The Political Economy of Transformation
Die politische Ökonomie der Transformation
6 CPirregularlyENFÜS
Contents
To deal with the major challenges our societies are facing – such as the climate crisis, demographic change, geopolitical tension as well as regional and global economic restructurings – we need a profound understanding of their underlying social conditions. This interdisciplinary course offers an introduction to critical political economy approaches that examine these issues through the lenses of power, social relations, and uneven development. We begin with discussing core concepts through which critical political economists seeks to understand how capitalist economies function and how their contradictions emerge. We then turn to the institutional arrangements that shape and mediate economic life — such as states, legal systems, and international governance — examining their roles not as neutral arbiters but as embedded in social struggles and historical formations. Building on this, we explore the concepts of power and hegemony. Drawing on theorists such as Antonio Gramsci and perspectives from Cultural Political Economy, we analyse how dominant economic and political ideas as well as practices become socialised, and how they are contested. Finally, the course investigates the spatial dimension of capitalism: we study how space is not merely a backdrop but actively produced through processes of uneven development, globalisation, and territorial differentiation. Throughout the course, we will engage with both classical texts and contemporary applications, and reflect critically on the relevance of critical political economy approaches for understanding today’s transformations. Students are encouraged to bring in their own interests and regional expertise, and to relate theoretical insights to empirical phenomena across scales.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the semester, students will have a solid understanding of theoretical concepts tied to a critical political economy perspective. They will be able to apply these theoretical perspectives for analysing concrete empirical contexts. They will have skills for critical reflection and will be able to navigate and process complex conceptual texts. Students have inter- and transdisciplinary research competencies.
Assessment
• Präsentation: 15 min (50 %) • Hausarbeit: 6.000 Wörter (50 %)
Literature (6)
- Gramsci, A., 2011. Prison notebooks. Vol. 1. Columbia Univ. Press.
- Harvey, D., 2019. Spaces of Global Capitalism: A Theory of Uneven Geographical Development. Verso.
- Massey, D.B., 1984. Spatial Divisions of Labour. Macmillan.
- Moisio, S. (2018). Geopolitics of the knowledge-based economy. Routledge.
- Sum, N.-L., & Jessop, B. (2013). Towards a cultural political economy: Putting culture in its place in political economy. Edward Elgar Pub. Ltd.
- Vidal, M., Smith, T., Rotta, T., Prew, P. (Eds.), 2019. The Oxford Handbook of Karl Marx, 1st ed. Oxford University Press.
Remarks
Not offered in the WS 2026/27 Module with limited number of participants - Registration two weeks prior to the commencement of lectures!
Source: BTU's module description · retrieved 29 Sep 2026Original