Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2008

Abstract

In early November of 2007 DePaul University hosted the 14th annual International Vincentian Business Ethics conference which addressed the topic of globalization and poverty. As a Catholic, Vincentian University it is quite fitting that DePaul would host such a conference. But, poverty studies are nothing new to many universities; in fact Chicago is home to the Joint Center for Poverty Research, a collaborative endeavor between Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, which has been examining pover- ty-related issues since 1996. if some, or even many, universities engage in poverty studies, is there anything unique about such endeavors at a Catholic, Vincentian University in light of its mission and/or heritage? Beneath the surface of engaging in poverty studies in any capacity, however, some approaches may be more attuned to a Catholic, Vincentian mission than others. Thus, there remains an important question: what does the Catholic, Vincentian heritage have to offer poverty studies at a university that values its mission? To address this challenge, I will examine three perspectives on poverty alleviation: the first from a contemporary debate between two popular development economists; the second from the principle of subsidiarity from Catholic social teaching; and the third from the legacy of Frederick Ozanam. I Will conclude by identifying several exciting contemporary approaches that are particularly suited to the study of poverty alleviation at a Catholic, Vincentian University.

Source Publication

Vincentian Heritage (Special Issue on Vincentian Higher Education and Poverty Reduction)

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