Cambridge Seminars
Contemporary Capitalism
This course begins with an analysis of the classic accounts of capitalism found in the
works of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Joseph Schumpeter, and John Maynard
Keynes. Drawing on these analyses the second part of the course offers an account of the
basic institutions and their interconnections: markets; the monetary system; enterprise
production and consumer demand; capital and financial markets; the role of the state.
Emphasis is placed on capitalism's fundamental monetary and financial fragility.
Attention is given to the great inflation of the 1970s; the 'dotcom' bubble of the late
1990s; and the current financial turmoil in the aftermath of the 'subprime' crisis in 2007.
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
Faculty Member - Stuart Hogarth
Geopolitics in the 21st Century
This seminar examines post Cold War international politics in the light of the rising
tide of ethnicity, radical nationalism and religious fervour. The implications for
order/disorder will be examined in the context of the passing of a bipolar system and
the arrival of a unipolar but multinuclear world. International law must adapt to the
growing priorities of the new strategic environment in the 21st. century with
considerable attention being given to the role of war since September 2001.
The role of the UN, the International Criminal Court, the OSCE, NATO, and the EU
in peacekeeping and peace enforcement will be discussed in relation to specific case
studies. The position of the USA as the principal contributor to international peace
and security will be discussed in relation to the recent military action against Iraq and
Afghanistan.
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this seminar, click here
The Political Economy of China (Not Offered Spring 19)
Since the late 1970's China's economy has become one of the fastest growing in the
world. It is almost certain that by the middle of the twenty first century it will be an
economic giant. This will have immense implications for the global economy and for
international political relationships. The course seeks to understand this remarkable
phenomenon in the light of basis economic principles and of the specific nature of
China's history.
It examines China's economic revolution in four unequal parts. It begins with a brief
analysis of the nature of traditional Chinese political economy before the European
industrial revolution. It then looks briefly at the way in which China responded to the
'challenge' of western imperialism from the 1840's to the 1940's. The main body of
the course is concerned with the evolution of the Chinese economy under Maoist
planning from 1949 to 1976, a period which included the disaster of the Great Leap
Forward and the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.
The course concludes with an extensive evaluation of the remarkable growth of the
Chinese economy in the period of 'economic reform' since 1976 with particular
emphasis on China's global position in today's world.
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
The Political Economy of the European Union
This course examines the origins and evolution of the European Union since its
inception with particular reference to structural changes since the end of the Cold
War. The impact of the Single European Act (SEA) and the Maastricht, Amsterdam,
Nice and Lisbon treaties will be assessed in relation to the tension between supranational
and intergovernmental perspectives.
The question of whether Europe is likely to become a fully fledged federation, a
confederation, or something else lies at the heart of the debate arising from the current
fiscal crisis and the European Union's response to it.
Are we seeing the renationalisation of policy and the rejection of supra-nationalism by
European states engaged in the operation of the Euro-zone?
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
Faculty Member - Barry Colfer
Western Europe and the USA Since 1918
This course will explore the nature of Atlanticism and ask whether it was a response
to a unique set of economic, political and security circumstances which are now in the
process of decline. The course will examine European and American approaches to
collective security and international organisation, the breakdown of the international
economy between the wars, Europe, the USA and the drift to war, the collapse of the
European balance of power and the onset of the Cold War. The Atlanticist order
including Bretton Woods, the Marshall Plan and the Atlantic Treaty will be
considered as well as US attitudes towards decolonisation and US and European
integration. Lastly consideration will be given to the emergence, since the 1960's, of
tensions with the breakdown of the post war economic order, US unilateralism,
European autonomy and the post 9.11 world and its implications
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this seminar, click here
Modern British Fiction
The purpose of the course is to work closely with the texts of some key modern
authors and to explore the ways in which the formal innovations of their writing may
be related to developments in cultural history. Arguments about history, sexuality,
language, politics and economics may be traced, in varying proportions, in both the
matter and the manner of construction of all the specified texts, which have been
chosen in order to demonstrate a characteristic variety of artistic and political
outlooks.
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this seminar, click here
Seminar in Global Trade and Commerce
Course information and syllabus currently unavailable
Money and Banking
Prerequisites: Introductory Micro- and Macroeconomics, Introductory Finance
This course on money, monetary policy and financial institutions will examine the
role of money in the macroeconomy with particular reference to recent UK and US
experience. Topics covered will include: the transmission mechanism of monetary
policy; theories of the demand for money; empirical evidence on the role of money in
the economy; and money supply and its determinants. The course will be amply
illustrated from the practice of monetary policy in the UK and USA in recent years.
Here attention will focus on the rise and fall of monetarism in the UK; changes in
British banking; the effects of financial innovation on monetary policy; recent
financial crises; and prospects for the future. Attention will be drawn to the
significance of the institutional context for the theory and practice of monetary policy.
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this seminar, click here
A Comparative Political Economy of the BRICS
This course will provide a set of eleven lectures on the comparative analysis of the BRICS countries and their relationship to advanced income economies as well as to other emerging economies. The aim of the lecture series is not to provide comprehensive country reports but aim to identify connections between countries on a range of different sets of issues. The initial lectures will provide an examination of the concepts behind the BRICS, and how these relate to notions of emerging economies.
The lectures will then move on to a discussion of economic performance of BRICS themselves and differences within these countries in relation to terms of histories, cultures, and politics of the nation state. There will be a focus on a range of economic and development features where the particularities of state policy and economic orientation affect macroeconomic policy as well as poverty and social justice issues.
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this seminar, click here
The Theory of Finance
Pre-requisites: Basic Calculus, Microeconomics; Probability and Statistics; and a GPA of 3.2 or higher in a relevant major.
Supervisions in the Theory of Finance aim to provide students with a broad introduction to the process underlying investment and financial decision-making by investors (whether firms or individuals). The material covered will be broken down into two main areas – investment decision-making and corporate finance. In the sections of the course dealing with investment decision-making, attention is focused on the microeconomic aspects of capital accumulation under uncertainty. Topics such as time value of money, modern portfolio theory and capital assets pricing model (CAPM) will be covered. The second part of the course covers issues such as the optimal capital structure of a firm and corporate financing decisions.
Aim:
The main aim of this course is to introduce students to the fundamental analytical concepts and the main models used in the modern theory of finance. This is a supervision-based course (as opposed to a lecture-based course); it works best when students are highly self-motivated, and able to prepare themselves in advance for each supervision, and thus to give an informed and personal contribution to the discussion. The guidance provided for each supervision (selected readings, test questions, sample data) will provide the students with the instruments necessary to achieve the course aims.
For a printable version of the full supervision description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this supervision, click here
This course brings to life a number of key economic concepts, by setting them in the historical context which inspired their creators while they worked at Cambridge; and by exploring their continuing relevance to some of the major economic questions of today. – from the optimal size of national (private and public) debt, to stabilisation policy, to the exchange rate regime international financial architecture, to the nature and purpose of economic development.
In the early 1800’s, Thomas Malthus – the first major author associated with Cambridge – explored scarcity of (primary) resources in a way which – having long been overshadowed by technical progress – is once again a pressing concern for policy-makers. As the nineteenth century drew to a close, Alfred Marshall clarified the analysis of marginal choices and on the efficiency of market outcomes. In a career spanning the post-1918 settlement, the collapse of the Gold Standard, the Great Depression, the second World War, and the design of a system of US-centered “hegemonic stability”, Marshall's pupil John Maynard Keynes provided a rationale for aggregate demand management through fiscal and monetary policy, as well bringing formidable insights to the analysis of the international economy (trade policy, economic integration, financial instability), and of the role of expectations above all in financial markets and in business investment decisions. The “Circus” - Keynes’s hand-picked friendly critics of early drafts – and after 1936 the early readers of the General Theory (1936) provided the shock troops of the Keynesian Revolution, and often went on to play key roles in the post-war mixed and managed economies of Britain, the United States, and Europe, in the process extending the discipline’s reach into the areas of economic growth and development, social capital, income distribution, and banking and finance. Every revolution benefits from challenge: and the course explores in some detail the intellectual skirmishes over the relative merits of the visible and the invisible hand which have pitted the Cambridge tradition against the Chicago School’s monetarist counter-revolution initiated by Milton Friedman, and carried forward by the New Classical Economics of Robert Lucas and others.
For a printable version of the full seminar description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this seminar, click here
International Economic Issues
Prerequisites: Introductory Micro- and Macroeconomics and a GPA of 3.2 or higher in a relevant major.
This course aims to provide students with the opportunity to explore a number of
topical issues and current debates in international economics. Since the onset of the
global financial crisis many of these issues have moved centre stage in discussions of
national and global macro-economic policy. The course is not a text-book course but
rather aims to show students how basic economic analysis can be used to address and
analyse important issues in international economics that bear on global macroeconomic
policy. For each topic the course material is structured to acquaint students with the
relevant economic theory, empirical evidence and implications for
government policy.
Knowledge of basic macro and micro-economics is advantageous for those taking this course.
For a printable version of the full supervision description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this supervision, click here
- Shakespeare
Prerequisites: A GPA of 3.2 or above in English
Plays that will be under consideration:
- Twelfth Night
- Henry V
- Macbeth
- Coriolanus
- King Lear
- The Winter's Tale
For a printable version of the full supervision description, syllabus, and reading list, click here
To see the resume of the faculty member teaching this supervision, click here
©2008 TRANSIT About Instep | Programs | Student Services | FAQ's | Contact Us | Accepted Students | Home