ASTK12612U SUMMER: Economic crises: A brief history of time
Master level: 7.5 ECTS
Bachelor level: 10 ECTS
As the aftermath of the global financial crisis rumbles on, the attention of politicians has been focussed squarely on narrow issues of economic policy, and on trying to reconstruct routes to economic growth in the wake of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Whilst this latter crisis is often invoked as a direct comparator, few commentators connect the dots in more meaningful ways between the current crisis and its historical and societal precursors. This summer school will therefore encourage students to reflect more deeply on the different dimensions of the current crisis, first providing rigorous introductory teaching to the overlapping issues encapsulated in the current crisis (within the economy, governance and society) before broadening this temporally and theoretically to invite students to think critically about what crisis means.
The course will take place over a period of two weeks, from 09.30 to 16.00 each day. Of this time, formal classes will take place between 09.30-14.30, with the remaining session allocated for group work, homework preparation, and individual support with the assignments. Week 1 introduces an historical overview of past crises, together with some of the key theoreticians who have analysed and defined those crises. The second week uses a series of themes to encourage students question what we mean by crisis in the global economy, and provoke deeper analysis of the ‘work’ done by the term.
A key driving force behind the programme is the desire to build a curriculum around active learning techniques that require students to participate just as actively as the lecturer. Therefore, the structure of the programme is designed to be fluid and to build in space for students to direct their own learning and draw out themes and topics that they find particularly interesting. Each day will have some kind of applied case study or task that requires students to think on their feet about the subject.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Introduction: a brief history of economic crises | The Great Depression | The crisis of the 1970s | The global financial crisis | The Eurozone crisis |
09.30-10.45 | Crash or crisis? The role of economic crises | Antecedents to the Great Depression | The Bretton Woods system | Globalization and interdependence | The creation of EMU |
11.00-12.15 | Governing the economy | The impact of the Great Depression | The collapse of Bretton Woods | The financial collapse | Debt and fiscal policy |
Lunch |
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13.00-14.15 | Money and monetary systems | Theoretical perspectives: Keynes, the General Theory / Galbraith, the Great Crash 1929 | Theoretical perspectives: Polanyi, the Great Transformation / Friedman, Free to Choose | Theoretical perspectives: Stiglitz, Freefall / Gamble, the Spectre at the Feast | Theoretical perspectives: Blyth, Austerity / Sinn, the Euro Trap |
14.30-16.00 | Homework session | Homework session | Homework session | Homework session | Homework session |
Expected teacher | HGS | HGS | HGS | HGS | HGS |
Week 2
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Finance | Governance and Democracy | Global competiveness and decline | Production and Consumption | Sustainability and the future |
09.30-10.45 | Global finance in the dock | States versus markets and public legitimacy | A hidden crisis in trade? Global rebalancing | The rise (and fall?) of global value chains | Study visit |
11.00-12.15 | Lehmann brothers’ collapse | The welfare state | The rise of China | The fashion industry | Study visit |
Lunch |
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13.00-14.15 | Active learning exercise | Active learning exercise | Active learning exercise | Active learning exercise | Class wrap up |
14.30-16.00 | Homework session | Homework session | Homework session | Homework session | Homework session |
Expected teacher | BR | IM | JLM | CS | CS |
Competency description
This course will give students a firm grasp of the dynamics underpinning contemporary crises across different sectors of political economy. As such, they will be well equipped to critically evaluate claims made about the nature of the contemporary economy, and this knowledge and scepticism will serve students well in a range of endeavours. Within political science, it would serve as an excellent foundation for further study in international political economy (IPE), but also more broadly to engage with many contemporary political issues that are expressed in terms of crisis, such as migration, welfare state policy, or education. As such, this course will also provide a strong introduction for students looking to build careers in international organisations, government, the media, or politics.
The seminar’s objective is to enable the students to:
- Describe the key attributes of an economic crisis and explain how the phrase has been used in different contexts
- Compare different periods of crisis over time and identify the features that make them similar or different
- Critically analyse the theoretical and practical contribution of the key texts discussed during the first week
- Relate the concept of crisis to different facets of political and social life beyond periods of immediate economic disruption
An extensive list of primary and secondary texts will be available at the start of the course. Two books will be particularly useful to acquire as basic textbooks:
Davies, Howard: ‘The Financial Crisis: Who is to Blame?’ (Polity Press, Cambridge, 2010)
Broome, André: ‘Issues and Actors in the Global Political Economy’ (Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, 2014)
In addition, the first week will comprise reading several ‘classic’ books in advance. Students would be well advised to obtain library copies of these books and familiarise themselves with them before the start of the course. These are:
Keynes, the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (various editions)
Galbraith, the Great Crash 1929 (Penguin, London, 2009)
Polanyi, the Great Transformation (Beacon Press, Boston 2001, also available online)
Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002)
Stiglitz, Joseph: ‘Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy’ (Penguin, London, 2010)
Gamble, Andrew: ‘the Spectre at the Feast’ (Palgrave MacMillan, Hampshire, 2009)
Blyth, Mark: ‘Austerity: History of a Dangerous Idea’ (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013)
Sinn, Hans-Werner: ‘The Euro Trap’ (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014)
- Category
- Hours
- Class Instruction
- 28
- Total
- 28
Masterstudents af IFS:
Sign up through KUnet from 15 April to 1 May
2nd periode for signing up from 15 May to 2 june
Other students:
http://polsci.ku.dk/english/summer_school/application_procedure/
Further information contact
studievejl@ifs.ku.dk
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentThis is assessed via five short daily assignments in the first week (group work, which each counts for 10% of the final mark) and an individual assignment to be handed in after the second week (50%, graded on the Danish seven point scale).
- Exam registration requirements
75% parcipitation
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
- Grade 12 is given for an outstanding performance: the student lives up to the course's goal description in an independent and convincing manner with no or few and minor shortcomings
- Grade 7 is given for a good performance: the student is confidently able to live up to the goal description, albeit with several shortcomings
- Grade 02 is given for an adequate performance: the minimum acceptable performance in which the student is only able to live up to the goal description in an insecure and incomplete manner
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- ASTK12612U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
- Placement
- Summer
- Schedule
- 10 - 21 August 2015
- Continuing and further education
- Study board
- Department of Political Science, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Political Science
Course responsibles
- Holly Snaith (2-76814e7774813c79833c7279)