Spring 2025  |  POL 3833 Section 001: The United States and the Global Economy (64894)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025
Tue, Thu 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Enrollment Status:
Open (0 of 25 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
POL 3833 teaches students about the politics of the global economy with a focus on the role the United States plays within it. The class covers a variety of topics in international political economy, including international trade, international investment, and international finance. Students will learn about the factors that drive politicians' decision-making, interest-group stances, and citizens' preferences over such salient issues as tariffs and other forms of trade protection, trade and investment agreements, central banking, interest rates, international migration, and more. No background in economics is required or assumed.
Class Description:
Globalization has been a defining force driving markets - and, hence, shaping politics - over the past 20 years. Global financial flows and imbalances are implicated in financial crises both recent and past, and the mobility of firms and migrants across international borders has important distributional and regulatory consequences. Yet, the impact of the U.S. on the global economy is not exclusive to purely financial phenomena: conflict and peace, technological innovation, natural resources, and economic development are all affected as rising levels of trade create new "winners" and "losers." This class examines some of the broad themes that characterize globalization with a focus on - but not only on - the U.S. and the ways in which its policy responses shape and are being shaped by globalization.
Who Should Take This Class?:
This class may interest students who are interested in international relations, American politics, political economy, or economics. No background in economics is necessary.
Learning Objectives:

By the end of this class, students will be able to:


- Understand many important concepts in the global economy: including, but not limited to, trade policy, the politics of multinational investment, and monetary policy.


- Comprehend different perspectives on political economic policy


- Discuss those concepts and perspectives in ways that are accessible to a broader population.

Grading:
The main graded items are:
- Short (2-4 page) writing assignments, due about every other week, in which students will respond to a specific essay prompt.
- A final project, in which students choose one of their shorter written assignments to expand into a creative project intended to teach people about something you've learned this semester. The medium for this is flexible: in the past students have written songs (mostly parodies, few original compositions), made posters, recorded podcasts, etc.
- Quizzes. There are approximately six quizzes throughout the semester that are for the purpose of helping you assess what you've learned and what you still need to work on. They are online, untimed, and can be retaken.
Exam Format:
This class has no exams.
Class Format:
The class consists of lecture and small- and large-group discussions.
Workload:
In addition to the assignments listed in the Grading section, students are expected to either read approximately 30 pages before class (although it varies *a lot* from class to class) or do a pre-class (ungraded) assignment. In both cases, the intent of the work the student is supposed to do before class is to give the student some experience or understanding of the topic before class so that the material covered in class has something in their brains to attach to. It's a lot easier to learn a new topic if you know even a tiny bit about it beforehand than if you don't.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/64894/1253
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
4 March 2024

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