From Poverty to Prosperity: A Critical Examination of Poverty and Wealth in the North Country

What does poverty look like in the North Country? How has poverty been defined since The Great Depression? How does poverty affect North Country sectors such as health, education, housing, food, transportation, business, and the environment? What are the root causes of poverty? To explore poverty in the North Country, we will take regular field trips performing community service for various agencies in our local area. This will be a core component of our course and serve as a tool to explore and reflect on this complex issue in our geographic area. Critical examination of poverty will arise from community engagement and articulation of our ideas with community members involved in poverty issues.

As we reflect on the history of poverty, we will investigate strategies to address this issue and use creativity and innovation to work towards positive social change. We will ask, how has poverty been defined for the past 100 years and how can we move forward? What are the larger questions surrounding the path to prosperity? Our experiences inside and outside the classroom will push us to ask, where is the North Country in terms of moving from poverty to prosperity? By the end of the semester we will be better equipped to have meaningful dialogue with community leaders and support socially and culturally relevant ways to address poverty.