Course # 35556 Section Number 1 Day(s) Tu- Th Time(s) 2:00pm-3:20pm Term Spring 2024 Specialization International Policy Course Instructor Raul Sanchez de la Sierra Syllabus Syllabus 3/6/24 This course offers a perspective on the role of power in the evolution of societies. First, we will study narratives of political economy of development, dominant until recently, which draw on explanations for what made Europe, and parts of North America, exceptional, such as their innovation, trade, culture, or institutions. Second, we will explore research by historians, anthropologists, and sociologists that challenged these narratives on the grounds that they silenced the role played by European military domination over the rest of the world in the rise of Europe; the rise of the “West” coincides with the exceptional use of power at a global scale to expropriate, enslave, and even replace other societies whose welfare is not even part of current GDP calculations. Third, we will explore institutions, historical processes, worldviews, socio-political traditions, and ideas in societies outside the so-called West, and how those have contributed to the history of human societies but also to the set of possible ideas and models for “development.” One ambitious aim of the course is to make sense of how we got into the world of today while navigating this epistemic imbalance, beyond “us” vs. “them,” and through research and policies that do not carry the presumption of pitying, saving, or fixing as the main starting point. This course was previously called Political Economics of Developing Countries. Quarter Title Instructor Day(s) Time(s) Syllabus Spring 2024 Power and "Development" Raul Sanchez de la Sierra Tuesday, Thursday 2:00pm-3:20pm Syllabus Spring 2024 Power and "Development" Raul Sanchez de la Sierra Tuesday, Thursday 3:30pm-4:50pm Syllabus Recent News More news Alumni Profile: Alexandria Porter, PAC'23 Thu., May 16, 2024 10 Years at BIP Lab: Co-Founder Ariel Kalil on a Decade of Behavioral Insights and What Comes Next Tue., May 14, 2024 Cynthia Ma, MPP Class of 2025 Tue., May 14, 2024 Upcoming Events More events PKU-UChicago Summer School General Webinar with Alumni Perspectives Tue., May 21, 2024 | 8:30 PM Harris Evening Master's Program - Virtual Class with John Burrows Wed., May 22, 2024 | 5:00 PM Ask Admissions: SDG Challenge Program for High School Students Mon., May 27, 2024 | 8:30 PM