(Offered as EDST 352, AMST 352 and SOCI 352) This course serves as the foundational course for the Educational Studies major. Public education has been a fundamental social good in the United States for hundreds of years. It has also been an object of significant disagreement. What should be the goals of education? Who should have access to education and who should control that education? These questions raise even more basic questions. What sorts of things are valuable for human beings? How does a just society distribute the goods that it produces?

The course provides an introduction to major issues and policies that have shaped contemporary education in various countries. We begin by surveying the general features of education systems and highlighting basic issues confronting education internationally. Next, we focus on select countries to examine in-depth issues and challenges related to educational access, quality, and equity; teacher quality and professionalism; democratic education; and educational reform in the context of globalization.

Zoning, busing, residential segregation, school choice, school closings, magnet schools, city schools, suburban schools – each of these are deeply entwined with questions of space and place. This course will take a geographic approach to the study of the school building itself and of educational conflicts and reforms both past and present. Race and racism, as well as questions of in/equity, will be central to our exploration.

(Offered as ENGL 120 and EDST 120) This course considers from many perspectives what it means to read and write and learn and teach both for ourselves and for others. As part of the work, in addition to the usual class hours, students will serve as weekly tutors and classroom assistants in adult basic education centers in nearby towns. This course consciously engages with the obstacles to and the power of education through course readings, through self-reflexive writing about our own varied educational experiences, and through weekly work in the community.

Independent work under the guidance of an advisor assigned by the Department.

Requisite: ECON 498. Spring semester. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: TBD based on student plan with faculty advisor(s).

Independent reading course. Half course.

Admission with consent of the instructor. Fall and spring semesters.The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: TBD based on student plan with faculty advisor(s).

Independent reading course. Full course.

Admission with consent of the instructor. Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

How to handle overenrollment: null

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: TBD based on student plan with faculty advisor(s).

For most of human history, all over the planet, people were sitting within a rather stable, Malthusian equilibrium, with very similar imputed levels of per capita income. This radically changed, for some, at the end of the eighteenth century. The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to the economic development of the contemporary world and an opportunity to support research on a specific topic within economic history. We will first examine the long swing of the Malthusian equilibrium in pre-industrial economies, focusing on hunter gatherer and agrarian economies.

The way a society creates and distributes money has a large impact on people’s income, wealth, employment opportunities, and financial security more generally. In this course, we will study modern monetary institutions and their impact on the economy. We will use both empirical and theoretical frameworks to address questions like: What causes inflation? How do interest rate changes affect employment? and How should policymakers decide what actions to take? We will examine the operational aspects of modern central banks as well as how and why the banks have evolved over time.

A seminar in international macroeconomics, with an emphasis on emerging market economies. We will read and discuss empirical research papers. Topics covered will include financial globalization, banking and currency crises, exchange rate regimes, dollarization, and institutions and governance.

Requisite: ECON 330/331, or ECON 235/237 with consent of the instructor. Limited to 30 students. Fall and Spring semester. Professor Honig.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference is given to senior and junior economics majors.