Other Courses

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Unlike survey courses, these courses focus on a particular period or figure or topic in the history of economics. The courses are listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the professor.

History of Modern Macroeconomics: From Keynes to the Present, Kevin D. Hoover, Duke University, Spring 2008

History of Modern Macroeconomics: From Keynes to the Present, Kevin D. Hoover, Duke University, Spring 2008

Considers the key developments in macroeconomics from the 1930s to the 1980s. Topics include the theory of unemployment and the Great Depression, growth theory and business cycle modeling, the tradeoff bewteen inflation and unemployment, the debate over monetarism, and the New Classical Macroeconomics. Syllabus concludes with a short list of possible term paper topics.

Politics of Economics, Tiago Mata, University of Amsterdam, Fall 2009

Politics of Economics, Tiago Mata, University of Amsterdam, Fall 2009

Surveys and evaluates different understandings of the "politics of economics." How have economists and their intellectual products become influential in our democracies? Readings are recent--most are from the 2000s--and are from an interdisciplinary range of writers and thinkers. Course themes include war, freedom, and identity.

Evolution of Economic Thought, Maria Pia Paganelli, Trinity University, 2011

Evolution of Economic Thought, Maria Pia Paganelli, Trinity University, 2011

This course is organized thematically rather than chronologically. It considers such topics as the influence of commerce, cooperation, money, and trade. Most readings center around classical figures, especially Adam Smith, although several present-day sources are read as well.

Market and Government in the History of Economic Thought, Malcolm Rutherford, University of Victoria, 2014

Market and Government in the History of Economic Thought, Malcolm Rutherford, University of Victoria, 2014

This course deals with views of capitalism from Adam Smith to the present day, focusing on the respective roles of business enterprise, markets, and government. Students are expected to keep reading notes and hand them in as part of the grade; they also write two short essays. Among the readings are the following: The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith); The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx); The Theory of Business Enterprise (Thorstein Veblen); Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (Joseph Schumpeter); The Road to Serfdom (Friedrich Hayek); Capitalism and Freedom (Milton Friedman); and The Predator State (James Galbraith). The syllabus contains links to readings that are available online.

Keynes in Context, E. Roy Weintraub, Duke University, 2011

Keynes in Context, E. Roy Weintraub, Duke University, Spring 2013

Examines the 20th-century British economist John Maynard Keynes in various contexts: late Victorian Cambridge, the Bloomsbury group, G. E. Moore and the Apostles, and the Bretton Woods negotiations, among others. Readings consist of Keynes's works, including the General Theory, and some of Skidelsky's biographies of Keynes. Short writing assignments, a midterm paper, and a final paper. Class meets twice a week and is devoted to discussions of assigned readings.

Development of Modern Economics, E. Roy Weintraub, Duke University, Fall 2010

Development of Modern Economics, E. Roy Weintraub, Duke University, Fall 2010

Focuses on the evolution of economics in the twentieth century, with particular attention on the ways in which difference practices in the first part of the century were continued or abandoned to create what passes today for mainstream economic practice. Class project is the construction of a serious intellectual biography of Martin Bronfenbrenner. Topics include historiography, English economic thought, the development of American economics, Keynes and revolution, economics and World War II, neoliberalism, and several others.

Economic Science Studies, E. Roy Weintraub, Duke University, Spring 2011

Economic Science Studies, E. Roy Weintraub, Duke University, Spring 2011

Course uses the techniques and materials of science studies to understand modern economic practices. Readings are from Mario Bagioli's Science Studies Reader, supplemented with additional readings. Topics include facts and theories, belief and evidence, scientific communities, and constructing scientific truth, among others.

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