Global Inequality in Historical Perspective

2021/2022

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

3

ECTS credits

Delivered by:

Department of History

Type:

Elective course

When:

1 year, 3, 4 module

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Why is the present world unequal? Why some countries take cultural, technological and economic lead and political dominance, while others remain “the rest”? Did they choose to be rich or poor? Will it change in the future? This course discusses global inequalities via the lens of history. It examines how various political, cultural, societal, technological and environmental institutions interact and what changes they produce. While discussing scholarly interpretations and approaches to these issues (we will read must-know texts by Max Weber, Karl Polanyi, and others, and will watch a few important films, such as The Parasite), the course will emphasize the roles of institutions understanding them as diverse practices, rules, and interactions. This broad insight will be useful for both historians and students from other disciplines. The course is especially designed to give students deep insight into developments of the world between the 18th and 21st centuries.

Learning Objectives

• This course proposes the audience to discuss global inequalities via the lens of history with a particular address to economic institutions and technological, environmental, political, and societal issues.
• Students will learn about the main developments of the globe through the 18th – 21st centuries.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate a wide range of generic skills, including skills in communication, information processing, teamwork, critical and creative thinking, computing independent learning
• Distinguish between different perspectives by drawing on their knowledge of the discipline
• Practice a range of research skills and scientific methods for studying history
• Take a creative approach to using new and existing technologies for educational purposes
• Distinguish between different perspectives by drawing on their knowledge of the discipline
• Be able to develop arguments on inequality as a scholarly category and be able to discuss institutions, commons, modernity, technopolitics, world-system, and class
• Be able to formulate statements about scientific notions of inequality and support them with arguments and examples from the readings discussed at tutorials
• Be able to formulate statements about scientific notions of inequality and support them with arguments and examples from the readings discussed at tutorials
• Demonstrate a wide range of generic skills, including skills in communication, information processing, teamwork, critical and creative thinking, computing independent learning
• Practice a range of research skills and scientific methods for studying history

Assessment Elements

• Attendance and participation
• Exam (three short essays)

Interim Assessment

• 2021/2022 4th module
  0.6 * Attendance and participation + 0.4 * Exam (three short essays)

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why Nations Fail : The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (Vol. 1st ed). New York: Currency. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=590177
• Douglass C. North. (1991). Institutions. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.F9F5C9D3
• Marx, K., & Engels, F. (2001). Capital : A Critique of Political Economy. Electric Book Co.
• Max Weber. (2016). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Dancing Unicorn Books.
• Milanović, B. V. (DE-588)129847402, (DE-627)481953531, (DE-576)162238487, aut. (2016). Global inequality a new approach for the age of globalization Branko Milanovic.
• Seal, T. E., & Diamond, J. (2018). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.
• Walt Whitman Rostow. (2020). The Stages of Economic Growth : A Non-Communist Manifesto. Barakaldo Books.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Institutions, institutional change and economic performance, North, D.C., 1990
• Jeffrey G. Williamson. (2011). Trade and Poverty : When the Third World Fell Behind. The MIT Press.
• Milanovic, B. (2014). Global Inequality of Opportunity : How Much of Our Income Is Determined By Where We Live?
• Ostrom, E. (2015). Governing the Commons : The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1077401

Authors

• KOCHETKOVA ELENA ALEKSEEVNA