Summer Timetable

POL410H1S L0101

Topics in Comparative Politics III

Peasants in the Global Political Economy

Themes

This course explores transformations from agrarian to industrial society, and issues of agrarian change that are crucial to understanding dynamics of contemporary political economy and development in the Global South. What is the “agrarian question”? What is the role of the peasantry in development? How do global political-economic changes affect rural actors and production? How do local contexts shape the impact of global forces? Answers are explored in three parts. The first surveys theoretical approaches to agrarian transformation, including liberal and Marxian understandings of progress and the fate of the peasantry, as well as contemporary approaches to poverty-reduction and market-led development. The second investigates issues in agrarian political economy, exploring changes in land, capital, and labour relations. The third explores contestation, resistance, and the future of agrarian production. Throughout, debates about state-formation, historiography, gender relations, and agricultural production are substantiated by African, Latin American, and South Asian case studies.

Texts

TBA

Format and Requirements

Short paper, research paper, presentation, class participation.

Prerequisites

2.0 credits in POL/ JPA/ JPF/ JPI/ JPR/ JPS/ JRA courses