Consider a photograph of the Earth at night taken from space. What will you see? Great agglomerations of light in some parts of the world (North America, Western Europe, parts of East Asia) contrasted with vast expanses of darkness in other parts (much of Central and South America, Southeast Asia and nearly all of Africa). This pattern of light and darkness depicts a vastly unequal global distribution of technology, urban infrastructure, capital accumulation-in short, the global patterns of development and underdevelopment. What makes some areas `light' and some areas 'dark'? More importantly, how are these areas connected-both within and across national boundaries-through commodity chains, capital mobility, migration, political authority and the natural environment? What are the relations between development and underdevelopment? This course is an investigation of political, economic and societal growth (or lack thereof) and change in the Global North and Global South through the lenses of International Political Economy and Political Ecology. Thus we will focus in particular on the global factors influencing development and underdevelopment, political-economic connections across national borders, and the intersections of power, production and nature. During our course of study we will cover topics such as theories of development and industrialization, urban-rural relations, urban bias in development policy, industrial agriculture, global agricultural trade, food security and hunger, international development organizations (WTO, World Bank, UNCTAD, Food and Agriculture Organization), peasant rebellions, `resource wars,' sustainable development and `eco-imperialism'. Format: discussion. Requirements: several short (3-4 pp.) papers, one long (10-12 pp.) paper, class participation Prerequisites: Political Science 202 or Economics/Environmental Studies 234. Enrollment limit: 21 (expected: 14). International Relations Subfield