Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
SOSC 115 Spring 2014 SOSC 115: THINKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY Koc University, Core Program, Spring 2014 Monday & Wednesday, 12:30-13:45, CAS Z08 Dr. Onur Ulas Ince Office hours: Monday & Wednesday, 10:00-11:00, 2:00-3:00 or by appointment Office: CAS 147 [email protected] Description: This course aims to induce critical thinking about the idea of the “economy.” In our everyday lives, we intuitively treat the economy as an all-encompassing yet obscure reality, as we believe its workings can be grasped only by economists who speak its specialized, technical language. In this course, we will problematize this view of the economy through a historical survey of Western social thought on central economic concepts and questions, such as property and exchange, labor and work, production and consumption. Such a survey reveals that economic problems are never purely economic but have always been entwined with political issues and ethical judgments. As we examine a range of social theories by situating them in their historical contexts, we will see how questions of power, authority, and legitimacy, and conceptions of good life, meaningful existence, and social purpose have been central to various definitions of the economy. We will see that processes of production and consumption, and institutions of property and markets do not simply concern livelihood but are invariably implicated in profound controversies about justice, fairness, freedom, and equality. Grappling with diverse approaches to the economy, some of which are wildly different than today’s dominant theories, is intended to cultivate a critical distance toward our tacit assumptions and broaden the scope of questions we can ask about prevailing economic structures and processes. Course material: All required readings are provided in the course package available for purchase at Copyland. Requirements: Attendance: 5% Participation: 10% Midterm exam: 35% Final exam (cumulative): 50% Exam dates are tentative; they will be announced by the Registrar's office. 1 SOSC 115 Spring 2014 Structure and expectations: Readings: Each class will incorporate a one-hour lecture followed by 15-minutes of question-andanswer session. Lectures will not simply go over the course material and explain them for you. I will contextualize and interpret the assigned texts, putting them in historical perspective and expounding their theoretical significance. It is therefore very important for you to come to class having done the readings assigned for that day. Doing otherwise will give you less access to the content of the lectures. Secondly, doing the readings on time wards against falling behind schedule and having to catch up before the midterm and final exams. Finally, the course incorporates in-class written exercises (part of the participation requirement), which you will not be able to complete without having read the material. Attendance: Attendance is part of your grade. I will take attendance in each class. Attendance means that you come to class on time and leave on time: no late arrivals, no early departures. If you are unable to attend a class, you should inform me by e-mail or in person, preferably prior to class. It is your responsibility to obtain the notes for the lectures you miss. If you cannot attend to due to health issues, you should provide a medical report from the Health Center. No other form of medical documentation will be accepted. I reserve the discretion to decide on how your absences, excused as well as unexcused, will reflect on your attendance grade. Participation: I strongly encourage you to participate in class by asking questions and sharing your thoughts on the issue under discussion. If you have a question of clarification during the lecture, feel free to raise your hand. The question-and-answer period also serves as a platform for voicing your reflections on the material and engaging in exchange with your colleagues. Disagreement is quite common when it comes to the kind of questions we explore in this class, and I endorse it as long as such disagreement is expressed with mutual respect and cordiality. I understand that not everyone is equally comfortable speaking in public. If you are shy or nervous about speaking in class, let me know within the first two weeks of the semester – this is not for excusing you from speaking in class but in order talk about how to make your participation less anxiety-inducing. In addition to class discussion, you will have unannounced in-class exercises, which will often take the form a short written response to a question I will pose about the assigned material before the lecture – which is another reason you should be in class on time. Missed in-class exercises cannot be made up. Finally, visiting me during my office hours – not for the sake of visiting but with questions relevant to the readings or lectures – will count towards your participation grade. If my office hours conflict with your class schedule, please send me an e-mail stating your request to meet, specifying the issue you would like to discuss, and a schedule of the times you can meet. 2 SOSC 115 Spring 2014 Exams There will be one midterm and one final examination for this class. Both exams will be based on assigned readings, lectures, and in-class discussions. Questions on the exam may include identifications, short answers, and essays of various lengths. Exam dates will be announced by the university registrar and are non-negotiable. Other policies During lectures, the following are unprofessional and impolite manners of behavior, which –if displayed- will affect your grade negatively: being late, leaving early, dozing off, reading materials unrelated to the course, using your phone for calls or text messaging, talking among yourselves, talking about stuff irrelevant to the discussion, interrupting or being disrespectful to each other during discussions. You are expected to turn your cell phones off during class. The use of all electronic devices such as laptops, ipads, electronic readers, cell phones, MP3 players are prohibited during class time. If you have questions or objections to a grade, you should let me know within seven days after I return your exams. You should also provide me with written explanation as to what you think merits more points and why. Please bear in mind that in such exchanges, discovery of further problems with the work is possible and this may result in reduction of the given grade. I discuss graded exams only in person, not over e-mail. A missed exam without proper documentation will result in 0 points for that component of the grade. Koç University Statement on Academic Honesty Koç University expects all its students to perform course-related activities in accordance with the rules set forth in the Student Code of Conduct (http://vpaa.ku.edu.tr/academic/student-code-of-conduct). Actions considered as academic dishonesty at Koç University include but are not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and impersonating. This statement’s goal is to draw attention to cheating and plagiarism related actions deemed unacceptable within the context of Student Code of Conduct: All individual assignments must be completed by the student himself/herself, and all team assignments must be completed by the members of the team, without the aid of other individuals. If a team member does not contribute to the written documents or participate in the activities of the team, his/her name should not appear on the work submitted for evaluation. Plagiarism is defined as ‘borrowing or using someone else’s written statements or ideas without giving written acknowledgement to the author’. Students are encouraged to conduct research beyond the course material, but they must not use any documents 3 SOSC 115 Spring 2014 prepared by current or previous students, or notes prepared by instructors at Koç University or other universities without properly citing the source. Furthermore, students are expected to adhere to the Classroom Code of Conduct (http://vpaa.ku.edu.tr/academic/classroom-code-of-conduct) and to refrain from all forms of unacceptable behavior during lectures. Failure to adhere to expected behavior may result in disciplinary action. There are two kinds of plagiarism: Intentional and accidental. Intentional plagiarism (Example: Using a classmate’s homework as one’s own because the student does not want to spend time working on that homework) is considered intellectual theft, and there is no need to emphasize the wrongfulness of this act. Accidental plagiarism, on the other hand, may be considered as a ‘more acceptable’ form of plagiarism by some students, which is certainly not how it is perceived by the University administration and faculty. The student is responsible from properly citing a source if he/she is making use of another person’s work. For an example on accidental plagiarism, please refer to the document titled “An Example on Accidental Plagiarism” (see the end of the syllabus). If you are unsure whether the action you will take would be a violation of Koç University’s Student Code of Conduct, please consult with your instructor before taking that action. An Example on Accidental Plagiarism This example is taken from a document prepared by the City University of New York. The following text is taken from Elaine Tyler May’s ‘Myths and Realities of the American Family’: “Because women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage, single mothers rarely earn enough to support themselves and their children adequately. And because work is still organized around the assumption that mothers stay home with children, even though few mothers can afford to do so, child-care facilities in the United States remain woefully inadequate.” Below, there is an excerpt from a student’s homework, who made use of May’s original text: “As Elaine Tyler May points out, “women's wages often continue to reflect the fiction that men earn the family wage” (588). Thus many single mothers cannot support themselves and their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based on the assumption that mothers stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still “woefully inadequate.” (May 589)”. You may think that there is no plagiarism here since the student is citing the original author. However, this is an instance of accidental plagiarism. Although the student cites May and uses quotation marks occasionally, the rest of the sentences, more specifically the following section: “Thus many single mothers cannot support themselves and their children adequately. Furthermore, since work is based on the assumption that mothers 4 SOSC 115 Spring 2014 stay home with children, facilities for day care in this country are still “woefully inadequate.” (May 589)” almost exactly duplicates May’s original language. So, in order to avoid plagiarism, the student either had to use quotation marks for the rest of the sentences as well, or he/she had to paraphrase May’s ideas by using not only his/her own words, but his/her own original ideas as well. You should keep in mind that accidental plagiarism often occurs when the student does not really understand the original text but still tries to make use of it. Understanding the original text and understanding why you agree or disagree with the ideas proposed in that text is crucial both for avoiding plagiarism and for your intellectual development. Reference(s): Avoiding and Detecting Plagiarism: A Guide for Graduate Students and Faculty. The Graduate Center. City University of New York, 2012. Web. <http://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-GraduateCenter/PDF/Publications/AvoidingPlagiarism.pdf> OUTLINE OF THE COURSE (Note: all of the assigned readings comprise selections from the works indicated) Week 1 Mon, Feb 3 Introduction Wed, Feb 5 Henry Spiegel, The Growth of Economic Thought, “Introduction.” Week 2 Mon, Feb 10 Plato, Republic Wed, Feb 12 Aristotle, Politics and Nicomachean Ethics Week 3 Mon, Feb 17 Aristotle (continued) Wed, Feb 19 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica 5 SOSC 115 Spring 2014 Week 4 Mon, Feb 24 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Wed, Feb 26 John Locke, Two Treatises of Government Week 5 Mon, Mar 3 John Locke (continued) Wed, Mar 5 David Hume, Essays, Moral, Political and Literary Week 6 Mon, Mar 10 Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations Wed, Mar 12 Adam Smith, Lectures on Jurisprudence Week 7 Mon, Mar 17 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality Wed, Mar 19 Thomas Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population David Ricardo, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation Week 8 Mon, Mar 24 John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy Wed, Mar 26 Friedrich List, The National System of Political Economy Week 9 Mon, Mar 31 Karl Marx, The Manifesto of the Communist Party 6 SOSC 115 Spring 2014 Wed, Apr 2 Capital, Vol. 1; “Gotha Programme” Week 10 Apr 7, 9: NO CLASS (Spring Break) Week 11 Mon, Apr 14 Mikhail Bakunin, The Political Philosophy of Bakunin Wed, Apr 16 Peter Kropotkin, Mutual Aid Week 12 Mon, Apr 21 Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Wed, Apr 23 NO CLASS (National Sovereignty Day) Week 13 Mon, Apr 28 Friedrich von Hayek, Law, Legislation, and Liberty, Vol. 2 Wed, Apr 20 Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom Week 14 Mon, May 5 John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money Wed, May 7 John Maynard Keynes (continued) Week 15 (May 12) Mon, May 12 Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation Wed, May 14 Karl Polanyi (continued) 7