Bachelor of Arts, Minor in Political Economy

Regulations effective Sep. 1, 2024.

The Political Economy Minor at Athabasca University is designed for both beginning students and professionals to understand and engage with Canadian and global political and economic issues. The course selection provides students the opportunity to develop a greater appreciation and understanding of diverse polities, economies, cultures, and regions of the world. Additionally, it offers to professionals the retooling skills and the academic credential necessary for successful employment in an era of globalization.

Minor (30 credits, of which at least 15 must be in senior courses)

Core courses

(12 credits)

POEC/GLST/INTR 230 – Globalization and World Politics (3)
POEC 302 – Theories and Approaches to Political Economy (3)
POEC/GLST/INTR 395 – Political Economy of Development: People, Processes, and Policies (3)
CMNS 308  – Understanding Statistical Evidence (3)
or
ECON 247  – Microeconomics
or
ECON 248  – Macroeconomics
or
MATH 215  – Introduction to Statistics
or
MGSC 301 – Statistics for Business and Economics I

Focus areas

(12 credits in one of the two Political Economy focus areas):

  • Focus area 1: Global Political Economy
  • Focus area 2: Canadian Political Economy

Focus area 1: Global Political Economy

ECON 366 – Economic Development (3)
ECON 475 – International Trade (3)
ECON 476 – International Finance (3)
ECON/LBST 330 – Workers and the Economy (3)
ENVS 435 – Transformative Change in Building Sustainable Communities (3)
ENVS/GLST 243 – Environmental Change in a Global Context (3)
FNCE 370 – Overview of Corporate Finance (3)
GEOL 313 – Our Physical Resources (3)
GOVN 450 – Public Budgeting and Financial Management in a Globalized World (3)
GLST/GOVN/POLI 403 – Public Policy in a Global Era (3)
LBST/SOCI/WGST 332 – Women and Unions (3)
MKTG 414 – International Marketing and Exporting (3)
POEC/GLST/INTR 483 – Political Economy of Globalization (3)
POLI 307 – Political Ideologies (3)
POLI/INTR 330 – International and Global Politics (3)
POLI 342 – Introduction to Comparative Politics (3)
POLI 480 – Politics of Our Networked World in the Digital Era (3)
SOCI 381 – The Rich and the Rest: The Sociology of Wealth, Power, and Inequality (3)
SOCI 435 – Theories of Social Change (3)

Focus area 2: Canadian Political Economy

CMNS 380 – Corporate Communication (3)
CMNS 401 – Cultural Policy in Canada (3)
CMNS 202/POLI 291 – Media and Power in Canadian Society (3)
ECON 385 – Money, Banking and Canadian Financial Institutions (3)
FNCE 322 – Personal Finance (3)
GEOG 311 – Canadian Urban Development (3)
GOVN 301 – Governance, the Public Sector and Corporate Power (3)
GOVN 450 – Public Budgeting and Financial Management in a Globalized World (3)
HIST 326 – Contemporary Canada: Canada after 1945 (3)
HIST 330 – Social History of Canada: European Contact to Early Industrialization (3)
HIST 331 – Social History of Canada: Early Industrialization to Contemporary Canada (3)
HIST 336 – History of Canadian Labour (3)
HIST/WGST 365 – Girls and Women in Urban Canada, 1880–1940 (3)
IDRL 320 – The Law of Work (3)
IDRL 309/LGST 310 – Human Rights, the Charter and Labour Relations (3)
POEC 393 – Canada and the Global Political Economy (3)
POLI 309 – Canadian Government and Politics (3)
POLI 311 – Aboriginal Politics and Governments (3)
POLI 325 – Canadian Environmental Policy and Politics (3)
POLI 390 – Canadian Federalism (3)
SOCI 291 – Canadian Society (3)
SOCI 321 – Sociology of Work and Industry (3)
TAXX 301 – Taxation I (3)

Electives

(6 credits from any of the following Political Economy designated courses)

ANTH 277 – The Archaeology of Us: First Humans to First Civilizations (3)
ANTH 320 – Ancient Cities and Civilizations (3)
ANTH 384 – The Family in the World Perspective (3)
ANTH 394 – Urban Anthropology (3)
ANTH 407 – Examining Cultures—Advanced Readings in Regional Ethnology (3)
CMNS 201 – Introduction to Mass Media (3)
CMNS 302 – Communication in History (3)
CMNS 358 – Popular Culture and the Media (3)
CMNS 402 – Global Communication (3)
CMNS 423 – The Television Age (3)
CMNS 385/
SOCI 378 – Rebel with a Cause: Social Movements in History and Popular Culture		 (3)
ECON/HADM 321 – Health Care Economics (3)
ECON 380 – Public Finance and Expenditure (3)
ENVS 435 – Transformative Change in Building Sustainable Communities (3)
GEOG 201 – Introductory Human Geography (3)
GEOG/GLST 200 – World Regional Geography (3)
GLST/HIST 209 – A History of the World in the Twentieth Century I (3)
GLST/HIST 210 – A History of the World in the Twentieth Century II (3)
GLST/HIST 308 – Americas: An Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean (3)
HIST 404 – Historical Foundations of Modern Science (3)
HIST 407 – The Enlightenment (3)
HIST 486 – The Industrial Revolution (3)
HIST/GLST/WGST 460 – Famous Feminists and Their Times: Global History of Feminism (3)
HIST/INST 368 – History of Canada’s First Nations to 1830 (3)
HIST/INST 369 – History of Canada’s First Nations from 1830 (3)
HIST/INST 370 – The Métis (3)
INST 203 – Indigenous Studies I (3)
INST 205 – Indigenous Studies II (3)
INST 357 – Contemporary Aboriginal Issues in Canada (3)
INST 358 – Aboriginal Women in Canada (3)
INST 430 – Indigenous Governance (3)
PHIL 371 – Ethics, Science, Technology, and the Environment (3)
PHIL 375 – Philosophy of the Environment (3)
SOCI 380 – Canadian Ethnic Relations (3)
WGST 201 – An Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (3)
WGST 302 – Communication Skills – Feminist Practice (3)
Information effective Sep. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2025.

Updated July 11, 2024 by Office of the Registrar (calendar@athabascau.ca)