Anti-Colonialism, Dependency, and Uneven Development

2024/2025

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

3

ECTS credits

Delivered by:

Department of History

Type:

Mago-Lego

When:

2 module

Instructor

Gužvica, Stefan

Course Syllabus

Abstract

While historians, economists, political scientists, and sociologists still tend to disagree on the starting point of capitalism, they all agree on one thing – not everybody reached capitalism at the same time. This has generally been identified as one of the major causes of global developmental differences and inequalities. Furthermore, structural pressures inherent in capitalism’s expansionist tendencies have resulted in countries of the capitalist “center” – where the system developed first – having an adverse effect on the development of the “periphery” – where capitalism arrived later, causing structural dependence on the center. Colonialism has only been the most overt expression of this tendency. This course will examine how capitalism developed unevenly over the centuries and what political consequences this has had – both historically, and in the contemporary world. As the course will show, the current global geopolitical order, its ongoing changes, and the position of the Russian Federation within it cannot be understood without a grasp of basic problems of dependency and uneven development.

Learning Objectives

• This course aims to explore the historical, economic, and political dimensions of capitalism's uneven development across the globe, focusing on the impacts of colonialism and the dependency that stemmed from it. Through a multidisciplinary lens, students will gain insights into the origins of capitalism, its expansionist tendencies, and the resulting disparities between the capitalist centers and peripheries. The course will also delve into the contemporary implications of these historical dynamics, particularly in relation to the global geopolitical order and the role of the Russian Federation.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Understanding the historical emergence of capitalism and its initial development in the capitalist centers.

Course Contents

• Week 1
• Week 2: Colonialism Until the 19th Century
• Week 3: Agrarian Transitions
• Week 4: Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism
• Week 5: 20th Century Liberations
• Week 6: The Global North After World War II
• Week 7: The Counter-Offensive of the “Periphery”

Assessment Elements

• Семинары
  Students are expected and highly encouraged to participate in seminars and engage in discussions, as well as ask questions of their own. Class attendance is part of the participation grade. Attendance without engagement in the seminar discussion is awarded a 6. Students are allowed one unexcused absence per course, which is also graded with a 6. All further unexcused absences will be graded with a 0. Students also have the ability to make up for a mixed seminar by writing a two-to-three-page paper critically analyzing one or several mandatory readings for that week. In that case they will be graded, with the maximum grade being 8.
• Final Paper
  The students will write a short paper on a topic of their choice. The paper must revolve around a clearly defined research question. It does not have to be based on assigned readings, mandatory or optional, as long as it deals broadly with the topics of colonialism, development, or dependency. All sources must be cited using the Chicago Manual of Style. Late submissions are penalized by one grade down for every 24 hours past the assigned deadline.

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 2nd module
  0.7 * Final Paper + 0.3 * Семинары

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Winkler, B. A Flow-of-Funds Perspective on the Financial Crisis.Volume I: Money, Credit and Sectoral Balance Sheets / Bernhard Winkler, Ad van Riet, Peter Bull. - London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. – 317 p. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137352989

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Metcalf, Barbara Daly; Metcalf, Thomas R. A Concise History of Modern India. Cambridge University Press, 2012. Pp. 364. ISBN: 978-1-107-02649-0, 978-1-107-67218-5, 978-1-139-20780-5, 978-1-139-52649-4, 978-1-139-52769-9, 978-1-139-52888-7, 978-1-139-53116-0, 978-1-139-54047-6, 978-1-283-57506-5. URL: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=977222.

Authors

• GUZHVITSA STEFAN
• LYUBAVINA SVETLANA VYACHESLAVOVNA