Course program
The course seeks to answer the following questions: how can we read the processes of economic and social development through the spatial, environmental and territorial dimensions? How does the concept of development change and through which innovative tools can we promote it, if we integrate the concepts of space, environment, ecosystem, territory into the study? How can the choice between different theories and analysis tools change our point of view on development and guide concrete policy choices? Can we build a future of more equitable well-being, of livable policies and places, of a new relationship between society and nature?
The Economic Geography course therefore aims to let students experiment with the concepts and tools of economic geography in understanding economic organization and development processes.
A first part of the course will be dedicated to the theme of development and inequalities in the world, reconstructing the evolutionary paradigms of the Western economy and the organization to which they gave rise (18 hours). A second part will deal with globalization and the new international division of labor, with particular attention to global value chains, showing the different interpretative categories and critical aspects (18 hours). A third module will explore the role of cities in promoting economic growth and as a place for experimenting with policies for environmental, social and cultural sustainability (8 hours).
A fourth module will cover development theories, regional and spatial development, human development, sustainable development, spatial and environmental justice. This last category will be applied to delve deeper into the themes of agriculture and resources on a global scale.
Prerequisites
No requisites
Books
For attending students, the program consists of notes and material made available.
Non attending students may choose one of these book:
- Dini F., Randelli F., Romei P., Geografia Economica, Mondadori Università, 2020 (the chapters n. 2 and 3 are excluded);
Teaching mode
Except for the pandemic provisions, the course is proposed in a traditional way. Students are required to actively participate, through small presentations on selected topics. At the beginning of the course will be required to do a small homework to verify the knowledge of some fundamental concepts (such as space and development).
Frequency
To be considered attending students, participation in at least 75% of the lectures is required.
Attendance is mandatory during the 15 hours of the COIL project, which will take place every Tuesday and Wednesday from October 28 to November 26. Students will be asked to register for the course and to join the COIL project at the beginning of the course. During this period, attendance will be recorded daily.
Attendance is strongly recommended, as in-class dialogue is the most effective way to learn. As mentioned, signatures will be required during the COIL project sessions, while for the rest of the course the lecturer will verify attendance through student engagement, indicating the lectures in which attendance will be recorded through an interactive session.
Since students enrolled in the degree program in Linguistic and Intercultural Mediation take 48 hours of the Economic Geography course (out of a total of 72 hours), their schedule provides for attendance starting from the first week (September 23–24–25), for the three scheduled days each week, only until the end of the COIL project. During this period, they will attend only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, until November 26 included.
Exam mode
Assessment methods differ for attending and non-attending students.
ATTENDING students will have an ongoing assessment connected with the COIL project (Collaborative Online International Learning), promoted within the CIVIS alliance (Europe's Civic University Alliance), in which Sapienza participates.
As part of the regular course schedule, attending students will participate in 10 hours of joint lectures with students from the University of Bucharest and the Autonomous University of Madrid, completing a Moodle questionnaire at the end of each lecture. In addition, 5 hours of lectures will be devoted to a collective assignment, carried out together with the lecturer and the international students. At the end of these 15 hours of work, attending students will receive a score ranging from 0 to 10, which will contribute to the final grade (it will be averaged).
The final exam, which will not cover the topics addressed during the COIL project, will be held in written form during the January and February exam sessions. It will consist of three open-ended questions, each graded from 0 to 10/30.
The January and February sessions, for attending students, will therefore be written. The written exam consists of three open-ended questions, each graded up to 10/30 (very similar to the in-term test).
For NON-ATTENDING students, the exam will be oral.
Non-attending students will be asked three questions to be answered orally, each graded up to 10/30.
Starting from the summer session, all exams will take the form of oral examinations, and all students will be required to prepare the non-attending syllabus (slides and lecture notes will no longer be accepted).
Bibliography
For further readings please contact the teacher
Lesson mode
The course is held in person, and attendance of at least 75% of the lectures is required.
Since students enrolled in the degree program in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation take the Economic Geography course for only 6 ECTS credits, their attendance will be recorded exclusively during the 48 hours relevant to them (for details, see the “Attendance” section).
At the beginning of the course, a short collective test will be administered to assess knowledge of some fundamental concepts, such as space and development.