Ireland

The problem facing less developed countries are among the greatest challenges facing the world today. This course focuses on the diverse structures and common characteristics of less developed countries and offers an evaluation of policies being pursued. The course provides an introduction to the micro-economic approach to development economics. The course presents key theoretical models and related empirical evidence that shape our thinking of economic interactions and policy-making in developing countries.

The course examines how gender, and multiple other categories relating to personal and political context, has influenced personal and public effort and experience. It examines a variety of topics to show diversity and continuities across social class, political change, time, and place. Students learn about political, intellectual, and social contexts from the late 18th century to the present. Students analyze both historical and contemporary effort and lives. In so doing, they acquire critical insight into themes of international interest and the opportunity to discuss questions of personal interest. A core object is to reveal the complex extent of connections, continuities,and change in a variety of contexts.

This course facilitates students in the formulation of their own, critically aware, understanding of the nature of law and its features. Students develop their ability to articulate a reasoned position on distinctive features of law and a legal system and on questions such as the relationship between law and morality, law’s legitimacy and function in a social order. Among topics that may be explored are the concept of law, the rule of law, authority, and connections between law and morality.