00995 - Economic History

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have the basic methodological tools to study the main economic issues relating to long-term economic growth, technological innovation, the rise of the capitalist market, the new economy and globalization. They will be able to focus on the connections between economics and ethics, and to recognize the importance of categories, languages and different cultural contexts in the historical debate, analyzing them from a long-term perspective. They will have a critical methodological approach to problem-solving via data analysis and applying the relevant models to interpreting social and institutional processes. In their spoken language they will use the specific terminology.

Course contents

Attendance at lectures is recommended. The course aims to give to the students the tools for the comprehension of the evolutionary processes of the European and international economy from the Renaissance to the present day. In this perspective the structural aspects of the pre-industrial economic system and the process of industrialization as it has evolved in the last two and a half centuries (from the industrial revolution to the recent transformations induced by globalization) will be analyzed, paying attention to the social changes and the economic policies, and also widening the analysis to include all the major economic areas of the contemporary world. A portion of the lectures will be devoted to in-depth examination of specific issues.

On completion of the course the students will be able to: - understand the workings of economic systems in a comparative, long run perspective – apply the acquired knowledge and understand the issues of the contemporary economic landscape as the result of an historical evolution – develop a basic understanding of the key concepts and the specific language of economics and the analytic tools of economic history.

Readings/Bibliography

STUDENTS WHO ATTEND THE LECTURES

They will have to study the following  two texts:

- A. DI VITTORIO (a cura di), Dall’espansione allo sviluppo. Una storia economica d’Europa, Torino, Giappichelli, 2011 (o altra edizione).

- E. FELICE, Ascesa e declino. Storia Economica d’Italia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015.

 Additional readings and handouts will be made available during the course. For a more in-depth coverage of specific issues further readings will be suggested by the teacher.

 

STUDENTS WHO DON'T ATTEND THE LECTURES

They will have to study the following four texts:

- A. DI VITTORIO (a cura di), Dall’espansione allo sviluppo. Una storia economica d’Europa, Torino, Giappichelli, 2011 (o altra edizione)

- G. BERTA, L'ascesa della finanza internazionale, Feltrinelli, 2013.

- E. FELICE, Ascesa e declino. Storia Economica d’Italia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015.

- L. SEGRETO, L'economia modiale dopo la guerra fredda, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.

Teaching methods

The course will be delivered by lectures aided by slides and photocopies.

Assessment methods

STUDENTS WHO ATTEND THE LECTURES:

The course is assessed through three oral exams: two intermediate ones on portions of the syllabus that have already been completed, and a final exam at the end of the course.

A wide, well-organized knowledge of the subject matter and the mastery of the scientific language of the discipline will be valued as wholly positive; a correct knowledge, with few gaps, of the subject matter and an incomplete mastery of the language will determine a fairly good evaluation; incomplete, fragmentary answers and inappropriate language will be valued below the pass mark or just above it. The final mark will be the arithmetic mean of the marks achieved on the three oral exams.

STUDENTS WHO DON'T ATTEND THE LECTURES:

The course is assessed through a oral exam based on the text on the reading list.

The ability to be concise, the mastery of the scientific language of the discipline and a through knowledge of the required readings will be valued as wholly positive; a mechanical knowledge of the subject matter with a few gaps and an incomplete mastery of the language will determine a fairly good evaluation; learning gaps, inappropriate language, mediocre awareness of the course themes will be valued below the pass mark or just above it.

Teaching tools

Slides, photocopies, handouts and additional readings.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandra Cantagalli