(Caution! This module is a preliminary draft and is under development. This preliminary version is being published to test in ADMI 4016 and INTD 6095 during the Fall semester, 2013) This module has been developed to introduce graduate and undergraduate students to the Capability or Human Development Approach. It is currently being used at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez in undergraduate classes in the "Environments of the Organization" and graduate classes in a new course developed as part of the GREAT IDEA grant called "Responsible Research in Appropriate Technology." Students will have a chance to view the capability approach through major exponents like Martha Nussbaum, Amartya Sen, and Ingrid Robeyns. GREAT IDEA stands for Graduate Research and Education for Appropriate Technology: Inspiring Direct Engagement and Agency and is being funded by the National Science Foundation.
I. introduction
Case 1 from women and development (nussbaum)
Vasanti was compelled to marry at a young age. In her caste, women are generally treated as property; she went from being the property of the family in which she was raised to the being property owned by the family of her husband. Like any other piece of property, her husband, her owner, was free to dispose of her as he saw fit. He beat her, forced her to work, and took the wages she earned and spent them on his leisure and on alcohol. In order to fund his drinking, he had a vasectomy for which he received payment from the government. This ensured that he and Vasanti would not have children, something she wanted for her emotional fulfillment and for her security.
Does Vasanti have enough to live a life compatible with human dignity? If not, what does she lack?
Case 2 from women and development (nussbaum)
Jayamma carried bricks for a living in order to support her family. although her work was harder than that performed by men, she was paid less than them. When she became too old to continue with this arduous labor, she applied for relief. The Indian government denied her this support because she had sons who were able to support her. But her sons refused to do so, and her daughter, a registered nurse who was willing to support her, could not because she could not pay the bribes necessary to buy her a job at the local hospital.
Does Jayamma have enough to live a life compatible with human dignity? If not, what does she lack?
Ii. overview
Technologies need to be evaluated within the context of human projects, communities, and activities. In particular, they should be evaluated in terms of whether they promote or frustrate a life of dignity that can be spelled out in terms of substantial freedoms that Amaryta Sen and Martha Nussbaum term capabilities.
Nussbaum and Sen characterize capabilities as “‘substantial freedoms,’ a set of (causally interrelated) opportunities to choose and act. [T]hey are not just abilities residing inside a person but also freedoms or opportunities created by a combination of personal abilities and the political, social, and economic environment.”
