BAEcon Economics and Philosophy / Course details

SOCS15001 - only available to year one BA Econ students

The course unit aims to:

• Offer a more comprehensive view on the topic of power and value
• Introduce students to various social science disciplines and how different disciplines approach a topic
• Review the advantages and limitations on different social science approaches

Brief overview of the syllabus/topics. Topics subject to change every year.

Introduction: Why should we care about power and value?

Social Movements: Pursuing Alternative Values

Social Movements

Corporate Social Responsibility

Forced Labour, Child Labour

Money, Shell Money, and the Transatlantic Market in Slaves

Value and Power on Wall Street

Power and Agency in Precarious Employment

Global Value Chains and Inequality

Political Economy in Neoclassical Economics

How to incorporate the different perspectives in our decision making?

The course will be delivered by a weekly 1-hour lecture, and a fortnightly 1-hour tutorial over 10 weeks. It will be supported by online learning and guided self-study.

Lectures will involve introductions to the discipline area and how it is being applied to the broad topic of power and value, alongside discussions of cutting-edge social science research on the topic. In addition to key academic texts, media, social policy sources, and short video-clips will be drawn upon in lectures to engage students with the topic. Lectures will also use real-world data, evidence and case studies to illuminate the value of the approach in question.

During tutorials, students will have the opportunity to discuss and debate issues introduced in the lectures and this will provide opportunities for students to engage critically with the material and perspective presented, as well as develop a further understanding on the lecture materials. Some tutorials will also give students opportunities to work with real-world data using Excel.

The course will utilise Blackboard to deliver the course content, core readings, lecture slides, and any supplementary materials such as video materials, and communication.

(i) Gain an awareness of various social science approaches

(ii) Offer a more comprehensive view on issues by accompanying economic knowledge with different social scientific perspectives

(i) Apply and evaluate social scientific perspectives, and develop a critical view on these different perspectives

(ii) Employ material available from academic, media and policy sources to make effective arguments about the topic

(i) Use library and electronic sources and resources, and work with real-world data

(ii) Conduct critical reading and literature reviews and produce a written portfolio

(i) Present ideas, ask questions, and develop team working skills in group discussions during tutorials

(ii) Develop a critical approach to analyse issues during the portfolio preparation

Online Quizzes (8 quizzes) - 20%

Portfolio, where students critically evaluate how different approaches study either power or value (1500 words) 80% 

Portfolio - written feedback

Tutorial tasks - formative feedback

• Bhambra, G.K. (2020) ‘Colonial global economy: towards a theoretical reorientation of political economy’, Review of International Political Economy.
• Chandler, A.D. and Mazlish, B. (2005) Leviathans: Multinational Corporations and the New Global History. Cambridge University Press.
• Davies, J., 2019. ‘From severe to routine labour exploitation: The case of migrant workers in the UK food industry’, Criminology & Criminal Justice, 19(3), pp.294-310.
• Dundon, T., Martinez Lucio, M., Hughes, E., Howcroft, D., Keizer, A., and Walden, R. (2020) Power, Politics and Influence at Work. Manchester University Press.
• Maitra, I. (2017) ‘Speech and Silencing’, in the Routledge Companion to Feminist Philosophy, London: Routledge, pp. 279-291.
• Ozanne, A. (2016) Power and Neoclassical Economics: A Return to Political Economy in the Teaching of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
• Price. D. and Livesy, L. (2015) ‘Money and Later Life’, in Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology. Taylor & Francis.
• Smith, K. (2017) ‘You don’t own money, you’re just the one who’s holding it’: Borrowing, lending and the fair person in North Manchester’, The Sociological Review, 65(1): 121-136.

Independent study hours:

Private study: 55 hours

Directed reading: 30 hours