Please register via STADS-Self-Service between 1st and 15th May 2016

50 participants

The course objective is to

• introduce student carefully selected primary literature from classical, critical and heterodox strands of economic thought

• provide students with a thorough understanding of core concepts and debates in critical political economy

• enable students to apply core theoretical and methodological aspects of heterodox perspectives to a given case-based event or process

• encourage students to critically reflect on contemporary dynamics and developments in the global economy

• address key methodological challenges linking theory and empirical research for critical analyses.

Overall content The summer school brings together a faculty of international scholars and staff from Roskilde University for an in-depth course on heterodox and critical political economic perspectives. It offers a unique opportunity to directly engage with original economic texts/source material and to explore core dimensions of the critique of (neo)classical economic theory and contemporary perspectives on global capitalism. The focus of the course is explicitly pluralist, encouraging students to widen their horizon for critical thinking and methodological reflection.

The first part of the course “Economic Thought from Oikos to Economics” traces the history of economic ideas with an emphasis on critical and heterodox approaches. The individual sessions will introduce students to carefully selected primary literature from classical, critical and heterodox strands of economic thought. The objective is to understand the varied historical effect of these theories on both the object of study and the discipline itself. This will provide the foundation for further elaboration on contemporary issues such as debt, unemployment, inequality, and growth.

The second part of the course “Contemporary Challenges, Critiques and Alternatives” addresses present and pressing issues, through the lens of critical and heterodox political economy. This theoretical and applied pluralism will provide insights on issues such as e.g. the development crisis, financialisation, austerity politics and climate change. Through the employment of recent critiques, the second section of the course hence offers potential pathways towards different conceptualisations and alternatives to “the economy” as we know it.

Teaching and working methods The course takes place over a two week period and comprises a range of activities. Each week there are four days of teaching, and one day of self-study. Each half-day session consists of an interactive lecture of 1 ½ hrs, and a workshop of 1 ½ hrs.

The lectures will present a variety of critical approaches, drawing on the readings and the lecturers’ own work. The core element of the summer school is active learning-oriented workshop seminars, in which the participants discuss the theoretical, methodological and empirical issues raised in the lectures. There will also be opportunities for participants to present their own work to the group. Self-study periods, facilitated by the enabling learning environment Roskilde university campus provides, which offer an opportunity for students to improve their knowledge and understanding; the logbook will ensure that learning is sustained and reflexive. There will also be time for one-to-one consultations with the lecturers during the course.

Students are encouraged to engage with the course readings for the individual sessions before arrival. A specific reading list for the individual sessions will be provided.

The summer school will draw broadly on the following texts:

-Hunt , E.K. & Lautzenheiser, M. (2011) History of Economic Thought: a critical perspective (3rd edition) -Polanyi, K. (2001) The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. Beacon Press: Boston -Wood, E. M. (2002) The Origin of Capitalism. London. Verso. -Robinson, J. (2013) The Accumulation of Capital. Palgrave Macmillan. -Veblen, Thorstein (1904) The Theory of Business Enterprise. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. -Fraser, N. (2013) Fortunes of Feminism: From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis. Verso. -Keynes, J. M. (1936) The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money -Kalecki, M. (1943) ’The Political Aspects of Full Employment’ in Political Quarterly -Selwyn, B. (2013) The Global Development Crisis. Cambridge: Polity Press. -Mirowski, P. (1989) More Heat Than Light. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. -Pradella, L. & Marois, T. (2014) Polarising Development: Alternatives to Neoliberalism and the Crisis. Pluto Press.
-Chang, H.J. (2014) Economics: The User’s Guide. Pelican. -Van der Pijl, K. (2009) A Survey of Global Political Economy. Centre for Global Political Economy: University of Sussex -Fine, B. & Milonakis, D. (2009) From Political Economy to Economics: Method, the social and the historical in the evolution of economic theory. London & New York: Routledge.

Ordinary examination: 15th - 17th August 2016 Re-examination: 5th - 7th September 2016

Student of Global Studies - Advanced Study Course (10 ECTS): The written research paper must be submitted before 26th August at 12.00 (noon).

All written assignments must be uploaded in http://onlineeksamen.ruc.dk

Master Students of the following subjects: Public Administration, EU-Studies, Politics and Administration, International Development Studies and Global Studies.

Complementary seminar: 7.5 ECTS The basic requirements of the course are active participation in the sessions, including presentations.

The summer school is assessed on the basis of an individually-written paper of a maximum of 13,500 keystrokes incl. spaces. The topic(s) for the paper (on the basis of the teaching and literature) will be handed out simultaneously to all students after the conclusion of the seminar in week 33, the exact date will be announced in due time. Students must upload their completed papers no more than 48 hours later. The paper is assessed by the course instructors, and the grade is awarded according to the seven-point scale.

Student of Global Studies - Advanced Study Course (10 ECTS): The examination consists of a written research paper.

Students of Public Administration and Politics and Administration - Advanced Study Course (10 ECTS): The examination consists of one written assignment during the course and a 48-hour examination.