2016-2017 University Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2016-2017 University Catalog archived

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ECON 295 - Special Topics in Economics


Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
Credits: 3


Prerequisites: Normally ECON 101 and 102 but may vary with topic. Preference to ECON majors during the first round of registration. Other majors are encouraged to add to the waiting list after registration re-opens for all class years. Course emphasis and prerequisites change from term to term and are announced prior to preregistration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. A maximum of nine credits chosen from all special topics in economics courses may be used, with permission of the department head, toward requirements for the economics major.

Winter 2017, ECON 295A-01: Land in O’odham Cultural, Economic, and Historical Perspectives (3). Prerequisite: ECON 101. Applicable to economics and poverty and human capability studies. Field Component Cost: $1,350 (departmental aid and loans possible), deposit due Dec. 2, final payment due Dec. 9. This course explores the cultural, economic, and historical dimensions of the O’odham (Papago and Pima) Indians’ ties to their lands as expressed in their pre-reservation and contemporary lifeways. Student and faculty travel to the O’odham Nation in Arizona during Washington Break. The seminar first examines pre-reservation O’odham-land relationships as expressed in the tribes’ beliefs concerning the structure and operation of the cosmos. Students then place O’odham economics in historical perspective paying particular note to the major 19th- and 20th-century forces that eroded the O’odham’s original land base and control over their economic practices. Lastly, we consider attempts of O’odham peoples to solve present-day economic problems in ways that are compatible with their cultural heritage. Guse.

Winter, 2017, ECON 295B-01: Economy of Brazil in the 21st Century (3). Prerequisites: ECON 101, ECON 102 and instructor consent required. This course examines economic development in Brazil, with the purpose of identifying the factors that have prevented Brazil from developing the type of economy and standard of living level associated with a North American or European country. Recommendations are made for future policy directions, and implications for other emerging economy countries are examined. The class has three distinct phases. In the first phase, we have four hours of lectures per week. Following this, there is a weekend workshop with distinguished speakers. After the workshop, the research phase of the class begins, with students responsible for contributing to a white paper on the topic of the course. During the research phase, weekly class meetings are scheduled to discuss progress. Kahn, Blunch, Davies.

Winter 2017, ECON 295C-01: Conservation and Sustainable Tourism Development in Cuba (3). Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Applicable to economics, environmental studies, Latin American and Caribbean studies, and poverty and human capability studies. Field Component Cost: $2750 (departmental aid and loans possible), deposit due Dec. 2, final payment due Dec. 9. This course offers a unique opportunity for international and interdisciplinary learning. Students spend the first three weeks learning about the culture, history, and politics of Cuba, helped by several guest speakers, including the famous Cuban novelist, Uva de Aragon. The next three weeks introduce students to theories of marine conservation and sustainable tourism, with examples from Cuba. The course travels to Cuba during Washington Break where students learn from marine scientists at the Center for Marine Research at the University of Havana. We visit several coastal research sites and learn about potential collaborative opportunities with University of Havana students and faculty. The final six weeks are devoted to continued exploration of conservation and sustainable tourism in Cuba, and students develop their own research proposals for future collaboration based upon their particular interests and contacts made in Cuba.

Fall 2016, ECON 295A-01: Demographics and Development In South Asia (3). Prerequisite: ECON 101. Preference to ECON majors during the first round of registration. Other majors are encouraged to add to the waiting list after registration re-opens for all class years. This course uses economic theories and methods to understand economic demography and development in South Asia. Some of the peculiar demographic and development aspects of the South Asian economy, and hence, the topics of the course include youth bulges, migration, markers of social identity, education, child labor, corruption, public health, and targeted initiatives for development in the region. While we focus exclusively on the South Asian countries, students will be able to apply the concepts learned in this class to study any developing country in the world. Silwal.




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