Learning objectives
a) Knowledge and comprehension abilities
The student will learn and understand the economic, social, institutional and political- regulatory processes that characterize the global economy development.
b) Ability to use knowledge and comprehension
The student will use the studied issues to understand the economic processes complexity, also with regard to the other disciplines.
c) Judgment autonomy
The student will be able to evaluate the economic processes and develop a critical analysis of the powerful factors that characterize their evolution.
d) Communicative skills
The student will get a lexical and conceptual property essential for the education and the communication of a triennial student in economic issues.
e) Ability to learn
The student will try out an innovative didactic method based on group work.
Prerequisites
Nothing
Course unit content
Course Contents
Why are some countries rich and some poor? Which factors, between the XVIII and the XIX centuries, allowed Europe first and then North America to make the great leap forward towards industrialisation and social development? And what are the reasons behind the recent rise of countries such as India, China and the other Brics countries, whose development is reshaping the global geography of wealth?
The course presents and investigates those factors – geography, globalisation, technical progress, economic policies, institutions – which have influenced economic development in different areas of the world.
Lectures, by adopting a global perspective, will analyse the rise of the West and the spread of industrialisation to America, with the consequent shift in international hegemony. Moreover, the progress of Russia and Japan will also be examined, as both are emblematic cases of delayed development; nor will we forget to explore the dynamics at play in the African continent, including the growth of the “Asian tigers” and the emergence of China.
Students getting access to group activities will be able to delve deeper into the aspects linked to the globalisation of markets and to the rise of new economic powers.
Full programme
ECONOMIC HISTORY – A/D
SSD: SECS-P/12 – CFU: 9 – Teacher: Gian Luca Podestà
Lingua insegnamento
Italian
Contenuti
Why some countries are rich and others poor? What have been the factors that between 18th and 19th centuries allowed both to Europe and North America to complete the great leap towards the industrialization and the social development? And what are the reasons that in current decades are allowing the rise of countries whose development (India, China, Brics) is redesigning the world geography of wealth?
The course presents and analyses the factors – geography, globalization, technical progress, economic policies, institutions – that have determined the economic development of the various areas of the world.
The lessons, adopting a global key of analysis, will analyse the rise of the West and the spread of the industrialization in America, with the consequent change of the international hegemony. Moreover it will be analysed the cases of Russia and Japan – emblematic cases of late development – without forget the Africa dynamics, the affirmation of “Asia tigers” and the rise of China.
The students that will be involved in group activities will further deepen the aspects related to the market globalization and to the rise of new economic Powers.
Testi di riferimento
(1) Innovative curriculum (students that attend lessons and that after intermediate exercise follow group activities)
- Robert C. Allen, Storia economica globale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013.
- Materials, slides and notes of the lessons.
- Texts, materials and documents indicated for the group activities and group and the classroom presentation.
(2) Mixed curriculum (students that attend lessons and that obtain >18<22 in the intermediate exercise and that follow the deepening lessons)
- Robert C. Allen, Storia economica globale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013.
- Materials, slides and notes of the lessons.
One book at choice among:
- Robert C. Allen, La rivoluzione industriale inglese, Bologna, il Mulino, 2011.
- Cormac O’Grada, Storia delle carestie, Bologna, il Mulino, 2011.
- Giuseppe Berta, L’Italia delle fabbriche. La parabola dell’industrialismo nel Novecento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2014.
(3) Traditional curriculum (students that don’t attend lessons; students that do it but that don’t pass the intermediate exercise or that don’t reach the minimum requirements of attendance)
- Robert C. Allen, Storia economica globale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013.
- Jurgen Osterhammel, Niels P. Petersson, Storia della globalizzazione, Bologna, il Mulino, 2005.
One book at choice among:
- Robert C. Allen, La rivoluzione industriale inglese, Bologna, il Mulino, 2011.
- Cormac O’Grada, Storia delle carestie, Bologna, il Mulino, 2011.
- Giuseppe Berta, L’Italia delle fabbriche. La parabola dell’industrialismo nel Novecento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2014.
Obiettivi formativi
a) Knowledge and comprehension abilities
The student will learn and understand the economic, social, institutional and political- regulatory processes that characterize the global economy development.
b) Ability to use knowledge and comprehension
The student will use the studied issues to understand the economic processes complexity, also with regard to the other disciplines.
c) Judgment autonomy
The student will be able to evaluate the economic processes and develop a critical analysis of the powerful factors that characterize their evolution.
d) Communicative skills
The student will get a lexical and conceptual property essential for the education and the communication of a triennial student in economic issues.
e) Ability to learn
The student will try out an innovative didactic method based on group work.
Prerequisiti
None
Metodi didattici
The first part of the course (approximately 60% of the hours) will be carried out with traditional didactic methods (frontal lessons). The second part (approximately 40% of the hours) will present instead some didactic innovations: (a) the students who will obtain a minimum of 23/30 in the intermediate exercise will allowed to follow the second part of the course with the group activities of deepening. The students will form little teams (4-5 unities) that, following the bibliographical and documentary indications supplied from teacher, will prepare a short classroom presentation (approximately 15 minutes) and a short English abstract. In the second part the students will have to attend a minimum of 80% of the lessons; (b) the students that will obtain a mark between 18 and 22/30 in the intermediate exercise could enter in a second part of the course with traditional lessons of deepening. The students, at the end of the lessons, will have to take a written exercise on the topics of the second part of the course.
In both cases – (a) e (b) – the marks will be merged in a weighted mark.
In other cases (students that don’t attend lessons; students that don’t pass the intermediate exercise; students that don’t pass the final exercise; students that although they passed the intermediate exercise don’t reach the minimum requirements of attendance or that decide to not follow the didactic activities), it will be necessary to sustain the traditional exam.
Altre informazioni
Eventual other readings will be communicated at the beginning of the course and published on the homepage of the teacher.
Modalità di verifica dell’apprendimento
(1) Innovative curriculum
Intermediate exercise
a) The knowledge and comprehension abilities will be checked by 2 open-ended questions choose among three questions. Each question is 15 points worth.
b) The answers will be checked by the ability to express judgment autonomy, critical learning ability and to do cross links among different topics.
d) The ability to communicate will be checked verifying the adequacy and efficacy of language; furthermore it will be checked the tendency to clarify the meaning of the technical words and concepts used.
Classroom presentation
The classroom presentation will be checked by the following elements:
a) originality and innovativeness of work (ability to carry on the proposed topic with originality compared to the literature and documentation used).
b) precision and effectiveness of the slides (style, language).
c) quality and precision of the abstract (to present the aims, the sources, the results).
c) coherence between sources, analysis and synthesis.
d) coherence between investigation questions and proposed analysis (i.e.: if I want to study the skin quality of the shoes that I’m using I can’t analyse the cotton of my shirt).
The marks will be merged in a weighted mark.
(2) Mixed curriculum
Intermediate exercise
a) The knowledge and comprehension abilities will be checked by 2 open-ended questions choose among three questions. Each question is 15 points worth.
b) The answers will be checked by the ability to express judgment autonomy, critical learning ability and to do cross links among different topics.
d) The ability to communicate will be checked verifying the adequacy and efficacy of language; furthermore it will be checked the tendency to clarify the meaning of the technical words and concepts used.
Final exercise
a) The knowledge and comprehension abilities will be checked by 2 open-ended questions choose among three questions. Each question is 15 points worth.
b) The answers will be checked by the ability to express judgment autonomy, critical learning ability and to do cross links among different topics.
d) The ability to communicate will be checked verifying the adequacy and efficacy of language; furthermore it will be checked the tendency to clarify the meaning of the technical words and concepts used.
The marks will be merged in a weighted mark.
(3) Traditional curriculum
Final written exam
a) The knowledge and comprehension abilities will be checked by 3 open-ended questions choose among five questions. Each question is 10 points worth.
b) The answers will be checked by the ability to express judgment autonomy, critical learning ability and to do cross links among different topics.
d) The ability to communicate will be checked verifying the adequacy and efficacy of language; furthermore it will be checked the tendency to clarify the meaning of the technical words and concepts used.
Bibliography
Course Textbooks
(1) Innovative Course (Students that will take part in group work after passing a mid-course test)
– Robert C. Allen, Storia economica globale, Bologna, Il Mulino 2013
– Class materials, slides and notes
– Texts, materials and documents recommended for group work and the class presentation.
(2) Mixed Course (Students obtaining a mark between 18 and 22 in the mid-course test and admitted to the in-depth lessons)
- Robert C. Allen, Storia economica globale, Bologna, Il Mulino 2013
- Class materials, slides and notes
- A book chosen out of these three:
Robert C. Allen, La rivoluzione industriale inglese, Bologna, Il Mulino 2011
Cormac O'Grada, Storia delle carestie, Bologna, Il Mulino 2011
Giuseppe Berta, L'Italia delle fabbriche. La parabola dell'industrialismo nel Novecento, Bologna, Il Mulino 2014
(3) Traditional Course (Non-attending Students; attending students who have not passed the mid-course test or do not meet the minimum attendance requirements)
- Robert C. Allen, Storia economica globale, Bologna, Il Mulino 2013
- Jurgen Osterhammel, Niels P. Petersson, Storia della globalizzazione, Bologna, Il Mulino 2005
- A book chosen out of the following:
Robert C. Allen, La rivoluzione industriale inglese, Bologna, Il Mulino 2011
Cormac O'Grada, Storia delle carestie, Bologna, Il Mulino 2011
Giuseppe Berta, L'Italia delle fabbriche. La parabola dell'industrialismo nel Novecento, Bologna, Il Mulino 2014
Teaching methods
Teaching Methods
The first part of the course (about 60% of total hours) will be taught using traditional teaching methods (formal lectures). In the second part (about 40% of total hours) innovative teaching modes will instead be employed: (a) students obtaining a mark equal or higher than 23/30 in the test taken after the end of the first section will be able to attend the second part of the course; they will be divided into groups, for further investigation of some of the topics in thematic workshops. Students will form small teams of 4-5 individuals who, on the basis of bibliographic and documentary indications provided by the lecturers, will prepare and give a short presentation (about 15 minutes) to the rest of the class, complete with a brief abstract in English. In this second section attendance will be recorded and should not be lower than 80 % of total hours; (b) students obtaining a mark between 18 and 22/30 in the above mentioned test will be able to attend a second section of the course, made up of traditional formal lectures providing deeper understanding of some of the topics. At the end of the course of lectures, these students will have to sit a written exam on their contents.
In both cases – (a) and (b) – the marks obtained will be weighed together and an average mark will be awarded to the students. In all other cases (non-attending students, students who have not passed the mid-course test, students who have not passed the end-of-course exam, students who have passed the test but who do not meet the minimum attendance requirements, or those who decide not to take advantage of the educational activities on offer) it will be necessary to sit a traditional-type exam.
Assessment methods and criteria
Student Assessment Methods
(1) Innovative Course
Mid-course Test
(a) Actual knowledge and comprehension will be assessed by having students answering 2 open questions out of 3. Each question is worth 15 points.
(b) Answers will be evaluated as regards the student's ability to express autonomous judgements, his or her critical learning capacity and the ability to make cross-connections between different topics.
(d) Communication skills will be assessed according to the adequacy and efficacy of the language utilised; vocabulary usage will also be judged as well the propensity to clarify the terms and concepts used.
Class Presentation
The presentation to the class will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
(a) originality and innovativeness (the ability to develop the topic suggested in an original manner vis-à-vis the literature and documentation utilised).
(b) clarity and efficacy of the slides (style, language).
(c) quality and clarity of the abstract (in presenting its objectives, the sources used, the results obtained).
(c) coherence between the sources utilised, their analysis and the synthesis proposed.
(d) coherence between the research questions and the proposed analysis (e.g. if I plan to investigate the quality of the leather of which my shoes are made, I won't bother to analyse the fabric of my cotton shirt).
The final mark will be the result of a weighed average.
(2) Mixed Course
Mid-course Test
(a) Actual knowledge and comprehension will be assessed by having students answering 2 open questions out of 3. Each question is worth 15 points.
(b) Answers will be evaluated as regards the student's ability to express autonomous judgements, his or her critical learning capacity and the ability to make cross-connections between different topics.
(d) Communication skills will be assessed according to the adequacy and efficacy of the language utilised; vocabulary usage will also be judged as well the propensity to clarify the terms and concepts used.
Final Assessment Test
(a) Actual knowledge and comprehension will be assessed by having students answering 2 open questions out of 3. Each question is worth 15 points.
(b) Answers will be evaluated as regards the student's ability to express autonomous judgements, his or her critical learning capacity and the ability to make cross-connections between different topics.
(d) Communication skills will be assessed according to the adequacy and efficacy of the language utilised; vocabulary usage will also be judged as well the propensity to clarify the terms and concepts used.
The final mark will be the result of a weighed average.
Traditional Course
Final Written Exam
(a) Actual knowledge and comprehension will be assessed by having students answering 3 open questions out of 5. Each question is worth 10 points.
(b) Answers will be evaluated as regards the student's ability to express autonomous judgements, his or her critical learning capacity and the ability to make cross-connections between different topics.
(d) Communication skills will be assessed according to the adequacy and efficacy of the language utilised; vocabulary usage will also be judged as well the propensity to clarify the terms and concepts used.
Other information
in case other books will be communicated during the lessons
