Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An exploration of critical and radical political economy traditions in Labour Studies with a focus on how these approaches have diverged from, and provided alternatives to, classical and orthodox economic understandings of labour and labour markets.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course explores how critical and radical political economists have approached labour in capitalist economies. Critical and radical political economy represent significant academic and political traditions through which capitalism has been theorized and analyzed, and through which the struggles of workers have been galvanized. Moreover, they have been the foundation of policy initiatives and approaches, from Keynsianism to the cooperative movement. This course introduces students to these traditions and their challengers. Starting with Smith, Ricardo and Marx, it traces the development of critical and radical political economic frameworks and their intersection with oppositional and revolutionary forces such as feminism, anti-colonial and anti-imperial struggles, the civil rights movement, and the anti-globalization movement. Students will gain an understanding of how critical and radical traditions have diverged from, and provided alternatives to, mainstream and orthodox economic understandings of labour and labour markets.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Upon satisfactory completion of the course students will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key thinkers and approaches in the critical and radical political economy traditions. 
• Understand how their concepts and frameworks developed to provide alternative conceptualizations of labour, labour markets, and class dynamics. 
• Demonstrate how these concepts and frameworks can be applied to contemporary labour market issues. 
• Analyze how oppositional and revolutionary movements in the global North and South have challenged and shaped the political economy of labour markets.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: