LECON6216 Political Economy and Globalisation Course Descriptor

Course Overview

The course is an overview of how the global economy came to be, starting with early globalisation in the era of imperialism. It includes the study of some key concepts in political economy, such as economic growth, trade agreements, financial stability and economic sustainability, and the state and market and their respective roles in bringing about desirable changes.

Students are given material about a variety of contexts across the world and through history, and encouraged to explore case studies of their choice across a wide range of possibilities in history and the present day. The course also invites students to analyse the role of major international organisations in managing economic events through political means.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students  in their  studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures/seminars/workshops

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

• Version 1:all sessions in the same sized group

OR

• Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE

Summative Assessments

Students will describe and explain current theories of how economies and economic actors in the increasingly globalised economic system navigate the business environment and solve challenges involving trade, economic integration, and global finance. They will describe situations and solve problems that economies or companies have faced in different historical and cultural contexts, and evaluate academic sources against the various real-life experiences of different countries and companies.

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Ravenhill, J. (2020) Global Political Economy. Oxford University Press.
• Krugman, P.R., M. Obstfeld, and M. Melitz (2018) International Trade: Theory and Policy. Pearson/Addison Wesley.
• Ruggie, J.G. (1982) International Regimes, Transactions, and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order. International Organization, Volume 36, Issue 2, International Regimes (Spring, 1982), 379-415.

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below is used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• International organisations (e.g. WTO, IMF)
• Trade agreements
• Economic growth and financial stability