Political Science (POLI) 383

Overview

Political Science 383: Canadian Political Economy in a Global Era is designed for those students who wish to improve their understanding of the development of the capitalist system in Canada, its insertion into an increasingly global economy, and the political problems and choices that result.  The course addresses these important questions:

• Why, for example, did free trade become such an important issue in the 1980s? Deficits in the 1990s?
• Why is there more unemployment in some regions of Canada than in others?
  
• Why did a vigorous anti-globalization movement arise, only to decline after the events of September 11th, 2001?

While to many people these are solely economic questions, it is the fundamental premise of this course that economics cannot be divorced from politics—the two are intertwined inextricably. How economics and politics are interrelated is a subject of considerable debate, one that will be examined closely in this course.

The above are some of the questions that this course addresses. Below are a few more:

• What is political economy?
• What role has the Canadian state played in Canada’s economic development?
• What impact have new technologies and the growth of global markets and production relations had on Canada’s political economy and the Canadian state?

Outline

Unit 1: What is Political Economy?

Unit 2: Theories of Political Economy

Unit 3: The Formation and Characteristics of the Canadian State and Its Role in Economic Development

Unit 4: Labour and Capital in Canada

Unit 5: Further Political Economies of Inequality: Gender, First Nations, and Region

Unit 6: The Era of Globalization

Unit 7: Paradigm Shift: From State to Market?

Unit 8: A Global Framework

Unit 9: Globalization, Institutionalism, Policies, and Alternatives

Evaluation

Your final grade will be based on your performance on three written assignments and a final exam. Keep in mind that you must complete and submit the essay assignments for grading before you write the final exam. To receive credit you must achieve a grade of at least “50 per cent” on the final exam and an overall course grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Assignment 1: Short Essay	10%
Assignment 2: Research Essay Proposal	20%
Assignment 3: Research Essay	40%
Final Exam	30%
Total	100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Other materials

The course materials include a study guide, student manual, and a reading file.

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they 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 for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the POLI 383 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least “D” (50 percent) on the examination.

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form