Admission requirements
In addition to LIAS PhD students, this course is open to students of the MA Middle Eastern Studies (research), the MA Asian Studies (research), and the MA Classical and Ancient Civilizations (research). Interested students from other relevant Research MA or PhD programmes are kindly advised to contact the coordinator of studies, before registering for this course.
Description
What is the tension between states and markets in the history, production, and reproduction of capitalism in the global political economy (GPE)? Offering an intensive, multidisciplinary reading program in GPE, the seminar will grapple with the histories and approaches to scholarship around the nature, evolution, and legacies of capitalism around the world. Through critical engagement with core literature, seminar participants will be able to re-evaluate popular and scholarly assumptions on political economy and relate the analysis to their own diverse research projects. Applying a critical lens, each of six weekly sessions delves into a core text (or selection of articles), and reads these in conversation with major debates and questions in the field. The theme(s) vary each year, and may include histories of capitalism, labour, migration, gender, race, trade and investment, inequality, commodities and energy markets, consumption, global finance, global economic governance, and the environment, among others. By looking at political economy through a global lens, the course helps students build theoretical and methodological preparedness to investigate multiple explanations, outcomes, and impacts on local, national, regional, and global levels.
This course is linked to the research network, the Leiden Political Economy Group. Students are welcome to attend other activities organized by the network.
Course objectives
Become familiar with theoretical works dealing with the production of knowledge on global political economy;
Enhance your ability to engage and synthesize arguments in debate and workshop settings;
Improve critical reading and analysis skills.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
The deadline in MyTimetable is set for administrative purposes only. The actual date(s) will be communicated by the lecturer(s) in Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
Seminar.
Attendance and active participation are obligatory for seminars. Students are required to prepare for and attend all sessions. The convenor needs to be informed without delay of any classes missed because of illness or misadventure. In these cases it is up to the discretion of the convener(s) of the course whether or not the missed class will have to be made up with an extra assignment. The maximum of such absences during a semester is two. Being absent without notification and/or more than two times can result in exclusion from the term end exams and a failing grade for the course.
Assignments may include web posts, presentations, moderating the discussion etc, at the discretion of the convener.
Deadlines for paper submission (ResMA students only) are set by the convener, after consultation of the students. Papers must be submitted at a date that enables marking and administrative processing within maximally six weeks after the Seminar’s final session.
Assessment method
ResMA students take the course for credit and will write a paper worth about 70 hours of work. Information on the requirements for the paper will be provided by the convener at the start of the course.
Academic integrity
Students should familiarize themselves with the notion of academic integrity and the ways in which this plays out in their own work. A good place to start is this page. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students may not substantially reuse texts they have previously submitted in this or other courses. Minor overlap with previous work is allowed as long as it is duly noted in citation.
Students must submit their assignment(s) to Brightspace through Turnitin, so they can be checked for plagiarism. Submission via email is not accepted.
ChatGPT: What is possible and what is allowed? Dos and Don'ts.
Assessment and weighing
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Contributions to in-class debate and any assignments (see above) | 50% |
| A paper (see above) | 50% |
The final mark for this course is formed by the weighted average.
In order to pass the course, students must obtain an passing grade, i.e. 5.50 (=6) or higher, for both components of the assessment.
The course is an integrated whole. All assessment parts must be completed in the same academic year. No partial marks can be carried over into following years.
Inspection and feedback
Feedback will be supplied primarily through Brightspace. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the assessment results, a review will be organized.
Reading list
Prior to the start of the course, the course convener will provide detailed information on the material to be reviewed and any other preparatory activities for each session.
Registration
Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Vrieshof