A Comparative Approach to Housing Problems

Abstract

A journey from afar, separation from family, friends, and familiarity propels the international student into university life in the “land of opportunity.” I, like others before and after me, arrived in the United States more than two decades ago with a singular goal — to obtain a good education. During my education at several US universities my intense interest in comparative issues compelled me to enroll in courses with comparative approaches (such as comparative economic systems, comparative politics, etc.) and those which were basically cross-disciplinary (such as economic geography, political sociology, etc.). Disciplines of economics, political science, and urban studies, within which I received my degrees, did not fully satisfy my personal educational aspirations toward a universal understanding of the issues of development and underdevelopment. I tailored my program of studies accordingly. I realized later that in my effort to accommodate my own internationally oriented personal curriculum, vis-a-vis interdisciplinary academic shopping, I was not alone. Many international students, and some American students as well, have done the same.