Political Economy

University of California, Berkeley

The Political Economy program examines the relationship between politics and economics in modern societies, focusing on problems of both domestic and international policy. The curriculum is both multi- and interdisciplinary and is based on the assumption that political-economic relationships are affected by society, culture, geography, and demographics.

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Program

Courses

Political Economy

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POLECON 24 Freshman Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Spring 2021
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment is limited to 15 freshmen.
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Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 24

POLECON C45 Survey of World History 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024
This course focuses on the history of global interaction, with a particular emphasis on the relationships between states and societies. Though it begins with a brief exploration of antiquity, it emphasizes world developments since the 15th century. The purpose of the course is to gain a better understanding of the rise and decline of states, empires, and international trading systems. Taking a panoramic view of the last 500 years, it explores the ways in which disparate places came closer together, even while it seeks to explain how those places maintained their own trajectories in the face of outside intervention.
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Rules & Requirements

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POLECON C45 after completing HISTORY 1, POLECON 45, or GLOBAL 45. A deficient grade in POLECON C45 may be removed by taking GLOBAL N45, HISTORY 1, POLECON 45, or GLOBAL 45.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Jackson

Also listed as: HISTORY C1

POLECON 84 Sophomore Seminar 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: At discretion of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring:
5 weeks - 3-6 hours of seminar per week
10 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of seminar per week
15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 2.5-5 hours of seminar per week
8 weeks - 1.5-3.5 hours of seminar and 2-4 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 84

POLECON 85 What Is Political Economy and How Should We Do It? 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024
This course is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing on history, philosophy and the social sciences to answer the question “What is political economy and how should we do it?” We will examine the relationships between political economy, liberal democracy, the nation-state and empire, explore the influence of institutions, ideas and identities on political economy, and analyze different topics, methodologies and mediums of communication. In doing so we will ask whether political economy is an empirical subject that seeks to describe the world, a normative endeavor that seeks to change it for the better, or something else entirely.
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Objectives & Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes: Apply key theoretical frameworks, concepts and historical understandings to specific problems in contemporary society, offering critiques and potential solutions
Be able to write and speak about key substantive and methodological issues in political economy coherently and knowledgably
Decide whether political economy is something they would like to pursue as a field of study
Proceed with a substantive project in political economy if they so desire
Read and analyze academic and popular texts effectively and efficiently
Understand the historical and theoretical contexts within which different forms of political economy operate

Understand the historical and theoretical contexts within which different forms of political economy operate
Understand the historical and theoretical contexts within which different forms of political economy operate

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

POLECON 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
Student-directed course under the supervision of a faculty member. Subject matter to change from semester to semester.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 98

POLECON 100 Classical Theories of Political Economy 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
One-semester lecture course offered each semester. In-depth analysis of the classical political economy literature, including such authors as Locke, Smith, Marx, Mills, and Weber to Veblen and Polanyi. Strong emphasis is placed on providing appropriate background for understanding the evolution of the literature that has emanated from the various social science disciplines which forms the basis of modern political economy.
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Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit under special circumstances: Passing POLECON 100 may replace a deficient grade in POLECON N100.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON N100 Classical Theories of Political Economy 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 8 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session
In-depth analysis of the classical political economy literature, including such authors as Locke, Smith, Marx, Mills, and Weber to Veblen and Polanyi. Strong emphasis is placed on providing appropriate background for understanding the evolution of the literature that has emanated from the various social science disciplines which forms the basis of modern political economy.
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Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit under special circumstances: Passing POLECON N100 may replace a deficient grade in POLECON 100.

Hours & Format

Summer:
6 weeks - 10.5 hours of lecture per week
8 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 101 Contemporary Theories of Political Economy 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
This course is designed to introduce students to modern theoretical works of central intellectual debates on 20th century international political economy. The course explores alternative explanations for inequality in economic development among nations and economic declines of of the dominate powers. It will also examine tensions between the increasing "globalization" of that economy and continued fragmentation of the international political system in nation-states.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: POLECON 100, Political Economy 100 or consent of instructor

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POLECON 101 after completing POLECIS 101, POLECIS S101, or POLECON N101. A deficient grade in POLECON 101 may be removed by taking POLECON N101.

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit under special circumstances: Passing POLECON 101 may replace a deficient grade in POLECON N101.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON N101 Contemporary Theories of Political Economy 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session
This course is designed to introduce students to modern theoretical works of central intellectual debates on 20th century international political economy. The course explores alternative explanations for inequality in economic development among nations and economic declines of of the dominate powers. It will also examine tensions between the increasing "globalization" of that economy and continued fragmentation of the international political system in nation-states.
Contemporary Theories of Political Economy: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Political Economy 100, N100 or consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit under special circumstances: Passing POLECON N101 may replace a deficient grade in POLECON 101.

Hours & Format

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 106 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
This course is designed as a comprehensive overview of intermediate microeconomic theory. It covers the basic supply and demand model. Topics include consumer choice, choice under uncertainty and information, demand theory, firm, production and cost theory, competitive market theory, imperfect competition, and market failure. The course is structured for majors in Political Economy and other non-economic social science majors.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Economics 1 or equivalent

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POLECON 106 after completing ECON 100A, ECON 101A, UGBA 101A, or IAS 106. A deficient grade in POLECON 106 may be removed by taking ECON 100A, ECON 101A, UGBA 101A, or IAS 106.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 10 hours of lecture and 3 hours of discussion per week
8 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 107 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
This course is designed as a comprehensive overview of intermediate macroeconomic theory focusing on economic growth and international economics. It covers a number of topics including history of economic growth, industrial revolution, post-industrial revolution divergence, flexible-price and sticky-price macroeconomics, and macroeconomic policy. Course is structured for majors in Political Economy and other non-economic social science majors.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Economics 1 or equivalent

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for POLECON 107 after completing IAS 107, ECON 100B, ECON 101B, or UGBA 101B. A deficient grade in POLECON 107 may be removed by taking IAS 107, ECON 100B, ECON 101B, or UGBA 101B.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 111 Poverty and Social Policy 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2019 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2018
This course investigates the nature, extent, and persistence of poverty and inequality, and examines the effects of program and policy responses. Throughout the course we will look at proposed explanations for the causes of poverty and will observe how underlying values and assumptions have influenced the development of policies aimed at poverty alleviation. While emphasizing poverty and policy responses in the United States, we will examine poverty and related policies in other countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as points of comparison.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 130 Cross-Listed Topics 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course is designed to accommodate cross-listed courses offered through other departments, the content of which is applicable to PE majors. Content and unit values vary from course to course.
Cross-Listed Topics: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 130

POLECON 133 Junior Seminar in Political Economy 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014
These small research and writing seminars will focus on the research area of the faculty member teaching the course and will provide students the opportunity to engage in conversation, research, and writing in greater depth than is possible in a larger class.
Junior Seminar in Political Economy: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Junior Standing

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

POLECON C138 Gender and Capitalism 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Spring 2020
The 21st century has seen powerful critiques of both growing economic inequality and the troubling persistence of domination based on gender, race and other categorical differences. Gender has a distinctive role here for many reasons: the centrality of gender to social reproduction; the historical coproduction of male domination and capitalism; and the way gender operates in the constitution of selves. Insofar as capitalism is organized and distributes power and profits through gendered structures, and gendered meanings and identities are shaped by their emergence within capitalist logics, it behooves us to think gender and capitalism in tandem. Figuring out how to do that, and sorting out the consequences, is our project in this class.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of lecture and 1-0 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 0 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Also listed as: GWS C138

POLECON 140 Special Topics 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
A short course designed to provide a vehicle to take advantage of short-term visitors coming to campus who have considerable expertise in areas of interest to political economy of industrial societies. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 140

POLECON 150 Advanced Study in Political Economy of Industrial Societies 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2023, Fall 2022
Advanced multidisciplinary research in current issues of political economy and industrialization. Seminars will focus on specific geographical areas or topics with appropriate comparative material included. A major research project is required as well as class presentations. Topics change each semester.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and background in political economy or related social sciences

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
8 weeks - 5.5 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 150

POLECON 154 Global Trade and Finance 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024
This is an interdisciplinary course in international trade and finance focused on the dynamic interaction between economics and politics in the global arena. The course provides students a systematic method of evaluating international economic policies, while developing critical thinking skills through case studies and critical analysis. More specifically, the course focuses on the impact of flows of trade, capital, and people across borders and the role played by: (1) states and their political actors, (2) non-governmental groups, e.g., multinational corporations and labor unions, and (3) domestic and international institutions that all establish the “rules of the game”, in shaping the global economy.
Global Trade and Finance: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 155 Developments in Modern Political Economy 4 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course focuses on the relationship of politics and economics in modern societies. Special attention is given to problems and issues in social science or public policy best examined from an interdisciplinary perspective with an eye toward building students' knowledge of recently developed analytical tools in political economy.
Developments in Modern Political Economy: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: 100 and 101 or consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 8 units.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrical Societies 155

POLECON 156 Silicon Valley and the Global Economy 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
This course investigates the historical origins and institutional ecosystem of Silicon Valley by identifying key factors in the development of Silicon Valley, as well as political circumstances and cultural conditions that have sustained its important role in the global economy. Questions like these will be addressed: Will Silicon Valley and artificial intelligence render workers irrelevant? Have the region’s tech giants like Google, Apple and Facebook become the monopolists of the new Gilded Age, and should they be broken up? Has Silicon Valley peaked? Is the “Silicon Valley model” unique or can it be replicated elsewhere? Lectures are discussion-driven, interactive, and will be complemented by films, debate, and group work.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 157 The Political Economy of Finance 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
This course examines the history, theory, and operation of the American financial system. Key questions we will consider include: What is money? What is finance? How did the financial system evolve historically in the American context? To answer these questions, we will first look to histories and then canonical theorizations before turning to the operation of money and the nuts-and-bolts of American financial markets. Finally, we examine the global financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath in light of these considerations. The goal of this course is for students to develop a basic understanding of the historical development, theoretical underpinnings, and actual practice of the American financial system.
The Political Economy of Finance: Read More [+]

Objectives & Outcomes

Course Objectives: Articulate and critique the various theoretical underpinnings of the system in how it operates in the present day
Confidently articulate complex ideas in a public setting
Discuss, analyze and write about the American Financial System
Historically situate financial crises and interaction with the global economy

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer:
3 weeks - 16 hours of lecture and 6 hours of discussion per week
6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 6 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

POLECON 158 Market Governance and the Digital Economy 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2020
This course will examine how government and industry interact to govern markets by surveying debates over specific substantive issues in the advanced industrial countries, especially the United States and Japan. Topics include labor regulation, antitrust policy, financial regulation, intellectual property rights, and the digital economy.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Instructor: Vogel

POLECON 159 Digital Technology, Political Economy, and Justice 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023
How can we understand the role of digital technology in our lives and in society today? In this course we will investigate the political economy of digital technologies. In doing so, we will consider how the rapid rise of digital technologies is simultaneously reinforcing past structures of power while also forging new terrains of contestation. Throughout this process, we will consider how injustice is exacerbated or justice is achieved through the proliferation of these new technologies. Finally, we will examine the creative forms of resistance that have emerged alongside these technologies.
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Objectives & Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe how contemporary digital technologies shape social, political, and economic aspects of the world around us.
2. Assess and critique specific digital technologies through a political economic lens.
3. Analyze and communicate the relationship between political economic theories and current events.
4. Evaluate alternative possibilities for a more just inclusion of digital technologies in society.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

POLECON 160 Political Economy in Historical Context 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Summer 2021 Second 6 Week Session
This course focuses specifically on the historical context and perspective of the relationship of politics and economics in modern societies. Students are guided through an interdisciplinary survey of the historical experience of peoples and places who have participated in the ongoing great transformation away from argricultural societies to the rise of the industrial state and onto post-industrialism. Each term provides a different perspective of this transformation.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: 100 and 101, or Political Economy of Industrial Societies 100 and 101, or consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 8 units.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 160

POLECON C160 Origins of Capitalism 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024
This is a survey of the economic and social origins and development of the modern economy, beginning in early modern Europe and extending until the construction of the global capitalist system in the late nineteenth century. It attends to scholarly disputes over the origins of the distinctive economic features of capitalism: private property, the international monetary system, free wage labor and slavery, commodification and cultures of consumption, credit and banking , crises and inequality, as well as industrialization and economic growth. This course is a companion to the ideas studied in History 159B and is intended to lead in to the material covered in History 160. No prior quantitative methods training is required, or assumed.
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Rules & Requirements

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for HISTORY 159A after completing ECON 111A.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 0-1 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Formerly known as: History 159A/Political Economy C160

Also listed as: HISTORY C159A

POLECON 162 Pandemics and Politics: Infectious Disease in Historical Perspective 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023
This course will examine the relationship between pandemic disease and political shifts over the past five centuries, centuries in which pandemics influenced economic and political trends including the rise and decline of states, the expansion and contraction of trade, innovation, diplomatic relations, land use and land tenure, labor relations and labor markets, and other core themes relevant to the study of political economy. After grounding in some of the basic history, we will focus on how pandemic and epidemic diseases affect the political economy – i.e. the structures of wealth and power – of the countries and world regions through which they swept.
Pandemics and Politics: Infectious Disease in Historical Perspective: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

POLECON 192 Senior Thesis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018
This course is designed to provide a vehicle for undergraduate students interested in writing a major paper on a political economy topic. The paper should be approximately thirty pages in length; the topic should be agreed upon in advance by both the student and faculty sponsor.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Upper division standing; consent of instructor

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 192

POLECON 194 Senior Seminar 4 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Interdisciplinary research seminar for Political Economy majors. Intensive writing on research questions in social science and public policy best approached from an interdisciplinary perspective. Course assumes intermediate to advanced knowledge of central focus or topic of course. Weekly discussions and critiques of readings and assignments. Final paper or project required. Topic must be approved by instructor. Topics vary from term to term.
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Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

POLECON H195 Senior Honors Thesis Seminar 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Honors students are required to research and write a thesis based on the prospectus developed in International and Area Studies 102. The thesis work is reviewed by the honors instructor and a second reader to be selected based on the thesis topic. Weekly progress reports required.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: International and Area Studies 102 and consent of instructor; senior standing

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies H195

POLECON 196 Special Field Research 1 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Students to work in selected internship programs approved in advance by the faculty coordinator and for which written contracts have been established between the sponsoring organization and the student. Students will be expected to produce two progress reports for their faculty coordinator during the course of the internship, as well as produce a final paper for the course consisting of no fewer than 35 pages. Other restrictions apply; see faculty adviser.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 12 units.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of fieldwork per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 1-6 hours of fieldwork per week
8 weeks - 1-6 hours of fieldwork per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 196

POLECON C196A UCDC Core Seminar 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012
This course is the UCDC letter-graded core seminar for 4 units that complements the P/NP credited internship course UGIS C196B. Core seminars are designed to enhance the experience of and provide an intellectual framework for the student's internship. UCDC core seminars are taught in sections that cover various tracks such as the Congress, media, bureaucratic organizations and the Executive Branch, international relations, public policy and general un-themed original research.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: C196B (must be taken concurrently)

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Students may enroll in multiple sections of this course within the same semester.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Summer: 10 weeks - 4.5 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Also listed as: GWS C196A/HISTART C196A/HISTORY C196A/MEDIAST C196A/POL SCI C196A/SOCIOL C196A/UGIS C196A

POLECON C196B UCDC Internship 6.5 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
This course provides a credited internship for all students enrolled in the UCDC and Cal in the Capital Programs. It must be taken in conjunction with the required academic core course C196A. C196B requires that students work 3-4 days per week as interns in settings selected to provide them with exposure to and experienc in government, public policy, international affairs, media, the arts or other areas or relevance to their major fields of study.
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Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: C196A (must be taken concurrently)

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 20 hours of internship per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Also listed as: GWS C196B/HISTART C196B/HISTORY C196B/MEDIAST C196B/POL SCI C196B/SOCIOL C196B/UGIS C196B

POLECON C196W Special Field Research 10.5 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
Students work in selected internship programs approved in advance by the faculty coordinator and for which written contracts have been established between the sponsoring organization and the student. Students will be expected to produce two progress reports for their faculty coordinator during the course of the internship , as well as a final paper for the course consisting of at least 35 pages. Other restrictions apply; see faculty adviser.
Special Field Research: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 12 units.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar and 25 hours of internship per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar and 60 hours of internship per week
8 weeks - 6 hours of seminar and 50 hours of internship per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: 196W

Also listed as: GWS C196W/HISTART C196W/HISTORY C196W/MEDIAST C196W/POL SCI C196W/SOCIOL C196W/UGIS C196W

POLECON 197 Field Studies 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Fall 2015, Spring 2012
Supervised experience relevant to specific aspects of Political Economy of Industrial Societies in off-campus organizations. Regular individual meetings with faculty sponsor and written reports required.
Field Studies: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Upper division standing and consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of fieldwork per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 1-4 hours of fieldwork per week
8 weeks - 1-4 hours of fieldwork per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 197

POLECON 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023

Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Upper division standing and consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 198

POLECON 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research for Undergraduates 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018
Enrollment restricted by regulations of the college.
Supervised Independent Study and Research for Undergraduates: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Written proposal must be approved by a faculty adviser

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Summer:
3 weeks - 5-20 hours of independent study per week
6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Political Economy/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Formerly known as: Political Economy of Industrial Societies 199