This course explores how ideas about the economy – from money, to labor, to distribution – have changed over time. We will focus on modern theories of the economy, including those of the mercantilists, physiocrats, classical political economists, and neoclassical economists, placing these ideas in their global context. Our most central focus will be on thinkers working within and against liberalism and Marxism in their multifarious forms. We will travel through the canonical texts of thinkers such as John Locke, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, John Maynard Keynes, and Friedrich Hayek, with the aim of demystifying them and making them accessible for engagement and critique. The purpose of this journey into the history of economic thought is to understand how we have arrived at the principles behind contemporary thinking about the economy, enabling a systematic evaluation of their strengths, limitations, and implications.
Learning Outcomes:
• Develop and sharpen writing, reading, and analytical skills
• Become well acquainted with key primary sources in political economic thought
• Understand, compare, and discuss the principles behind different schools of modern political economic thought
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 4
M/Th 1:40PM - 3:30PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 18
Course Frequency: One time only
Categories: 2000 , All courses , Four Credit , Fully In-Person , Political Economy , Updates
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