Teaching

Sem (BA/MEd) Comparative capitalism in the era of crises, transformations & states of exception

Instructors: Dr. Martin Mendelski
Shortname: Sem Capitalism
Course Type: Seminar

Requirements / organisational issues

Bereich: Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, AVPS
Gültig für die vom Institut angebotenen Studiengänge:
- BA Politikwissenschaft (Aufbaumodul 2 und 3)
- MEd Sozialkunde (Modul Fachwissenschaftliche Vertiefung)
- MEd Sozialkunde (Querschnitt)

Recommended reading list

Agamben, G. (2005). State of Exception. University of Chicago Press.
Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (Eds.). (2001). Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. OUP Oxford.
Merkel, W., Kollmorgen, R., & Wagener, H. J. (Eds.). (2019). The handbook of political, social, and economic transformation. Oxford University Press.
Polanyi, K (1944) The great transformation
Schmitt, C. (2014). Dictatorship. John Wiley & Sons.

Contents

This seminar is guided by three course goals: 1. To explore different varieties of capitalism from a theoretical and empirical perspective. 2. To examine processes of institutional change and socio-economic & political transformation (e.g. post-Communist & post-Corona transformation, Great Transformation & Great Reset). 3. To understand and problematize “states of emergency” and their impact on the political economy.
The Seminar is divided into three parts. In the first part we will explore Hall & Soskice’s Varieties of Capitalism approach theoretically and familiarize ourselves with empirical indicators and data how to measure capitalism across different spheres of the political economy. Different types of capitalism (e.g. liberal, coordinated, dependent, fragmented, state, oligarchic) will be illustrated with examples from Germany, the United States and Eastern Europe (e.g. Poland, Ukraine, Western Balkans).
The second part of the seminar deals with theories and empirics of institutional change and transformation. In particular, we will discuss Polanyi’s “great transformation”, the post-communist transformation and the post-COVID transformation (great reset).
The third part is focused on the concept of “state of emergency” (Agamben, Schmitt) and its implication for exceptional forms of politics and capitalism (emergency politics, crisis & disaster capitalism).
By attending the course, you will acquire conceptual and methodological skills to analyze political-economic systems. In particular, you will learn how to conduct an empirical analysis (case study) based on qualitative and quantitative data, including various economic, political and social indicators.
All readings and other course materials will be in English. For your own contributions to the course (presentation, Hausarbeit, group work activities, in-class discussion) German is acceptable as long as it does not place non-German participants at a disadvantage.

Dates

Date (Day of the week)	Time	Location
11/05/2022 (Saturday)	10:00 - 12:00	Online
11/12/2022 (Saturday)	10:00 - 17:00	02 611 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
11/26/2022 (Saturday)	10:00 - 17:00	02 611 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
12/10/2022 (Saturday)	10:00 - 17:00	02 611 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)