Poverty and Poor People’s Movements – Social Analysis and Ethical Reflection

Jan Rehmann and Willie Baptist

This interdisciplinary class connects social teachings of Christian Churches with an analysis of the political economy and social realities of poverty.  We engage different sociological approaches that address the structural causes, ideological underpinnings, and cultural consequences of marginalization, exclusion and misery.  But, the poor are not only victims; they have agency and creativity in their struggles for survival.  We look at the experiences of Anti-Poverty Movements in the U.S. and abroad.  Where do they succeed, where do they fail?  How can they overcome their isolation and fragmentation?  How does religion both help and hinder these movements?