• understand historical trends in the themes and methods of economics that have been explored since ancient times.
• understand the intellectual, cultural, and material forces that have shaped the development of economics.
• be able to locate and interpret original classic texts and appreciate the different methods of exposition that have been used to develop and transmit economic ideas.
• gain cultural literacy by understanding the contributions of major schools of economic thought (Mercantilists, Physiocrats, Classicals, Marxists, Keynesians, Monetarists, Austrians, etc.), and gain familiarity with their major contributors.
• apply theories and concepts from the course to practical issues in economic analysis and policy.

• Buchholz, Todd G. New Ideas from Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought. Revised Edition, Plume, 1999.
• Keynes, J.M., The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money , Prometheus Books, 1997 [originally published in 1935].
• Marshall, Alfred.  Principles of Economics. 8th Edition. Prometheus Books, 1997 [1st edition originally published in 1890; 8th edition in 1920].
• Mill, John Stuart. Principles of Political Economy . 7th edition, Books II, III, IV and V and Chapters on Socialism. Oxford University Press, 1994 [1st edition originally published in 1848; 7th edition in 1871].
• Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations . originally published in 1776. NOTE: In the course schedule below, readings from Smith are identified by Book, Chapter, and Paragraph(s). For example, IV.2.23-31 refers to Book 4, Chapter 2, Paragraphs 23-31. In the online version and in the Liberty Fund edition, the paragraphs are numbered in the text, but in some other editions they are not.
• Tucker, Robert C., editor. The Marx-Engels Reader. 2nd. Edition. Norton, 1978 [selections originally published between 1843 and 1894].

Recommended (not required) Supplementary Free Online Texts

• Barber, William J.  A History of Economic Thought, 1967
• Mehari, Tesfa Yesus.  A Short History of Economic Thought, 2002
• Robbins, Lionel. History of Economic Thought: The LSE Lectures, 1998 (requires Baylor login)

Recommended (not required) Supplementary Texts/Books Available for Purchase

• Galbraith, John Kenneth. Economics in Perspective: A Critical History, 1987.
• Heilbroner, Robert. The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers, 1953/1999.
• Roncaglia, Alessandro.  A Brief History of Economic Thought, 2017.
• Sandelin, Bo, and others. A Short History of Economic Thought, 2008.
• Spiegel, William Henry. The Growth of Economic Thought, 1991
• Warsh, David. Economic Principles: The Masters and Mavericks of Modern Economics, 1993.
• Yueh, Linda. What Would the Great Economists Do?: How Twelve Brilliant Minds Would Solve Today's Biggest Problems, 2019.
  

Related Web Resources

• Akamac E-Texts (Ehime University, Japan)
• Bentham Project (University College London)
• EH.net (Economic History Association)
• European Intellectual History (Steven Kreis, APUS)
• European Journal of the History of Economic Thought (requires Baylor login)
  
• History of Economic Thought Web
• History of Economics Society 
• History of Political Economy (requires Baylor login)
• Internet Classics Archive
• Internet Library of Early Journals
• Keynes vs Hayek Rap, round 1
• Keynes vs Hayek Rap, round 2
• Library of Economics and Liberty 
• McMaster University Classics of Economics 
• Mises Institute (Austrian economics)
• On-Line Texts: Social Sciences 
• Portraits of Economists 
• Reference Writers (Marxists Internet Archive)
  
• Resources for Economists on the Internet (American Economic Association)
• Schools of Economic Thought (cool video)
• Schools of Economic Thought (Ha-Joon Chang)

Semester grades will be based on your performance on three examinations, weekly quizzes, participation in the PackBack discssion forum, and an optional term paper or video. Your grade may also be affected by your participation in our Zoom discussions. Depending on whether you choose to prepare a term paper or video, this will be the grading scheme:

3 exams (25% or 20%, each)	75%	60%
Weekly Quizzes	15	10
PackBack Discussion Forum	10	10
Term Paper or Video	0	20
TOTAL	100%	100%

Exams and Quizzes: All of the exams and quizzes will be administered within Canvas. To take the three major exams (but not the quizzes), you will be required to use the Respondus browser.  If it is not already installed on your computer, you should go ahead and install it at this link.  Unless you are told otherwise, each test will include a combination of multiple choice and essay questions.

PackBack Discussion Forum: Each week, you will be expected to post one open-ended question related to our course material, and you will respond to at least two of the questions that have been posed by other class members. Each of your questions and responses will need to rate a "curiosity score" of at at least 40 by the Packback system. To receive your points for the week, you will need to complete your submissions by 11:59pm each Saturday.  For additional information about Packback, including registration instructions, look here.

Term Papers and Videos: Look here for guidelines on writing the term paper and here for video guidelines.  You will need to present a brief prospectus by September 22, and the finished paper or video will be due no later than November 24. See other important information under Attendance, below.

Semester grade averages will be converted into letter grades according to the following scale: A 91-100; A- 89-90; B+ 87-88; B 81-86; B- 79-80; C+ 77-78; C 71-76; C- 69-70; D+ 67-68; D 61-66; D- 59-60; F below 59.

For this online course, attendance and engagement can take several forms, including participation in our Zoom sessions and responding to assignments and quizzes in Canvas.  Under normal circumstances, in keeping with University and Business School Policy, students who miss over 25% of class meetings would automatically fail the course.  If  anything happens that interrupts your ability to fully attend and engage in the course - health concerns, technological problems, or otherwise - please discuss the issues with me as closely as possible by email or during Zoom office hours.

I want to be sure that you have every opportunity to be successful at Baylor and in this course. If you have an unexplained pattern of absences or if you seem to be struggling in the course, I will submit an Academic Progress Report to the Success Center and will work with you get the support that you need. Familiarize yourself with the services provided by the Foster Success Center: http://www.baylor.edu/successcenter/.

You can find the university honor code here. In line with university policies, cheating, plagiarism, or other acts of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Honor Council and may result in failure of the course or even suspension from the university.

• For our Zoom meetings, please make every effort to "arrive" on time and avoid leaving early. If you have difficulty with this, please let me know via email or during Zoom office hours.
  
• During our Zoom meetings, please be sure that your webcam is turned on, so we will know you are engaged.  If your camera is not turned on, I'll call on you more often.
• When you are not speaking, please mute your microphone to reduce background noise, and to keep the speaker on the screen in "Speaker View."
• Please give your full attention during our Zoom sessions. It will be obvious if you are texting and websurfing.
  
• Our classes will be more interesting if we have broad and lively discussions.  Please participate, but avoid monopolizing the discussion. Respect alternative points of view and help me to "draw out" shy class members.
  
• For additional information on classroom conduct, see corresponding section of the Student Handbook .

Tentative Course Schedule
(Please read the required assignments before each class)

First Day, Why History of Economic Thought? -August 25

• Lecture Notes 

Recommended: 

• Mark Blaug, "No History of Ideas, Please, We're Economists," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2001
• Bruce Caldweall, "Of Positivism and the History of Economic Thought," Southern Economic Journal, 2013

Methodology and Philosophy of Science-August 27

• Lecture Notes 
• William Trochim, "Positivism and Post-Positivism" 
• William Trochim, "Deductive and Inductive Thinking"  
• Milton Friedman, "The Methodology of Positive Economics," 1953 
• Paul Samuelson, "Discussion," The American Economic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2, May, 1963, pp. 231-234.
• Paul A. Samuelson, "Theory and Realism: A Reply," The American Economic Review, Vol. 54, No. 5, Sep., 1964. 
• George Soros, "The Capitalist Threat," Atlantic Monthly, February 1997 

Recommended: 

• Landreth/Colander, Chapter 1
• Thomas Kuhn, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," 1962 
• Mauro Murzi, "Logical Positivism" 
• Karl Popper, Main Works in English 

 

Ancient and Medieval-- September 1 and 3

• Class Notes 9/1
  
• Class Notes 9/3
• Buchholz, pp. 1-6.
• Keynes, pp. 351-353 (VI.23.5).
• The Bible 


Exodus 20:8-11, 22:12, and 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:1-55; Numbers 27:1-11; Deuteronomy 15:1-15 and 23:19-20; II Kings 6:25 and 7:1; Ecclesiastes 4:8 and 5:18; Matthew 6:28-34 and 25:14-30; Luke 6:34-35 and 10:38-41; Acts 4:32-37; and II Thessalonians 3:7-12.

Recommended: 

• Mehary, Chapters 2 and 3
• Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics 
• Aristotle, Politics --Book I, Chapters 4, 5, 9, and 10; Book II, Chapters 4 and 5; Book VII, Chapters 4 and 9.
• Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica “The Second Part of the Second Part,” questions 32 “Of Almsdeeds,” 77 “Sins Committed in Buying and Selling,” and 78 “Sins Committed in Loans.”

Mercantilism--September 8 and 10

• Class Notes 9/8
  
• Class Notes 9/10
• Buchholz, 6-9. 
• Smith, IV.1.1 to 18; IV.1.31; IV.2,whole chapter; IV.8, final 6 paragraphs.
• Keynes, pp. 333-351 (VI.23.1-4)
  
  

Recommended:

• Mehary, Chapter 6
  
• Thomas Mun, England's Treasure by Foreign Trade, 1664 (In Abbott, Vol. 1, pp. 6-27).
• David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, 1742 and 1752 
• Richard Cantillon, An Essay on Commerce in General, 1755 

Quesnay and the Physiocrats--September 15 and 17

• Class Notes
  
• Class Notes 
  
• Buchholz, pp. 16-18.
• Smith, IV.9.1-52 (whole chapter)

Recommended:

• Mehary, Chapter 7
• A.R.J. Turgot, Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Wealth , 1766 (In Abbott, Vol. 1, pp. 29-51)
• Quesnay's Tableau Economique
  

Adam Smith--September 22 and 24

• Class Notes 9/22   
  

• Class Notes 9/24    OPTIONAL TERM PAPER OR VIDEO PROSPECTUS DUE

• Buchholz, pp. 10-16, 19-41.
• Smith, "Introduction and Plan of Work" (read all except footnotes); Book 1, Chapters 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8, paragraphs 1 to 24; 9, paragraphs 1 to 6 and 18 to 24; and 11, chapter introduction and first 7 paragraphs of Part 1. Book 2, Chapter 3, paragraphs 1 to 31.

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 1
• Mehary, Chapter 8.2
  
• Joseph Persky, "Retrospectives: From Usury to Interest," Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2007
  

FIRST EXAMINATION--SEPTEMBER 29

Thomas Malthus--October 1

• Class Notes
  
• Buchholz, Chapter 3.
• Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population, 1st Edition (1798) , Preface and Chapter 1
• Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population, 6th Edition (1826) , Preface;  I.I;  I.II;  IV.VIII;  IV.XIV
• Keynes, pp. 362-364 (VI.23.7)

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 2.
• Mehary, Chapter 8.3
  
• Persky, Joseph. "Retrospectives: A Dismal Romantic." Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1990.

 

David Ricardo--October 6, 8, and 13 

• Class Notes  
• Buchholz, Chapter 4.
• Mill, Book IV, Chapter 3 (pp. 83-99).

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 3
  
• Mehary, Chapter 8.4
• Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, 1817
• Thomas Malthus, The Corn Laws, 1814 
• Thomas Malthus, Grounds for an Opinion on the Policy of Restricting the Importation of Foreign Corn, 1815 
• Thomas Malthus, The Nature of Rent, 1815 

John Stuart Mill--October 15, 20, and 22 

• Class Notes 10/15
  
• Class Notes 10/20
  
• Class Notes 10/22
  
• Buchholz, Chapter 5. 
• Bentham, Jeremy. Principles of Morals and Legislation, 1823 (Chapters 1 and 4).
  
• Mill , Book II, Chapter 1 (pp. 5-24); Book IV, Chapters 6 and 7 (pp. 124-158); Book V, Chapters 1, 2, and 11 (pp. 159-189 and 324-367); and Chapters on Socialism, pp. 379-386,  413-423, and 431-436.

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 4.
• Mehary, Chapter 8.8
• Jeremy Bentham, Defense of Usury, 1787 

 

SECOND EXAMINATION--OCTOBER 27

Karl Marx-- October 29 and November 3

• Class Notes, 10/29
  
• Class Notes, 11/3
  
• Buchholz, Chapter 6. 
• Tucker, pp. 203-217, 336-340, 355-358, 436-438, 485, 490-491, 522-524, 529-531, 538, 698-701, 716-717.

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 5.
• Mehary, Chapter 11
• Karl Marx, Capital, Vol. 1, 1865 
• George Bernard Shaw (editor), Fabian Essays in Socialism

Neoclassicals and Austrians--November 5 and 10

• Class Notes, November 5
• Class Notes, November 10   
• Buchholz, pp. 147-149.

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 6.
• Mehary, Chapters 13 and 14
• William Stanley Jevons, A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy , 1862 
• 
  

Alfred Marshall and Leon Walras--November 12 and 17

• Class Notes, November 12 
• Class Notes, November 17 
• Marshall , Prefaces; Book I, Chapters 1 and 4; Book II, Chapter 3, §1; Book III, Chapters 3, 4, and 6; and Book V, Chapters 3, 5, 12, and 13.
• Buchholz, Chapter

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 6.
• Mehary, Chapter 17.2
  

 

John Maynard Keynes--November 19 and 24 (THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY ON NOV 26), OPTIONAL TERM PAPER OR VIDEO DUE (24th)

• Class Notes, November 19
• Class Notes, November 24
• Buchholz, Chapter 9.
• Keynes (full text),   Selections,  pp. v-viii, 3-22, 27-28, 165-172, 245-54, 372-84.

Recommended:

• Barber, Chapter 8.
• Mehary, Chapter 19
  

 

Austrians, Friedman, and The Chicago School-- December 1

• Class Notes, December 1
  
• Buchholz, Chapter 10.
• Friedman, Milton. "A Theoretical Framework for Monetary Analysis ," The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 78, No. 2. (Mar. - Apr., 1970), pp. 193-238.
• Friedman, Milton. "Nobel Lecture: Inflation and Unemployment ," The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 85, No. 3. (Jun., 1977), pp. 451-472.

 

FINAL EXAMINATION--DECEMBER 8, 9-11 AM

Office of Equity and Title IX 

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If you or someone you know would like help related to an experience involving:

1.     Sexual or gender-based harassment, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, stalking, intimate partner violence, or retaliation for reporting one of these types of prohibited conduct, please visit the Title IX site or reach them at (254) 710-8454 or TitleIX_Coordinator@baylor.edu.

2.     Harassment (excluding those issues listed in #1) or adverse action based on Protected Characteristics, please visit www.baylor.edu/equity, or contact us at (254) 710-7100 or Equity@baylor.edu.

The Office of Equity and Title IX understands the sensitive nature of these situations and can provide information about available on- and off-campus resources, such as counseling and psychological services, medical treatment, academic support, university housing, advocacy services, and other forms of assistance that may be available. Staff members at the office can also explain your rights and procedural options. You will not be required to share your experience. If you or someone you know feels unsafe or may be in imminent danger, please call the Baylor Police Department (254-710-2222) or Waco Police Department (9-1-1) immediately.

Except for Confidential Resources, all University Employees are designated Responsible Employees and thereby mandatory reporters of potential sexual and interpersonal misconduct violations. Confidential Resources who do not have to report include those working in the Counseling Center, Health Center and the University Chaplain, Dr. Burt Burleson.

First Generation College Students 

Baylor University defines a first-generation college student as a student whose parents did not complete a four-year college degree. The First in Line program at Baylor is a support office on campus for first-generation college students to utilize if they have any questions or concerns. Please contact First in Line at firstinline@baylor.edu, call 254-710-6854, or visit www.baylor.edu/firstinline to learn more about the services available.

Military Student Advisory 

Veterans and active duty military personnel are welcomed and encouraged to communicate, in advance if possible, any special circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployment, drill requirements, disability accommodations). You are also encouraged to visit the VETS Program Office with any questions at (254) 710-7264.

University Writing Center 

The University Writing Center offers free assistance to you at any stage of the writing process (brainstorming, researching, outlining, drafting, revising, editing). In their feedback, the consultants focus on higher order concerns, such as content, thesis, evidence, and organization, before grammar or style. The UWC tutors will not proofread, edit, or write your paper for you, but they will equip you with a toolbox of strategies to improve your writing, research, and editing skills. +-For your consultation appointment, please have the assignment prompt, your paper/text, and other materials you might need with you and provide my name as your professor. Learn more and make an appointment at: www.baylor.edu/uwc, or email UWC@baylor.edu

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