development Office prepares annual reports on poor countries’ progress towards achieving Goals 1-7 and works with wealthier nations to encourage and persuade them to fulfill their commitments around debt, trade and aid. (

This Capstone course will explore such questions as: Who benefits from present global political and economic structures? What role does the debt service burden play in maintaining the current economic system? What impact do international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have in poor countries’ ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals? What impact do global advocacy networks have on international institutions? Under what circumstances can advocacy be effective with policy makers and the media?

This course will focus on Zambia as a case study of the role of debt cancellation in achieving the MDG’s with a specific emphasis on the role of debt management and government transparency as a critical ingredient to achieve the MDG’s.

The Capstone community partner is a Jubilee Oregon, a local nonprofit chapter of a national and global movement, Jubilee USA Network that seeks to cancel 100% of the debt of the world’s poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Jubilee Oregon is an educational and advocacy organization with a core group of volunteers who staff outreach and organizing activities on behalf of debt cancellation and global economic justice.

Robert Brown

Chair, Jubilee Oregon

PO Box 8715

Portland, OR 97207

(503) 244-3304

This Capstone course is designed to involve PSU students in action-oriented learning with its community partner to develop effective educational and outreach strategies for young adults to become change agents for global social and economic justice and to make links between the local and the global.

The goals for this Capstone are as follows:

• To provide PSU Capstone students with knowledge of the Millennium Development Goals, the impact of debt cancellation and a case study of Zambia

• To organize with Jubilee Oregon the implementation of a partnership with Jubilee Zambia through educational activities, outreach to new partners working on global economic justice in the Portland area and to facilitate communication with Zambians through social media to collaborate on these critical issues.

• Students will have experienced the ability to work on global issues without ever leaving Portland, Oregon

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The objectives of this Capstone address both course content and the University Studies goals of communication, critical thinking, appreciation of diversity and social responsibility, and are as follows:

• To organize the study circles at PSU and with community partners and allies to study the effects of the global economic crisis on Zambia and other African nations. (Communication, appreciation of diversity and social responsibility)
• To collaborate with the African Film Festival, visiting Zambian expert, Priva Haang’andu; and other local African organizations with Jubilee Oregon the need for greater advocacy on behalf of 100% debt cancellation and new international lending practices. (Critical Thinking, and social responsibility)
• PSU students will organize with the community partner communication with Jubilee Zambia and other Zambian partners thru social media, interactive website, Skype, videoconferencing and news articles to share strategies for policy changes in the USA and Zambia regarding the achievement of the MDG’s. (Communication and social responsibility)
• To understand the critical impact of the MDG’s, the key players involved in the global movement& to the underlying factors which led to the debt crisis and global poverty with a focus on Zambia(Critical thinking and social responsibility)

• To understand the role of civil society in social change movements (appreciation of diversity and social responsibility)
• Critically analyze the various strategies for effective global social change (Critical thinking)

I am a citizen activist and passionate about global economic justice. I am more of an activist than academic but I also believe that an informed mind plus courage of principles or beliefs is important for us to be world citizens. I see my role as faculty in this course as a resource person– someone who will share my global experience and dedication in cancellation of the debt and economic justice in the classroom. I also will act as a coordinator of other speakers and resource people who will assist you to make the connections on related issues such as trade, environmental and economic sustainability. During this course we will switch roles in which I become the facilitator and you assume more responsibility for the project outcome.

I expect you to bring an open mind, an inquisitive eye, an interest in people and their stories, enthusiasm for organizing an event and the various skills necessary to do reading, research, interviewing and team work to achieve a successful implementation of the Jubilee Oregon/Zambia partnership. I expect you to be active in classroom discussion, question and answer sessions with me and visiting speakers, a good team member with the community partners on various projects...

I think that this class will engage your heart and mind. The world is an interesting place – you and I will share our own experiences in the world whether that is Portland, other locations in the U.S. or the world.

I expect that you will complete all reading assignments, team projects, and required out of class meetings or assignments. This is a course that you must attend regularly in order to pass. Just showing up to class is not considered participation – you must show evidence of careful preparation for our work together. Completion of the reading assignments and other out-of-class work before class is an essential element for effective class participation. On-line discussions, journal reflections, project team work on-line are evidence of your participation and involvement in the course. I believe that most courses work best when there is a mixture of teaching and learning methods: instructor presentations, small group work, large group discussion, reflection, and active application of course material.

If you miss a working class session, team meeting, or other Capstone-related event, I expect that you will get notes from class, verify team assignments, check on deadlines, collect materials from class, and stay current with the project. It is not necessary to email me if you are absent, but I expect you to take responsibility to get the necessary materials from me and/or your team.

If you need physical or other accommodation, please see me/and or contact the DisabilityResourceCenter (435 Smith Center, 503-725-4159[voice] and 503-725-6505[TDD].

Please turn off the ringers on cell phones and other electronic devices during class time and while working in the community, unless using electronic devices is mutually determined to be necessary or appropriate to your work.

Required: (Selected chapters – Books will either be on reserve in the library or available online or posted to D2L)

Dead Aid: Why Aid is not working and how there is a better way for Africa, Dambisa Moyo, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2009.

Development Redefined: How the Market Met Its Match, Robin Broad and John Cavanaugh, Paradigm Publishers, Boulder, Colorado, 2009.

The Life You Can Save – Acting Now to End Global Poverty, Pete Singer, Random House, New York, 2009.

Making Globalization Work, Joseph E. Stiglitz, (on 2 hour reserve in the PSU library)

Easterly, William, The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good. Penguin Press, 2006. (Selected chapters to be assigned)

Cheru, Fantu and Cyril Obi, The Rise of India and China in Africa, Zed Books, 2010.

Select one book from the following for team on-line discussion: Memoirs: Wangari Maathai, Nelson Mandela, Paul Farmer, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, or fiction: such as Haitian author Edwidge Danticat, Brother: I’m Dying.

List of MDG websites will be posted on D2L Course List. Note: Much of the research will be done online through websites.

Other Required and recommended texts:

The Capstone handbook, selected articles, and other literature will be distributed in class and/or put on reserve in the library. The required reading is noted in the syllabus. Additional written resources – often selected by you and your community partner – will be added as we go.

Individual Work: Individual work will include completion of reading assignments, performing research, assigned journal reflections (4 points per reflection) and attendance at least one international and/or community partner event with one page summary of the event (4 points). Total points: 20

Book Project Team Work: Read a memoir by Wangari Maathai, Nelson Mandela, Paul Farmer, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, or Nicholas Kristof and Cheryl Wu Dunn, Half the Sky – all books related to eradication of global poverty through one of the Millennium Development Goals. Submit a two page reflective, critical analysis on how it applies to the course which will be subject to discussion by and in your work teams. Points: 10

Attendance and Participation: (See section above for expectations) – Attendance and participation points for scheduled class periods (1 pts. Per class) plus weekly participation on-line (project teams, post-class discussion questions, quizzes, etc.) (1 pt per week) = 20** (Maximum)

Final Product: 50 points. Your work as a team in implementation of the Jubilee OR/Zambia partnership will count for 50% of this grade – the effectiveness of the teams will be assessed though D2L group discussions and benchmarks to be established by the community partner and work teams. The other 50% will be the quality of your participation individually and as a team in the final written and oral presentation to the community partner during finals week in March, 2011.

This work will take place both within and outside the classroom and will follow a collaborative design of the project.

What does excellent work look like?

• All materials should be well researched and written. Any publicity for the Jubilee Oregon events and media communication should be checked for accuracy. No typographical errors are permitted.
• Leadership: Students who volunteer as a project team leader; or who conduct extensive web research for materials for the events; who organize the outreach to other college campuses and public schools; who create a dynamic, interactive website or social media strategy; who organize the African Film Festival table and outreach in February, 2011.

Other information:

Each student will keep a journal with reflections on readings, speakers, and research findings. The journals are due every two weeks. Questions will be posted online each week. Journal reflections can be submitted online to the instructor. These entries will be confidential between the instructor and the student.

The class will study all eight Millennium Development Goals using Zambia as the case study with a particular focus on debt management policies and government accountability to the electorate.

It is hoped that we can involve speakers from Africa and/or international workers in these countries from organizations such as Mercy Corps, Medical Teams International or the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer organization.

There will be several opportunities during the term to attend special international events. The World Affairs Council of Oregon hosts an annual International Speaker Series. Student tickets will be available. PCC-Cascade Campus hosts its annual African Film Festival in February – a schedule of relevant films will be shared in the class. Also, students are encouraged to bring other internationally focused events to the attention of the class. It is expected that all students will attend at least one of these events as part of the class.

Attachments: Linking Our Voices partnership proposal – Jubilee Oregon/Zambia

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