Econ 535/Hist 528 European Economic History http://www.bschool.ukans.edu/home/jrosenbloom/ec535 Professor Joshua L. Rosenbloom 213-C Summerfield Hall Phone:785-864-2839 * Fax:785-864-5270 e-mail: jrosenbloom@ukans.edu Description Economics 525/History 528 covers topics in European Economic History from the Middle Ages to the present. The course focuses on the causes of economic development in Europe, and the interaction between economic forces and social institutions, rather than on the development of particular national economies within Europe. Completion of Economics 104 or 140 is a prerequisite for enrollment in this class. The objectives of this class are to: 1. provide a basic knowledge of the historical evolution of the European economy; 2. develop your ability to apply economic theory and economic ways of thinking to real world events; 3. improve your ability to express yourself clearly and concisely both orally and in writing; 4. enhance your ability to do independent research by developing your ability to locate and critically evaluate sources of information Office Hours My regularly scheduled office hours for this course are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 to 12:00 and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 10:30. In addition I am available by appointment. I encourage you to ask questions during office hours, or to send e-mail. Class Meetings and Reading Assignments The material covered in class and the assigned readings are intended to complement each other rather than to serve as substitutes for one another. You will be responsible for all the material presented in class and in the assigned readings. Completion of the readings and other out-of-class assignments is essential to your success in this class, and you should plan to spend approximately two hours outside of class for every hour in class. There is no single comprehensive text that addresses all of the subjects covered by this class. Instead, the assigned readings are drawn from a variety of sources. Copies of all of the assigned readings are available at the Anschutz Library Reserve Desk. A number of books are available for purchase at the Kansas Union bookstore, and at other bookstores in town. These are: Econ 535: Fall 2000 2 . Charles Feinstein, et al, The European Economy Between the Wars . Roderick Floud and Donald McCloskey, The Economic History of Britain Since 1700, vols. I & II . David S. Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations Assignments and Grading Your grade in this class will be based on five brief summaries of assigned readings, your participation in class discussion, your grade on an independent research project, and your grades on in-class mid-term and final exams. The weight of each of these in your grade will be as follows: . Summaries 20% . Class Discussion 15% . Research project 20% . Mid-Term Exam 20% . Final Exam 25% Reading Summaries Over the course of the semester each student must turn in 5 one-page summaries of specific reading assignments. Each summary should identify the most important point(s) made in the article or book chapter, identify the major source(s) of evidence used by the author, and list any questions that you have after completing the reading. Early in the semester I will assign each student enrolled in the class to one of four discussion groups, denoted A, B, C, and D. The column labeled "Group" that appears on the lecture schedule and reading list indicates which group of students will be responsible for turning in reading summaries for the assigned reading on that date. Summaries are due no later than the class period at which a reading will be discussed and must be turned in electronically. Summaries will be graded on the basis of both the accuracy with which they represent the assigned reading, and the clarity and style with which they are written. Class Discussions Throughout the semester we will be discussing the assigned readings in class, so it is important that you keep up with the readings. You will be graded on both the quantity and quality of your contributions to the discussion. Independent Research Projects Each student will prepare a short essay (7-10 typed double-spaced pages), on some aspect of the economic history of a European country or countries other than Britain since 1750. Papers may be organized around a particular theme, or chronological era. I will distribute a list of possible topics and further instructions concerning the paper early in the semester. Each student will present his/her paper in class near the end of the semester. Econ 535: Fall 2000 3 Each student will be assigned a partner with whom he or she will exchange papers. Each student will be responsible for reading, critiquing and providing helpful comments on the first draft of his or her partner's paper. The first draft of your paper must be turned in to me and to your partner no later than November 2. The final version of the paper will be due no later than November 21. Exams The mid-term and final exams will combine a number of short answer type questions with one or two longer essay questions. About one week prior to each exam I will distribute a set of detailed study questions to help you prepare for the exam. The dates of both exams are shown on the lecture schedule. Please make a note of these dates now so as to avoid any scheduling conflicts. If either of these dates conflicts with a religious holiday that would prevent you from taking the tests, please let me know as soon as possible. Excused Absences If for some reason you are unable to complete one of your assignments or exams on the scheduled date, please contact me as soon as possible (preferably before the event). In general, if I deem the reason for your absence appropriate I will base your grade in the class on your other work during the semester. Academic Misconduct Academic misconduct, including plagiarism and cheating of any sort, is unacceptable, and will be severely punished. You should carefully review the material on Student Rights and Responsibilities contained in the Timetable for definitions of Academic Misconduct Electronic Resources We will be using Microsoft Outlook groupware to facilitate the electronic distribution of course materials. If you do not have an Exchange e-mail account, you will need to obtain one. You can sign up for an Exchange e-mail account on the web by going to the following URL: http://lark.cc.ukans.edu/cgiwrap/acctappl/service Much of the course information contained in this syllabus will be available from the course website. I will use the website to post announcements and other important information and provide links to useful electronic resources. You can find the website by pointing your browser to: http://www.bschool.ukans.edu/home/Jrosenbloom/ec535/ Students with Special Needs Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him/her from fully demonstrating his/her abilities should contact me as soon as possible so that we can Econ 535: Fall 2000 4 discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate the educational process. Econ 535: Fall 2000 5 Date Grou p Topics and Readings I Introduction to the Course Aug.24 (1) Requirements and Expectations Aug. 29 (2) Puzzles: Why the West Grew Rich? . "The Road to Riches," Economist 31 December 1999 II The Industrial Revolution-What happened Aug. 31 (1) Overview . Floud and McCloskey, vol. I: ch. 10 Sept.5 A (2) Macroeconomic Consequences . Floud and McCloskey, vol. I: chs. 3 Sept. 7 B (3) Demographic Revolution . Floud and McCloskey, vol. I: ch. 4 Sept. 12 C (4) Technological Change . Floud and McCloskey, vol. I: chs. 2, 11 Sept. 14 D (5) Agriculture during Industrialization . Floud and McCloskey, vol. I: ch. 5 III The Consequences of the Industrial Revolution Sept. 19 A (1) Was the Industrial Revolution Worth It? . Floud and McCloskey, vol I: ch. 14 Sept.21 B (2) Becoming Urban-the Consequences of City Growth . Floud and McCloskey, vol I: ch. 13 IV The Industrial Revolution: Explanations Sept. 26 C (1) The Origins of European Economic Expansion . Landes, chs. 1-3 Sept. 28 D (2) Invention and Exploration . Landes, chs. 4-6 Oct. 3 A (3) Building Empires . Landes, chs. 7-10 Oct. 5 B (4) Winners and Losers . Landes, chs. 11-12 Oct. 10 C (5) Why did the Industrial Revolution Occur in Europe? . Landes, chs. 13-14 Oct. 12 D (6) Why was Britain First? . N.F.R. Crafts, "Industrial Revolution in Britain and France: Some Thoughts on the Question 'Why Was England First'?" Economic History Review 30 (1977), 429-41 . Landes, ch. 15 Oct. 17 ****Midterm Exam**** Econ 535: Fall 2000 6 Date Grou p Topics and Readings V The Nineteenth Century: Britain and the World Oct. 19 A (1) The Spread of Ideas . Landes, chs. 16-18 Oct. 24 B (2) The Impact of the Industrial Revolution Outside Europe . Landes, chs. 19-24 Oct. 26 C (3) Falling Behind . Floud and McCloskey, vol. II, ch. 1 . Landes, chs. 25-26 Oct. 31 D (4) British Managers and Workers . Floud and McCloskey, vol. II, chs. 3-4 VI Europe in the Twentieth Century Nov. 2 A (1) The Long View of Economic Performance . Moses Abramovitz, "Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind," Journal of Economic History 46 (June 1986), 385-406 . Landes, chs. 27-28 Nov. 7 B (2) World War I . Feinstein, Temin, and Toniolo, chs. 1-2 Nov. 9 C (3) The 1920s . Feinstein, Temin, and Toniolo, chs. 3-5 Nov. 14 D (4) The Great Depression . Feinstein, Temin and Toniolo, chs. 6-7 Nov. 16 (5) The Great Depression (continued) . Feinstein, Temin, and Toniolo, chs. 8-9 Nov. 21 (6) Recovery from World War II . Feinstein, Temin, and Toniolo, ch. 10 Nov. 28 (7) Europe Since World War II . Nicholas Crafts and Gianni Toniolo, Economic Growth in Europe Since 1945, ch. 1 . Landes, ch. 29 VII Independent Research Projects Nov. 30 Student Presentations Dec. 5 Student Presentations Dec. 7 Student Presentations VIII Conclusions Econ 535: Fall 2000 7 Dec. 12 (1) Europe and the World-Prospects for the Future . Jeffrey Sachs, "A New Map of the World," Economist, June 24, 2000, pp. 81-83 . "Of Liberty and Prosperity," Economist, January 13, 1996, pp. 21-23 Dec. 14 ****FINAL EXAM, 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM****