Fall/Winter Timetable

POL2307H1S L0101

Undergraduate Course Code: POL409H1S L0101

Political Economy of Technology: From the Auto-Industrial to the Information Age

Themes

Survey of a broad range of issues related to the relationship between technological change and the broader processes of globalization and political change from a historical and comparative perspective. The principal objectives will be to explore the importance of new information and communications technologies for economic growth in a globalizing world and its current significance for public policy; to examine the conceptual tools that political economy has to offer which facilitate an analysis of the nature of technological change in the industrial democracies; and to assess the social and political consequences of technological innovation in the current period and the influence that public policy has on these developments.

PLEASE NOTE: POL409/POL2307H1S is dual delivery, online synchronous.

Texts

Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Network Society, New Edition and course readings.

Format and Requirements

Course work consists of 3 components: an essay, seminar presentations, and seminar participation. Undergraduate students will also be required to prepare an essay outline by the middle of the semester.