ECO211 ECONOMIC HISTORY
| Course Code: | 3520211 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 6.0 |
| Department: | Economics |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Lecturer Dr. DENİZ KILINÇOĞLU |
| Offered Semester: | Fall Semesters. |
Course Objectives
This course is an introduction to world economic history. Main topics include: Neolithic (agricultural) revolution, ancient economies, slave mode of production, medieval economies, serfdom and feudalism, evolution of markets and commercial/financial networks, geographical discoveries, colonization, mercantilism, capitalism, industrious revolution, industrial revolution, imperialism, and the historical roles of technology and institutions in economic development. The course covers the structural patterns and historical evolution of the world economy from Neolithic and ancient times to the World War I (1914-1918) [Post-World War I developments in the world economy are covered in another must course in the Economics Program (ECO 480: World Economy)].
The primary goal is to enable students to learn the major topics summarized above. Another important objective is to demonstrate that ‘economic history’ is, in a sense, the history of ‘economic development’, which, in turn, has historically depended on four major factors in the long term; that is to say, population, resources, technology and institutions. Yet another crucial purpose of the course is to draw attention to the importance of ‘economic history’ as a fundamental field by way of which the development of earlier and contemporary economic theories/ideas can be much better conceived [Along with these objectives, this course also provides the scholarly background to another must course in the Economics Program (ECO 212: History of Economic Thought)].
Course Content
Pre-industrial Europe and transition to industrial societies, industrial revolution, an overview of economic and social change in the twentieth century.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Understanding the economic history of humanity from approximately 10000-8000 BC to the early 20th century.
- Learning the historical evolution of economies in terms of the transitions from hunting/gathering to agricultural production, from barter economies to market economies, from agriculture-based economies to industrial economies.
- Comprehending the historical evolution of economies in terms of the transitions from slave mode of production to feudal serfdom, and from feudalism to the emergence of wage-labor and capitalism.
- Grasping the critical historical roles of colonization and imperialism in shaping the dynamics of the modern world economy.
- Perceiving the critical historical roles of technological and institutional changes in the process of economic development.
- Acquiring a scholarly historical background on which to assess why some countries have become more developed and prosperous, while others remained less developed and relatively poorer.
- Improving the reading capacities, analytical thinking abilities and writing skills of the students.
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | graduate from the program as competent experts in economic theory and policy | ✔ | |||
| 2 | analyze economic and administrative problems by conceptualizing them effectively | ✔ | |||
| 3 | acquire the vocational knowledge and skills that will enable them to produce solutions to political-economic problems by using social-scientific methods | ✔ | |||
| 4 | acquire an inter-disciplinary background that will enable them to keep track of and understand societal and economic developments at both world and country scales | ✔ | |||
| 5 | contribute to scientific and societal life as individuals who are: open to technological and scientific innovations; adaptive to the continuous-learning process; responsive to societal problems; able to produce scientific solutions and proposals, and to share those with the academic world and society when necessary; and capable of internalizing and supporting free thought | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution