Syllabus
Registration via LPIS
| Day | Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 10/05/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Monday | 10/12/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 10/13/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 10/19/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 10/20/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 11/02/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 11/03/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 11/09/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 11/10/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 11/16/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 11/17/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Friday | 11/20/26 | 12:30 PM - 04:30 PM | Ort nach Ankündigung |
| Monday | 11/23/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Monday | 11/30/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 12/01/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 12/07/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | Ort nach Ankündigung |
| Friday | 12/11/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | TC.4.17 |
| Monday | 12/14/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 12/15/26 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 01/11/27 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 01/12/27 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 01/18/27 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
| Tuesday | 01/19/27 | 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Friday | 01/22/27 | 12:30 PM - 04:30 PM | Ort nach Ankündigung |
| Monday | 01/25/27 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.5.03 |
The course reads capitalist development from the inside out, moving concentrically along the circuit of capital.
Part I looks at the inner circle, focusing on how value is produced: two competing images of the economy and the growth imperative behind them, commodities and the contradictions of accumulation, the production of space and the evolution of world capitalism, technology and long waves, and the latest stage of intellectual monopoly capitalism, where knowledge is enclosed and rents replace profits.
Value produced but not realized becomes anti-value.
Part II therefore explores historically different modes of regulation that contained these contradictions for a time (Fordism, then neoliberalization and financialization), before turning to two ingredients of accumulation that never appear on the balance sheet: the "free gifts of nature" and the "free gifts of human labor", i.e. social reproduction. Given the failure of existing modes of regulation, the course finally moves from an explanatory to a normative mode: what do the human and non-human world need in order to flourish, and how do we get there?
This course is separated into two parts, sessions 2-7 are lectured by Manuel Scholz-Wäckerle, sessions 8-13 are lectured by Jürgen Essletzbichler.
The course is structured in a frontal lecture for all students to be held on Mondays, three student-led ‘seminars’ of 20 people each on Tuesdays. Each student is required to attend the Monday lecture and one seminar group, for a weekly total of 3 hours.
Session 1, Course overview and introduction (Capital Circuit)
Part I: Inner Circles of Capital Circuit
Session 2, Circular Flow (GDP, Growth) vs Capital Circuit (Production and Realisation)
Session 3, Commodities, value and capital accumulation
Session 4, Production of space, development of world-systems and evolution of global capitalism
Session 5, Technology, economic development, cycles and long waves
Session 6, Patterns of innovation, intellectual monopoly capitalism, rent and growth
Session 7, Mid-term exam
Part II: Outer Circles of Capital Circuit
Session 8, Realizing Value I: Fordism – Mass production // Mass consumption
Session 9, Realizing Value II: Neoliberalization – Global value extraction, rents, and financialization
Section 10, Re-materializing economics: From “free gifts of nature” to the material foundations of growth
Section 11, Social-ecological reproduction: Extracting “free gifts” of human labor and environment
Session 12, From limiting growth to the “Good life for all”? Utopias, dystopias and multi-scalar transformations
Session 13, Final exam.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
- to compare mainstream (circular flow) and critical accounts of the economy (capital circuit) and explain why capitalism requires growth
- to explain how value and money arise from commodity production and why capitalist development is contradictory
- to explain uneven development between regions and countries and how global capitalism evolves historically
- to assess the role of technology and innovation in long-run economic development and cycles
- to explain how corporate control of knowledge shapes innovation, rents, growth and inequality
- to explain how institutions stabilise accumulation, and how mass production and mass consumption sustained each other at social and ecological cost
- to explain how value is increasingly extracted rather than produced, through rents, financialization and global value chains
- to explain the material foundations of the economy and assess whether growth can be decoupled from resource use and emissions
- to analyse how accumulation relies on unpaid labour and nature, and how this stratifies societies along class, gender and race
- to evaluate utopias and scale-appropriate strategies toward a good life for all within planetary boundaries
Attendance is mandatory in all units of the course. Some of the sessions are reserved as make-up dates. These will be cancelled if no needed.
The course will employ an innovative approach in order to present a more effective and personalised educational offer.
There will be a frontal lecture for all SEEP students on Mondays and seminars will be held on Tuesdays.
Students will then be divided in three 'seminar' groups of 20 people each. These groups will meet separately on Tuesdays. These student-led seminar group will include student group presentations, discussion of readings, group work and Q&A.
Students will have to attend the common frontal lecture, plus the specific seminar to which they will be assigned before the beginning of the course.
Assessment Categories:
- Mid-term exam session 7 (30%)
- End-term exam session 13 (30%)
- Group presentation in seminar session (25%)
- Discussion group (15%)
Grading Scheme:
1 (Very good): 100 - 91
2 (Good): 90 - 81
3 (Satisfactory): 80 - 71
4 (Sufficient): 70 - 61
5 (Fail): 60 - 0
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