CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC HISTORY (prof. Rizzo) - information on the start of classes

Dear All,

the course will start on Wednesday, September 23rd, according to the following timetable: 

Wednesday, from 1 pm to 3 pm (Aula 14 in Palazzo San Felice)

Friday, from 9 am to 11 am (Aula E in Palazzo San Felice)

You will receive 36 hours of lectures.

The course syllabus, containing the programme of the course and all the necessary information, is available in the Course catalogue (see the website of the University of Pavia), but you can also find it below.

I’m looking forward to making your acquaintance and working together. 

Should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

All the best,

Mario Rizzo
(mariovalentino.rizzo @ unipv.it)

Contemporary Economic History

 Prerequisites:

None in particular but a reasonable basic knowledge of key economic concepts and major historical events of the last century and a half. Anyway, if needs be, additional personal guidance will be provided over rudiments of history and basic economic notions.

Aims

The general purpose of the course is to empower students to develop their critical thinking skills, by providing them with an up-to-date understanding of the world economy over the last century and a half and discussing key historical issues.

Programme:

The course aims at providing students with an up-to-date understanding of the main aspects and trends of the world economy in the late 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. Attention will be focused in particular on the crucial interaction between socio-economic, demographic, geopolitical, and strategic factors which play a pivotal role in shaping contemporary history and strongly affect the performances of national economies.

A short summary of the main topics to be covered in the course includes:

Japan enters the scene

An early globalisation, 1880-1914

Change and continuity after the wars: prosperity and crisis in a rebuilt world economy

Beyond Western capitalism: planned economies, the Far East, the Third World

Globalisation, the New Economy, and all the rest, 1988-2009

From rags to riches? BRICs and beyond

What's next? Megatrends and game-changers in the coming decades 

Methods of Teaching

Lectures, during which students' active and critical participation will be greatly appreciated and encouraged.

Reading List: 

Marco CATTINI, The Making of Europe. A Global Economic History, Milano, EGEA, 2010, pp. 164-171, 182-191, 218-298, 302-305

GOLDMAN SACHS GLOBAL ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT, BRICs and Beyond, 2007, pp. 5-57, 73-148, 159-164, 257-262 (online)

NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL, Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, December 2012, pp. i-xvi, 1-16, 20-47, 63-67, 83-97 (online) 

Assessment Strategy: 

Oral exam, designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the course learning outcomes. The assessment strategy aims at verifying the students' knowledge of the topics of the programme and their critical ability to connect historical events and put them in historical context and perspective.