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LDST 390-04 / ECON 260-02, SPRING 2012SEMINAR ON ECONOMIC THOUGHT & POLITICAL JUSTICE JEPSON SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND INSTRUCTOR Mr. Christopher MartinCONTACT INFORMATIONEmail (preferred): [email protected]: 703-261-4898CLASS LOCATION Jepson Hall, Room 108CLASS WEBSITE http://www.christopherecon.org/Navigate to the Teaching section, and then choose the “2012 Spring History of Economic Thought” area. The updated assignment list is under the first bold heading. Probably easiest to bookmark that page for easy access. MEETING TIMESClass Time: T 3:00 - 5:45First Class: Tuesday, January 10thLast Class: Tuesday, April 17th PAPERS DUE: Friday, April 20th, 5 PM (via email, PDF) FINAL EXAM: Friday, April 27, 7-10 PM (regular room)1 OFFICE & OFFICE HOURSBy appointment, though I also keep W 1:30-3:00 open. Please email me at least 24 hours in advance, excluding weekends. WEATHER AND DISASTERSI’ll go by the university’s decision to cancel class in case of weather or other emergencies. You can call 804-289-8760 to check if UR classes are being held. COURSE OBJECTIVE In this seminar we will take a “great books” and discussion-based approach to the early history of economic thought – ranging from Aristotle and the Bible to John Stuart Mill, on the eve of the Marginal Revolution in the middle nineteenth century. Through the lens of these classic texts, we’ll trace how economic understanding has illuminated (and sometimes obscured) questions of justice and the the proper policy response to economic problems. Because of the early date of the texts, the course makes no claim to giving the “state of the art” of economic understanding on any given issue - although many of the basic principles *are* applicable and will help economics and business majors to some extent. The more important goal is to accustom you, as future leaders and citizens, to thinking rigorously about economic 1 You can consult the university exam schedule & policies for spring 2012 here: http://registrar.richmond.edu/common/PDF/6_7%20Exam%20Schedule/ExamSched_Spring12.pdfissues, and overcoming the “provincialism of time” that sometimes leads us to dismiss the experience of earlier ages as irrelevant to our own. PREREQUISITES This is not a technical economics course and emphasizes meeting early thinkers on their own terms. Accordingly there are no prerequisites, although Econ 101 and 102 would be helpful. All participants will be expected to take an active part in the discussion. REQUIRED TEXT AND RESOURCES Due to the number of sources referenced this semester, we’re going to employ an anthology of economic writings both to decrease your search time for the texts and to give us all consistent page numbers. When the anthology lacks a text of interest, I will supply an alternative way to get it through the Internet (via Econlib or a similar free website). Medema, Steven G, and Warren J. Samuels. 2003. The History of Economic Thought: A Reader. New York: Routledge. This book (ISBN 0415205514) is stocked at the UR bookstore and may be available through other vendors as well. I recommend buying it if at all possible, but if you face a hard budget constraint it’s also available as an electronic resource at the library. The electronic resource can only be viewed by one person at a time though, so you will need to coordinate with your peers. GRADING Your overall grade will be calculated from several sources, as outlined below: 10% Present and Prepared score (explained below)30% In-Class Participation, Activities, and Minor Writing Assignments30%: Research Paper30%: Final Exam Present and Prepared System I believe that it was F.A. Hayek who commented that the mind cannot grow except in the company of other minds. This is particularly true of a seminar course, where we deepen our understanding through the disciplined conversation. However, a good conversation requires that participants have read the relevant texts. I know that your heart is in the right place on the issue of class preparation but (having been a college student myself) also know that there are many demands on your time. Accordingly, I use the following system to reward you for doing the readings - but with flexibilitybuilt in to accommodate the inevitable days when you might have another exam, be recovering from illness, etc. When you arrive at class, there will be a sheet where you can (if you wish) sign in for that day. Signing in indicates for me that you are both “present and prepared,” that is, that you are both physically and intellectually present - you have read the material assigned for that day and are ready to discuss it. If you sign in as present and prepared for at least eleven out of the fourteen class sessions, you’ll receive an “A” on the “present and prepared” portion of your grade. (The first day counts as prepared if you are there!) If you don’t sign in for at least eleven classes, you lose this portion of the grade entirely. But if you sign in for MORE than the baseline, you receive a bonus of 1% each time; so if you came present and prepared to all sessions, you would in effect get 3 extra credit points to your final grade. If you sign in as present and prepared, I’ll consider you as an active participant in that day’s conversation - so I may call on you to advance the conversation about the readings. If I call on you and you obviously haven’t read the assignment, there is a penalty of 5% to your grade (you lose half the ENTIRE present and prepared score). You are only penalized if you claim to have read the material but clearly haven’t. It’s OK to have read but not to completely understand everything - as long as you have obviously made the effort, and are ready to discuss. If you come to class and don’t sign in as present and prepared, you are still welcome to participate in the conversation (in fact, that is great). If I forget that you aren’t signed in and call on you, you can just remind me that you didn’t sign in. You can still answer if you wish. Class Participation I’m looking for serious thought, respect for and intellectual engagement with your classmates, intellectual courage, and overall contributions to the discussion. A shy person who makes periodic, but well-thought out contributions can do just as well here as a naturally gregarious person who loves to talk. Short


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U of R LDST 390 - Syllabus

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