Syllabus

Title
5471 Sustainable Economics and Business II: Dimensions of Socioeconomic Inequalities
Instructors
Judith Derndorfer, M.Sc.Ph.D., Franziska Disslbacher, PhD, MSc, BSc
Contact details
franziska.disslbacher@wu.ac.at; judith.derndorfer@wu.ac.at
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
08/19/19 to 08/25/19
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Bachelor Programs
Sustainable Economics and Business II
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Monday 09/02/19 09:00 AM - 01:00 PM D4.0.019
Wednesday 09/04/19 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM D4.0.019
Friday 09/06/19 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM D4.0.019
Monday 09/09/19 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM D4.0.019
Wednesday 09/11/19 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM D4.0.019
Friday 09/13/19 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM D4.0.019
Monday 09/16/19 09:00 AM - 01:00 PM D4.0.019

On this page:

to top
Contents

This course addresses one of the biggest socio-economic challenges of our time: Inequality. The course will illustrate the many different dimensions of inequality such as income, wealth, consumption, opportunity, social mobility, education and health, demonstrate the rapid rise of inequality in almost all countries, link inequality to questions of social justice and fairness and examine whether inequality is not just an outcome of “bigger” economic forces but also a cause of recessions, health problems, happiness, feelings of insecurity, rising populism and intolerance towards the “other” with repercussions not only for the poor but also the rich. We ask questions such as: Is inequality good to increase individual effort and increasing efficiency? Does inequality make us sick? Why hasn’t democracy stopped rising inequality? What does the rise in populism have to do with inequality? This course thus links to the broader theme of ZuWiII and examines whether rising inequality poses a challenge for future sustainable socio-economic development. Fortunately not all is doom and gloom as there are researchers that offer solutions to some of the problems.

to top
Learning outcomes

After completion of the course students will

  • obtain transferable skills such as self reflection, sensibility of diversity and understanding of complex relationships that are the economy
  • have acquired an understanding of inequality as one of our biggest challenges of our time
  • will be able to read critically and interpret academic literature to inform their discussions and evaluations of those challenges
  • appreciate the importance of empirical facts to substantiate an argument in a “postfactual world”
  • find out where to find scientifically acceptable information and how to interpret them
  • work as team to present solutions to reduce rising levels of inequality
to top
Attendance requirements

Examination-immanent courses (PI) have compulsory attendance.
In case of absence the lecturers are to be informed in advance if possible.
More detailed regulations on absenteeism will be explained in the first unit.

to top
Teaching/learning method(s)

The course is based on

  • Lectures
  • Readings
  • Discussions
  • Videos
  • Quizzes
to top
Assessment
  • Participation in discussions (25 %)
  • Short Final Presentation (25%)
  • Quizzes (50 %)
to top
Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

Course enrollment is on the basis of "first-come, first-served” principle. If you have registered but cannot participate in the course, please de-register via LPIS during the registration period so that your course is available to students on the waiting list.

 

If there is a waiting list for enrollment in the course, students at the waiting list will be notified after the end of the enrollment period, and will be allocated to available places. Students will be ranked by their study progress not by their rank on the waiting list.

 

This procedure, however, is not to be understood as a place guarantee!

to top
Availability of lecturer(s)

e-mail

judith.derndorfer@wu.ac.at

franziska.disslbacher@wu.ac.at

Last edited: 2018-11-12



Back