Understanding Poverty (30 credits)

Key information

Year of study: April intake
Credits: 30
Department: Centre for Development, Environment and Policy

Module overview

Scope

This module guides students through debates over the causes, consequences, and nature of poverty. Poverty is described as a political construct: to make sense of a complex social reality, societies have established ways to conceptualise, measure and respond to poverty, which capture different experiences of and reasons for human suffering. Students analyse how the definition and measurement of poverty shapes evaluation of whether, how, and why poverty is being reduced. This conceptual foundation enables students to assess how poverty reduction policies can be evaluate and how more effective, politically informed policies can be designed. Students are encouraged to reflect on how their own identity and experiences shape their evaluation of ideas and evidence about poverty. The module is focused on poverty in low- and middle-income countries, with an invitation to think about how this focus has shaped understandings of poverty and the formulation of poverty interventions.

Syllabus

Topics include (indicative):

Conceptualising Poverty
MDGs to SDGs
Money Metrics of Poverty
Multi-dimensional Poverty
Social Exclusion
Gender and Poverty
Trends in Poverty and Inequality
Reflections of Poverty Studies
Poverty and the Environment
Livelihoods
Power and Powerlessness
Social Policy
Poverty Reduction Strategies
Urban Poverty

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

demonstrate a rigorous and critical understanding of key concepts used in international poverty debates. This includes practical issues of measurement as well as definition;
analyse both the proximate and deeper factors that trap people in poverty or assist them to escape poverty;
critically examine trends in poverty reduction in low and middle income countries, as shown by alternative poverty measures;
critically examine international paradigms and architecture for poverty reduction policies.