In his new book, Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age (Columbia University Press, 2015), author Edward T. O’Donnell brings a fresh examination of the influential reformer Henry George, and the tumultuous period known as the Gilded Age (1870-1900). George emerged in the 1880s as a prominent reformer who warned about the threats posed to American democracy by increasing poverty, inequality, and corporate influence in politics. George played a key role in popularizing some of the foundational ideas of progressivism that shaped U.S. social and economic policy in the 20th century. This topic has major relevance for contemporary U.S. society as it confronts similar questions about poverty, inequality, and corporate power, in what some have taken to calling a Second Gilded Age.

Edward T. O’Donnell, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of History at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA. In addition to Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age, he is the author of Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum (Random House, 2003), and co-author of the U.S. history college-level textbook, Visions of America: A History of the United States 2nd edition (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2012). His scholarly articles have appeared in the Public Historian, Journal of Urban History, and the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. O’Donnell has created video courses for the Great Courses Company titled, “Turning Points in American History” and “America in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.” He also writes a blog on American history, In The Past Lane.

Planners in industrialized countries have developed and disseminated a set of prescriptions to address informality. These prescriptions have been embraced by multilateral agencies and turned into public policies in Latin America. The objectives of this course are to present the basic features of the approaches underpinning current policies toward the informal city in Latin America and to explain their origins, central ideas and basic premises, emphasizing issues related to land policies. Specific requirements: The course is aimed at professionals who have participated or are participating in the implementation of policies against informal cities.

This week-long professional development course offers students the opportunity to assess and challenge their understanding of fundamental topics related to urban informality. Participants will examine tools on informal economic analysis, land markets and pricing, as well as the development of informal settlements in Latin American cities. Students will deepen their knowledge on different intervention tools and land tenure regularization processes by means of case studies from Latin America, the Caribbean and other regions.