Syllabus

Title
1611 The Political Economy of Inequalities II
Instructors
Univ.Prof. Dr. Jürgen Essletzbichler, Hendrik Theine, Ph.D.
Contact details
Univ.Prof. Dr. Jürgen Essletzbichler, juergen.essletzbichler@wu.ac.at Hendrik Theine, PhD., hendrik.theine@wu.ac.at
Type
PI
Weekly hours
4
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
09/03/24 to 09/30/24
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Friday 10/11/24 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 11/08/24 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 11/15/24 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 11/29/24 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 12/06/24 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 12/13/24 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 01/10/25 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 01/17/25 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 01/24/25 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Friday 01/31/25 12:00 PM - 04:30 PM D4.0.039
Contents

This concentration area will cover a key arena of contemporary debates on the role of inequality for social and political cohesion, economic and social sustainability. The concentration area runs over two semesters, with a two-hour unit running in summer semesters followed by four-hour units running in winter semesters. Although the two units are assessed separately, they should be interpreted as an integrated unit where lessons from the two-hour unit carry over to the four-hour unit course.

In this second term, the concentration area focuses on the design, the feasibility and implementation of student led group projects on various forms of political economy of inequalities. Students projects will be based on the topics presented and discussed in course I – be it standard work on earnings, wage and wealth inequality, the causes of and consequences for individuals and society, critical examination of various forms of group inequality (gender, ethnic, territories, neighborhoods) and none-monetary forms of inequality, power relations, the role of the media, and the decisive role of institutions.

In line with the overall aim and socio-economic approach of this concentration area, the students’ projects are expected to follow a trans-disciplinary focus, drawing on topics like economics, sociology, political science, philosophy, feminist theory and geography.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students should acquire the following outcomes:

  • Design and implement an (empirical) research project related to a topic on inequality
  • Develop an in-depth understanding of your particular topic the political economy of inequality
  • Analysis of economic inequality, and economic policies regarding inequality
  • Critical empirical implementation of core concepts and themes related to a topic on inequality
  • Contextualisation of economic approaches and policies towards inequality
  • Strengthen research skills
  • Improve team work skills
Attendance requirements

Students may miss one session without penalty.

Teaching/learning method(s)

The course will mainly consist of supervised group projects where students are required to present their progress regularly.

Assessment

There are five portions to students’ grades: 
•    Presentation and discussion of methodology (15-11-2024) - 10%
•    Presentation and discussion of project progress (13-12-2024) - 10%
•    “Tik-tok”-style Video presentation of project results (24-01-2025 & 31-01-2025) - 20%
•    Peer feedback (twice) - 10%
•    Final Group Paper (15-02-2025) - 50%

 

Grading rubric:

1: 90+ points

2: 75-89 points

3: 60-74 points

4: 50-59 points

5: 0-49 points

Readings

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Last edited: 2024-09-02



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