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Unit of study_

ECOP6101: Political Economy: A Primer

2024 unit information

The unit introduces the core concepts of political economy through the lens of the principal schools of economic thought - Classical Political Economy, Marxian Economics, Neoclassical Economics, Institutional Economics, Keynesian Economics and Contemporary Political Economy. You will consider each school’s historical origins, their methodological approaches, analytical tools, policy prescriptions and insights. You will learn about the foundations for the application of political economic reasoning to advance understanding of contemporary issues like the climate crisis, precarious employment, energy impoverishment, the contemporary university business model, and global pandemics.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Political Economy

Code ECOP6101
Academic unit Political Economy
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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None
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. show a general familiarity with the basic concepts in the language of economics
  • LO2. demonstrate understanding of core concepts and basic analytical tools used in political economic analysis
  • LO3. discuss the principal schools of thought in economics, their historical origins, their political orientation and their contemporary relevance
  • LO4. explain the connections between different economic viewpoints (e.g. on policy issues) and the theoretical frameworks of competing schools of economic thought
  • LO5. independently gather information from library and other sources
  • LO6. apply information collected to particular economic questions
  • LO7. demonstrate a capacity for thinking critically and constructively about contemporary economic issues
  • LO8. prepare clearly written summaries of arguments about political economic issues
  • LO9. contribute orally to discussions about political economic issues, adapting and developing arguments in the light of additional evidence and alternative viewpoints

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Remote

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.