Syllabus
Registration via LPIS
| Day | Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 10/06/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Monday | 10/13/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 10/14/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 10/20/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 10/21/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 11/03/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 11/04/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 11/10/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 11/11/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 11/17/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 11/18/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Friday | 11/21/25 | 12:30 PM - 04:30 PM | TC.5.27 |
| Monday | 11/24/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Monday | 12/01/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 12/02/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 12/15/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 12/16/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 12/22/25 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 12/23/25 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 01/12/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 01/13/26 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Monday | 01/19/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Tuesday | 01/20/26 | 02:15 PM - 03:45 PM | D4.0.039 |
| Friday | 01/23/26 | 12:30 PM - 04:30 PM | TC.4.05 |
| Monday | 01/26/26 | 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM | TC.4.05 |
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
Session 2, Capitalism, GDP and growth
Session 3, Commodities, money and capital accumulation (Marx)
Session 4, Technological and institutional change (Schumpeter and Veblen)
Session 5, Production of space, development in the world system and global capitalism
Session 6, Intellectual monopoly capitalism and the platform economy
Session 7, Mid-term exam
Session 8, The necessity and limits of growth
Session 9, Growth: Material foundations
Session 10, Economics and planetary destruction
Session 11, Extracting Growth: Racialized, Gendered, Imperial, Urban
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:
- Understand the process of economic growth and development in a historical and theoretical manner
- Connect the dynamics of capitalist development to those of environmental processes
- Understand the role of space and time in capitalist production systems
- Understand capital as world-system making
- Understand the role of technology and institutions for political economic evolution
- Understand biophysical foundations of the economic process
- Identify and discuss different political economic approaches to growth, development and well-being;
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.
- Mid-term exam session 7 (30%)
- End-term exam session 13 (30%)
- Group presentation in seminar session (20%)
- Discussion group (10%)
- In-class contribution (10%)
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