Contact Robert Banks, Provost Office, 353-5300. It incorporates a holistic approach to farms as production and consumption systems. The course will develop familiarity with the growing literature about this different approach to agricultural research and extension, in both North and South contexts. Participants in the course will visit Michigan farms where they will describe the various components of the farming system, the linkages among those components, and the interactions with outside systems. Focus will be given to the impacts of government policies and resource constraints on economic and social outcomes, as mediated by the behavior of households, families and markets.
Readings come from many sources.
A paper and presentation is required, together with midterm and final. With its vast size, and very long history of human occupation, Africa contains abundant examples of the human attempt to understand the ultimate question of existence. Drawing on the extensive literature on Africa, this course will examine concepts of god, the nature of spiritual beings, the relationship between religion and the human life cycle, and the interdependence of religion and healing. It will conclude with examples of contemporary religious movements and their relevance for change in African society. The instructor will draw on his research on life cycle rituals and on trance and curing among Ethiopian pastoralists for examples.