COURSE UNIT TITLE

Offered By

Economics

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR DOCTOR YEŞIM ÜÇDOĞRUK GÜREL

Offered to

Economics

Course Objective

Economic life is driven by creativity, collective rules and emotions, not just by rational calculation. It is a product of imagination and social sentiments. How come then most economic theories study this dynamic process through static equilibrium models and narrow rationalistic assumptions This course is designed for anyone who has an interest in words and in the world. We will visit the great concepts of economics such as value, price, exchange, markets, interest rates, speculation, income distribution, growth and development; but we will let writers, poets, composers and painters, rather than certified economists, be our guides. This course will rely on fiction writers and artists to give us another view of economic realities. We will discuss novels, paintings, classical music and scenes from films in order to understand the fusion of economic objectivity and modern narratives from Industrial Revolution to post-modern times.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Recomended or Required Reading

Eric Hobsbawm, 1994, Age of Extremes 1914-1991, An Abacus Book, London.
David Britt, 2003, Modern Art: Impressionism and Post-Modernism, Thames & Hudson, London.
Peter Gay, 2008, Modernism: The Lure of Heresy from Baudelaire to Beckett and Beyond, W.W. Norton& Company, New York.
Çınla Akdere ve Derya Güler Aydın, 2014, Edebiyattaki Iktisat, Iletişim Yayınları, Istanbul.
Bruna Ingrao, 2009, Economics and literature, in Richard Arena, Sheila Dow and Matthias Klaes (eds.), Open Economics: Economics in relation to other disciplines, Routledge, London.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Each lesson will consist in analysing and discussing one or more passages of a poem, play or novel. Students will be expected to have read these excerpts before the lesson (a few pages), even if they are not familiar with the entire work (which is not required). We will identify, and then formalise, the economic concepts that are introduced, and which we need to understand in order to enjoy a better-informed life in society. Students will receive a few pages of readings by email and occasionally pictures of paintings to prepare a class discussion led by the tutor on some economic concept (what is the meaning of production, does labour create value, is there a law supply and demand, what is money, etc.)
Students should establish what they hope to gain from the course and evaluate their own progress in understanding the issues. Feedback will be privately given on class contributions, and assessed against stated objectives.

Assessment Methods

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

1. The learner will clearly define periodization in modern economic era.
2. The learner will use necessary basic concepts to evaluate the representation economic phenomena in selected literary and fine arts.
3. The learner will interpret the problems of poverty, unequal distributions of wealth and income through the discussions in selected literature and art works.
4. The learner will make research about a specific topic and present it in line with the purpose of assessing the representation of economic phenomena in selected literary and art works.

Term projects will be related to the historical/ current economic events.
a) The student will choose a topic or the instructor will assign the term project topic to the student.
b) Term projects will be assessed on 1) organization, 2) content, 3) clarity.
Criteria 1 and 2 are 80 per cent of the total term project grade and criteria 3 is 20 per cent of the total term project grade.
(1) The students who evaluate the topic in a logical sequence with all the required information and cite the references will get 100% (Excellent). The students who evaluate the topic in a logical sequence with all the required information but do not cite the references will get 80% (Very good). The students who evaluate the topic in a logical sequence with missing required information and do not cite the references will get 60% (Good). The students who evaluate the topic but do not have a logical sequence and do not cite the references will get 40% (Fair). The students who evaluate an irrelevant topic with no references will get 0% (Poor).
(2) The students who lay out the topic well, and establish a framework for the rest of the term project, include accurate information with a conclusion summarizing the term project will get 100% (Excellent). The students who lay out the topic well, and establish a framework for the rest of the term project, include accurate information but do not summarize the assignment with a conclusion will get 80% (Very good). The students who lay out the topic well, include accurate information but do not summarize the term project with a conclusion will get 60% (Good). The students who lay out the topic well but fail to provide accurate information and do not summarize the term project with a conclusion will get 40% (Fair). The students who fail to lay out the topic well, lack accurate information and do not summarize the term project with a conclusion will get 0% (Poor).
(3) The students who clarify their research question well, have good language skills and can explain the subject clearly will get 100% (Excellent). The students who clarify their research question well, have enough language skills and can explain the subject quite clearly will get 80% (Very good). The students who clarify their research question well, have enough language skills, but cannot explain the subject clearly will get 60% (Good). The students who cannot clarify their research question well, have poor language skills and can partially explain the subject will get 40% (Fair). The students who cannot clarify their research question well, have poor language skills and can poorly explain the subject will get 0% (Poor).

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Attending at least 70 percent of lectures is mandatory.
2. Plagiarism of any type will result in disciplinary action.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

To be announced.

Office Hours

To be announced

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes