CPEC 254 - Do Gooders and the Failure of Humanitarian Aid: Ideology, Ethics and Future (4 Cr.)

(GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)(GCR RPP)

This CPE considers international aid through the lens of postcolonial theory and literature, examining its colonial roots, its contemporary implications, its dysfunctionals and its potential. The problem this course invites students to consider is: How has aid failed? Students will address a specific location: student groups will undertake a case study. The potential this course will invite students to consider is: How might aid succeed? Students will debate this issue. We conclude with the opportunity for each student to write an individual manifesto: “Inventing the Future of Aid.” In brief, given the history of colonial and neo-colonial biases and exploitation, what good can be done in the world by those who are in a position to offer help? Students are limited to one CPE course per semester. Rauwerda.