Overview
The ongoing disruptions of the climate crisis and the pandemic are bringing about transformative changes to the international economic, political, and ecological systems. Concurrently, we are also witnessing the persistent tide of populism and nationalism accompanied by the mobilization of people around the world to protest the injustice of political and economic systems in which the lives of people marginalized by gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, caste, disability, and location are systematically devalued. These interconnected trends pose profound challenges to existing disciplinarily based analytic approaches and demand new forms of interdisciplinary and innovative forms of research. Responding to these contemporary challenges, the scope of traditional International / Global Political Economy has expanded to emphasize not only the role of the institutions and structures of governance of the world economy, but also the political economic implications of complex intertwined relationships and practices of everyday life. In this broadened conception, we see the spaces of the mundane, the everyday, and the intimate as inherently part of the constitution and reproduction of, and resistance to, the global economy.
This course will thus use the analytical tools of International Political Economy to understand the forces shaping globalization and apply this understanding to examine our role as active agents who both shape and experience these processes.
This course is primarily intended for students who are in the later stages of their degree program. There are no prerequisites for this course, but a previous course in cultural studies, development studies, economics, political economy, political science, sociology, or a related area is recommended. Students are expected to have university-level analytical and writing skills.
Outline
POEC 483 is divided into five units:
Unit 1: IPE, Globalization, and You
Unit 2: Historical and Contemporary Patterns in International Economic Institutions: Land and Housing
Unit 3: International Trade, Technology, and Food
Unit 4: Governance: Changing Relationships of States, Corporations, and Work
Unit 5: Applying Theories to Practice: New Ways of Seeing, Learning, and Being
Evaluation
To receive credit for POEC 483, students must complete and submit all of the assignments. Students must achieve a minimum grade of D (50 percent) on all of the assignments and an overall grade of at least D (50 percent) for the course.
Students will be evaluated on their understanding of the concepts presented in the course and on their ability to apply those concepts. The final grade in the course will be based on the marks achieved for the following activities.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Structured Interviews or Reflective Essay | 30% |
| Assignment 2: Critical Review or Content Curating | 30% |
| Final Research Assignment | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
This course either does not have a course package or the textbooks are open-source material and available to students at no cost. This course has a Course Administration and Technology Fee, but students are not charged the Course Materials Fee.
All course materials are provided online.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the POEC 483 challenge registration, students must achieve a grade of at least C− (60 percent) on the online examination.
| Activity | Weight |
| Online Examination | 100% |
| Total | 100% |
Challenge for credit course registration form