EXP 1110 - Poverty and Inequity: Obstacles to Human Flourishing

Credits: 3

Explorations Courses focus on enduring questions. Enduring questions do not have easy answers; instead, they encourage examination of complex issues from multiple perspectives, introspection, evidence-based arguments, and learning how to respectfully discuss controversial and difficult topics. This course examines questions like: What does it mean to be poor? How does the meaning and experience of poverty vary depending on the country, culture, and historical moment in which it exists? How do people experience poverty, and how does the meaning and experience of poverty intersect with notions of gender, race, sexuality, nation, religion, legal status, and ability? How is wealth accumulated or denied? While acknowledging that poverty is an economic condition, this course focuses on poverty from a social and cultural perspective. It looks at poverty through the prism of intersectionality, exploring how the meaning and experience of poverty varies depending on one’s social location. Students will also examine the Merrimack Connections curriculum.