3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

This seminar is intended as a capstone intellectual experience for seniors and advanced juniors majoring in international studies. The course presumes some background in economics, comparative politics, and international relations. This course will hone your analytical and writing skills by exposing you to theoretically advanced forms of political economy argument in a “proposition-opposition” format. The seminar is organized around a series of thematic pairings, covering such political economy themes like free trade vs. protectionism, free market capitalism vs. socialism, democratic erosion vs. autocratic strength, hegemonic stability vs. US abdication of power, or whether the current populist wave has mainly economic or mostly cultural roots. Each segment will deal with a specific topic area. Our discussions will involve in-depth interrogations of the arguments of these ‘pro-con’ authors.