Shepherd Intern: Chad Kiewiet de Jonge '07

After my internship at DBEDC, I saw clearly that my black/white thinking about poverty was unrealistic as I worked with teens on the block party and tenants in subsidized housing. I realized that all parts of society, including individuals, community groups, and government agencies share responsibility for impoverished conditions, and at the same time, all can play an important role in decreasing poverty. . . . more

ACADEMICS: Poverty and Human Capability Courses

The Shepherd Program offers three interdisciplinary courses that are listed in the Poverty and Human Capability Studies section of the Washington and Lee catalog. All of these courses count toward a program concentration, as does Poverty and Human Capability 295 (Law 231).  Poverty and Human Capability 101, 423 (or surrogate), and 450 are required for the program concentration. W&L Academic Catalog Link

Interdepartmental 101 "Poverty: An Interdisciplinary Introduction" (3 Credits)
An exploration of the nature, scope, causes, effects, and possible remedies for poverty as a religious, moral, political, economic, legal, psychological, and biological problem. The course considers poverty both in its domestic and international contexts. Course Syllabus A; Course Syllabus

Interdepartmental 102 "Field Work in Poverty Studies" (1 Credit)
Sustained critical reflection on pivotal issues in poverty studies based on supervised volunteer work, journals, and weekly discussions in relation to the reading in Interdepartmental 101. The course culminates with a paper integrating the readings and field work. Course Syllabus

Interdepartmental 423/Law 391 "Poverty: A Research Seminar" (3 Credits)
An inquiry into principal factors or agents responsible for the causes, effects, and remedies of poverty. This examination is conducted through reading appropriate in-depth studies from various disciplines and perspectives, and it culminates with an independent research project into specific aspects of poverty, drawing on student's respective areas of study. This seminar includes second- and third-year law students.  Course SyllabusA   Course Syllabus B

Poverty and Human Capability Studies 295/Law 221 "Child Abuse and Neglect Seminar" (2 Credits)
This seminar will examine the response of the legal system to issues of child abuse and neglect.  Attempts by courts and legislators to define abuse and neglect will be reviewed and critiqued.  The seminar will also explore the legal framework which governs state intervention to protect children from abuse and neglect.  Attention will be paid to both state and federal law, including the federal constitutional issues which arise in many child abuse and neglect proceedings.  Issues relating to the professional responsibilities of lawyers involved in abuse and neglect proceedings will be examined. syllabus: Word format  or   PDF   

Interdepartmental 450 "Shepherd Alliance Summer Internship" (0 Credits)
Prerequisite: Interdepartmental 101 and successful application for Shepherd Alliance. Eight-week summer internship working with individuals and communities. Supervised work with agencies in business and economic development, community organizing, education, environmental advocacy, healthcare, law, religious ministry, and social services which work with impoverished persons and communities. Eight weeks of full-time work is preceded by an orientation to prepare interns and followed by a closing conference for interns to reflect critically on what they have learned. W&L students work with students from other participating colleges. Students keep journals reflecting on their work. Financial support is available. 

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