Economics Department

C.W. Post Campus

Long Island University

History of Economic Thought (WAC)

ECO 54 Spring 2009

Mondays and Wednesdays 11.00 a.m. to 12.20 p.m.

Instructor: Udayan Roy

Course Objective: My main goal is to discuss the economic thinking of some of the greatest minds of the modern era, such as Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, David Hume, Karl Marx, Thomas Malthus, and John Maynard Keynes. Learning about the lives and ideas of these people is valuable in itself. But this course will also serve other purposes. It will be an informal introduction to a broad range of economic ideas for those who have not taken economics courses before, and it will be a way of acquiring a broader understanding of economics for those who have. This course will also look at how our views on various issues often change under the pressure of actual events and how some powerful ideas retain their relevance over the long term

Course Description: (From the Undergraduate Bulletin 2008 – 2010) This course highlights the contributions of leading economists and the relevance of their theories to later periods. Systems of economic thought and consideration of application are compared to address current problems. Spring, 3 credits

Textbooks: All three textbooks listed below should be available at the C.W. Post Bookstore and in other bookstores, both traditional and online.

1. The Ordinary Business of Life: A History of Economics from the Ancient World to the Twenty-First Century by Roger E. Backhouse, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2002, ISBN 0-691-09626-0 (Cloth) and 0-691-11629-6 (paper).
2. The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Heilbroner, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1999, ISBN 0-684-86214-X.
3. New Ideas From Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought by Todd G. Buchholz, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1990, ISBN 978-0452288447.

Reference Books: There are numerous books in the C.W. Post Library on the people and the ideas that are central to this course. It is up to you to browse the stacks and the online catalog to find what you need. But by far the best source is: The New Palgrave: a dictionary of economics by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman (editors), The Stockton Press, New York, NY, 1987, ISBN 0-935859-10-1. (You will not have to buy this four-volume opus; it is on reserve in the Library's Reference Department.)

Grading Policy: To compute your grade for this course, I will use several methods of assessment, as described in the table above.

The two take-home tests and the term paper will require a significant amount of writing, as this is a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) course.[1] You will also have to complete a few essay homework assignments as part of the WAC requirement.

Occasionally, I will try to give a short, multiple-choice quizzes based on pre-announced reading assignments from the textbooks and other material that I will provide.

The in-class midterm will be held on Wednesday, March 4 and the in-class final will be held during Finals Week, on either May 4 or May 6, at a time to be assigned by the University. The take-home midterm will be distributed on or before February 25 and due on March 16. The take-home final will be distributed on or before April 15 and due on April 22.

Students must, in consultation with me, choose the subjects of their term papers by March 18. The first draft of the paper will be due on April 13 and the final draft will be due on April 27.

No make-up tests will be given for the Midterm or the Final unless there are compelling medical reasons supported by a valid doctor's note. In case you cannot take a test at the scheduled time, you (or someone representing you) must inform me of the reason(s) not later than twenty-four hours after the test. Ideally, I should be told before the test. No make-ups will be given for the quizzes. Assignments handed in late will not count. Students who send me their work by e-mail must not assume that I have received their work until they receive a confirmation from me.

Plagiarism: Students must submit all their written work in electronic form as well as on paper. I will use plagiarism detection Web sites such as http://www.mydropbox.com and http://www.turnitin.com and make a rigorous attempt to detect plagiarism. Students are therefore encouraged to clear their writing with these Web sites before submitting it to me. Please see the University’s “Students' Guide to Preventing and Avoiding Plagiarism” at http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/exhibits/plagstudent.htm for further clarifications. Needless to say, any plagiarism in my course will be punished in an extremely cruel and heartless manner.

Attendance Policy: The best possible grade (BPG) that you could get will depend on the number of your absences. See the accompanying table for details. You will be marked absent if you are late for a lecture by five minutes or more or if you leave early or if you are not attentive in class.

Contact Information: My office is at Room 206, Hoxie Hall (across from the Bookstore). My office phone number is (516) 299 2405/2321. My e-mail address is uroy@liu.edu. My Web site is at http://myweb.liu.edu/~uroy/. My mailing address is: Udayan Roy, Economics Department, Long Island University, Brookville, NY 11548.

Office Hours: My office hours are: 2.00 p.m.–3.30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. You need not make an appointment if you wish to see me during these hours. For all other times, however, an appointment must be made in advance.

Web Site: The course's Web site is at http://myweb.liu.edu/~uroy/eco54/.

Best of luck!