Professor Louis Putterman
Robinson Hall 206, x3837
e-mail: Louis_Putterman@Brown.Edu
Office Hours: M and W, 3:10-4:00, and by appointment.
Description: This course studies the history of the modern discipline of economics.
Prerequisites: Economics 111 or 113.
Requirements and Grading: Both reading and lectures are integral to the material covered. I will gauge your success in encountering this material using essay-oriented exams, the first of which will come early enough in the semester to provide useful feedback. Grading: two exams during class sessions at roughly the 1/3 and 2/3 marks in the semester, each worth 30% of course grade; a final exam, worth 40% of course grade. (Students wishing to write a term paper should discuss this with the instructor; such a paper will not replace the exams, but could be used as the basis for 10 to 15% of the course grade, with the exams to be proportionately down-weighted accordingly.)
Tentative in-class exam dates: Wednesday, Oct. 13 and Wednesday, November 10. Final exam: Saturday, December 11, 9:00 a.m.-noon. Note: no class meetings on Monday, Sept. 11 and Friday, Nov. 12. The reading period dates Dec. 8 and 10 should be kept open in case substitute class meetings are required.
Reading: We will read in its entirety History of Economic Thought (Third Edition) by Harry Landreth and David Colander). There are no additional assigned readings.
Syllabus: We will follow exactly the order of topics in Landreth and Colander. The correspondence between lectures and readings will vary: sometimes the lectures will follow the reading fairly closely, at other times not. Both reading and class attendance are therefore necessary to earning a good grade. Class discussion will be encouraged. An estimate of the number of class meetings to be devoted to each chapter follows below; however, a better sense of the schedule will emerge from class. Therefore, it is a good idea to have someone in the class with whom you can communicate and from whom you can get notes in the event of illness. You may also contact the instructor by e-mail or phone for information on where we are at in readings.