For the take-home, open book first essay exam, students are required to answer two essay questions which are provided below. Each essay answer should be 4 or 5 pages double-spaced. Students should use the traditional 8.5 x 11 paper margins with 12pt font using “Microsoft Word” as the word processor for writing these essays. Citations of sources should be used as appropriate whenever you take information from a source. The citation format can be either footnotes or endnotes OR the “author-date style,” which means that in the body of the text, students should include their references right after the relevant information has been presented as follows: (last name of author, date of publication and page numbers) all in parentheses. The example would be as follows (Chang 2015, 65-67).
At the end of your essay, there should be a bibliography that lists the complete information for all your citations in alphabetical order by the last name of author, such as: Hickel, Jason. 2017. The Divide: Global Inequality from the Conquest to Free Markets. New York: W.W. Norton. We will deduct five points for poor or incomplete citations.
Make sure you have two essays that are well-written, well-organized, and well-supported with references to chapters, books or articles/videos used in class. At least a full letter grade will be deducted if there is sloppiness of grammar and/or organization that results in lack of clarity. Also, when you submit your paper, it will be subject to a plagiarism check using the Turnitin program, which is included in Canvas. We also prohibit the use of AI software as a tool to write your essay. Make sure you cite all your sources and put anything you take directly from a source in quotation marks, and that this represents your original, creative work. Plagiarism runs the risk of failing the course and facing disciplinary action from the University.
Your essays are due by midnight on February 12. Upload the two essays in one Word file to the Canvas assignments page by the due date and time.
Essay Questions
1. Use Keynesian theory, Marxist theory, and the developmentalist tradition (as discussed by Chang) to criticize “neoliberal capitalism.” Start the essay by defining neoliberal capitalism according to the Austrian School, then use the critical theories to critique neoliberal capitalism.
2. Using course readings, discussions, the documentary film Inside Job, and Cox lecture notes, what are the most important causes of the global economic crisis of 2008? Was this crisis a financial crisis (Keynes) or a capitalist crisis (Marx)? Conclude with a final paragraph or two that reflects on the significance of this debate or, if you prefer, what is missing from this discussion.
Guidelines
These essays are intended to assess your ability to provide an analysis of the political economy of capitalism. Strong essays should be well-organized, with a clear thesis statement in the opening paragraph that articulates your objectives for the paper (consistent with the questions being asked). Essays should provide accurate information and should provide well-documented evidence to answer the questions. Students are required to emphasize the sources assigned in this class, but may also cite other sources (though you are not required to do so), as long as they are scholarly sources (meaning they are well-supported by extensive citations and references). Finally, each essay should have good transitions that allow the reader to follow all the points under discussion. And students need to address all the questions included within each essay. Good luck!
