AASHE Campus Sustainability Hub

The GPP Minor is one of the largest minors on the UC Berkeley campus. It trains students to critically and historically engage with complex issues of poverty and inequality, equipping them with methodologies and skills of engagement, and encouraging the reflexivity necessary for meaningful practice. Central to the minor is a fieldwork opportunity (minimally six weeks) in which students connect theories and practices of poverty action through partnering with nongovernmental or community organizations, government agencies or other poverty or development programs in California and around the world. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to undertake the minor and to investigate the ways in which it can supplement their major field of study. The Blum Center offers funding support for students’ practice experiences through a competitive fellowship.

Scholarly approaches to understanding poverty, wealth, and inequality in an historical and global context. Knowledge of international development and domestic poverty alleviation policies, programs, institutions, and social movements. An ability to critically engage in public debates about poverty and poverty action through written texts as well as through the use of social, digital, and visual media. Knowledge of the history and contemporary politics of poverty and inequality in a particular place or world region, in preparation for the practice requirement of the minor. Analytical and practical skills gained through the Practice Experience in a particular sector of poverty action (e.g., agricultural and rural development, urban poverty, public health, human rights, legal systems, education, energy resources, and sustainable technology), at various scales (e.g., community, global) and in various forms (e.g., government policy, social movements). An understanding of different modalities and relations of power involved in poverty action, developed through historically informed analytical skills, the practice experience, and critical reflection.

• Link: Global Poverty and Practice Minor