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POEC 302 is a three-credit course that examines the relationship between politics and economics and how that changes with time. The course also examines the fundamental ideal relationship between politics and economics, states and markets, democracy, and capitalism. Students will have the chance to read the works of major political and economic thinkers and contemporary approaches such as feminism, anti-racism, and environmental political economy.
Who Should Take This Course and Why
For this course, we had the opportunity to interview Jenna, currently an open student at AU taking courses to determine which program she will specialize in. When we asked Jenna why she took POEC 302 she stated, “Politics has always interested me, and I’ve known for the longest time that it influences all areas including economics, health care, and essentially everything. When I came across the course, I knew I had to take it as I would learn lots of valuable information from it.”
Jenna recommended this course to everyone stating, “POEC 302 is a course that examines the relationship between politics and economics. It helps us understand and appreciate the relationship between the two and how it produces the traditional culture that exists today. The course will also teach us the interdependence of political and ideological issues of power along with problems that exist such as poverty, inflation, and unemployment. I absolutely would recommend this course to everyone as I think it is very worthwhile.”
Course, TME, and Assignments Details
The course consists of the ten units including background, Ancient and Mercantilist Foundations, Smith, Ricardo, and Malthus, Marx and Early Marxian Approaches to Political Economy, Marginalist Economics: The Utilitarianism of Jevons, Menger and Walras, Economic Sociology: Weber, Schumpeter and Galbraith, Thorstein Veblen and John Maynard Keynes, Rise of Neoliberalism: The Austrian and Chicago Schools, Intersectional Analysis, and finally, the Revival of Critical Political and Future of Capitalism.
The course consists of three TME that are worth 15%, 15% and 30% respectively. The final research paper is worth 40%. There are no midterms or final exams for the course.
How to Be Successful in the Course
Course Tutor’s Advice for the Course – Dr. Jason Lacharite
Dr. Jason Lacharite has a PhD in Political Science from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Lacharite’s research interests include the relationship between globalization and Canadian tax and social policy, Chinese politics, government, and history, strategic studies in the Asia Pacific region, and comparative public policy in the OECD. Dr. Lacharite is also a Senior instructor with the Department of Political Science at the University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, B.C.
When we asked Dr. Lacharite for his advice for the course he recommended this course to, “everybody and anybody interested in discovering how politics and economics mix, mingle, and match.” Dr. Lacharite also gave students interested in this course the advice to, “critically evaluate the assigned readings and conduct some independent research. To the extent possible, always try to use your own voice.”
Student’s Advice for the Course – Jenna
When we asked for Jenna’s advice for students is “make sure to read the readings and allocate time for the independent research. If you do the readings in advance, you’ll find that it is much easier to read. For the research paper, try to give yourself time to do the research before writing. Cramming would make the experience very stressful, and I highly do not recommend doing so.”
Questions?
If you have any further questions regarding the course, please do not hesitate to contact the Course Coordinator at jasonl@athabascau.ca. Happy learning!