Course ID: | GEOG 8620. 3 hours. Repeatable for maximum 6 hours credit. |
Course Title: | Space, Place, and the Political Economy of Capitalism |
Course Description: | An exploration of the political economy of capitalism. An
examination of how capitalism operates as a political economic
system, how it is organized spatially, and how space and place are
implicated in how it functions. |
Oasis Title: | Space Place Capitalism |
Semester Course Offered: | Offered fall semester every odd-numbered year. |
Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
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Course Objectives: | Successful completion of this course will provide students with
the following learning outcomes:
- A basic understanding of how capitalism functions and of its
historical and geographical development.
- A clear grasp of debates within political economy concerning
how capitalism operates.
- An appreciation of the diversity of economic systems and
practices in different parts of the planet.
- An awareness of the dynamic nature of economies, with
emphasis on how political, social, cultural, and historical
factors and processes shape their form and how they operate.
- An ability to think critically about how capitalism operates
as a political, economic, and geographical phenomenon.
This course meets the following General Education Abilities by
accomplishing the specific learning objectives listed below:
- Communicate effectively through writing. This is met by the
writing of a term paper.
- Communicate effectively through speech. This is met by oral
presentations, leading discussion, and classroom participation.
- Critical thinking is central to the learning objectives of
this class, and is developed through classroom discussion and
inquiry-based learning efforts.
- Moral reasoning (ethics) is an important element of this
course, as it explores linkages among human behaviors and
economic practices. Moral reasoning is developed through
writing assignments, classroom discussion, and inquiry-based
learning activities. |
Topical Outline: | Topics will likely vary between instructors and over time.
Typical topics would likely include things such as the
following:
- Methodological and ontological debates in political economy
as they relate to geographical analysis of capitalist
development
- Explorations of the historical geography of capitalism and
varieties of capitalism
- Questions of class, space, and social formation
- Debates about globalization and development
- Economic restructuring and models of development in
different parts of the globe
- Questions concerning the relationship between capitalism and
colonialism
- Core-periphery relations in the global economy
- Global commodity chains/Global production networks
- Labor and community under capitalism
- The rise of precarious work and the gig economy
- The political economy of the capitalist state |