This information is for the 2020/21 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Eric Schneider SAR.5.18, Prof Christopher Minns SAR.5.12 and Dr Timothy Leunig
Availability
This course is compulsory on the BSc in Economic History, BSc in Economic History and Geography, BSc in Economic History with Economics, BSc in Economics and Economic History and BSc in Economics with Economic History. This course is available on the BA in History, BSc in Actuarial Science, BSc in International Relations, BSc in Politics and BSc in Politics and International Relations. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.
Course content
The course examines the inter-relationships between the development of the international economy and the growth of national economies since the late nineteenth century. The course is designed to introduce students not only to a wide variety of topics and issues, but also to the wide variety of approaches used by historians. The course includes analyses of the original leading nation, Britain, and its replacement, the United States, as well as the catch-up of areas such as continental Europe, and the failure to catch-up of earlier well-placed areas such as Latin America. The effects of major events - such as wars and debt crises - are investigated, and we also consider the implications of changing global economic institutions, such as the Gold Standard and IMF, as well as the effects of sometimes rapid changes in product and process technology.
Teaching
This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totalling a minimum of 40 hours across Michaelmas Term and Lent Term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of virtual classes and flipped-lectures delivered as short online videos.
This course includes a reading week in Week 6 of MT and LT.
Formative coursework
Students are expected to write an annotated bibliography, three very short essays and two longer essays during the year.
Indicative reading
The following are particularly useful:
R C Allen, Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction (2011).
R Floud, J Humphries & P Johnson (Eds), The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain, Vol 2 (2014).
B Eichengreen, Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System (2008).
K H O’Rourke and J G Williamson, Globalization and History: The Evolution of a Nineteenth-Century Atlantic Economy (1999).
E Jones, L Frost & C White, Coming Full Circle. An Economic History of the Pacific Rim (1993).
M S Blackford, The Rise of Modern Business in the USA, Britain and Japan.
(A complete reading list and class topics will be given out at the first meeting.)
Assessment
Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours) in the summer exam period.
Key facts
Department: Economic History
Total students 2019/20: 161
Average class size 2019/20: 10
Capped 2019/20: No
Value: One Unit
Personal development skills
Important information in response to COVID-19
Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.