ENSb1106 Critical Economics and Nature

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Eva Fraňková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Lucie Sovová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Karolína Žižková (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Hendrychová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 U32
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! ENS106 Critical Economics and Nature &&!NOW( ENS106 Critical Economics and Nature )&&TYP_STUDIA(B)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 76 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 47/76, only registered: 2/76, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/76
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of this course is to provide the students with:
- an overview of the current heterodox economic schools relevant for environmental studies, and their relation to the mainstream economics
- orientation in basic economic terms, their historical background and their ethical underpinning
- practical examples of economic alternatives
- ability to critically think and discuss about environmentally relevant topics in economy and economics
- ability to read and write academic texts (both in CZ and ENG), to formulate and distinguish own ideas from those of others within academic argumentation
- understanding of the crucial relevance of economic issues for understanding both the roots and potential solutions of current ecological and social problems
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
- name and define selected alternative economic schools and their relation to the mainstream economics
- explain selected alterantive economic concepts, models and approaches
- apply the knowledege gained in concrete environmental and social settings and context
- Improve her/his skills of critical thinking as well as social competences and ability to evaluate problems, analyse issues and come up with arguments in the sphere of social ecological economics.
Syllabus
  • Introduction of the lecturers, students and course topic and evaluation. Some concepts and an introductory activity. What is economy and economics?
  • Some basic economic terms and overview of relevant heterodox schools of economic thought
  • Nature in mainstream economics - biophysical basics of economic processes
  • Money, its creation, the issue of interest and implications for nature and society.
  • Households, care, unpaid work and social reproduction. Homo economicus and other people. Self-provisioning and non-market/unmonetised economies.
  • Firms and their organisational forms, ownership. Corporations, "good firms" and social enterprises, cooperatives, commons and economic democracy
  • Human labour, industrial production, technology and nature - contrasts and diemmas of economic activities, reproduction of modern society
  • Market and non-market ways of production and exchange
  • Globalisation and global unequalities, problems related to international trade.
  • Alternative visions for the future - strategies and concepts related to the future of economy and society
  • Economic alternatives in practice: examples from various fields of activities, from both CZ and abroad
  • Note: This syllabus is approximate and subject to change, updated detailed yearly syllabi are available to students during courses (including a detailed description of the evaluation of students´ work in the course). The course is taught in Czech.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • FRAŇKOVÁ, Eva. Lokální ekonomiky v souvislostech, aneb, Produkce a spotřeba z blízka. 1. vydání. Brno: Masarykova Univerzita, 2015, 216 stran. ISBN 9788021077409. info
  • JOHANISOVÁ, Naděžda. Ekologická ekonomie: vybrané kapitoly (Ecological Economics: Selected Chapters). 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2014, 88 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-7116-2. info
  • SCHUMACHER, E. F. Malé je milé : aneb ekonomie, která by počítala i s člověkem. 1. vyd. Brno: Doplněk, 2000, 284 s. ISBN 807239035X. info
Teaching methods
In autumn 2021 the course is taught by three teachers: Eva Fraňková (EF, course coordinator and primary contact person), Patrik Gažo (PG) and Lucie Sovová (LS). The course will combine frontal and interactive teaching formats and the students’ activity will constitute an important part. The success of the course will thus depend to a large extent on your active participation, willingness to think, listen, question others as well as yourselves and formulate your (critical) opinions. The course applies the maxim that what you put in is what you get out of it.
Every class (excluding the first one) will have a reading assignment – a shorter text (a book chapter or an academic paper) in Czech or English. Four times during the semester this reading will be accompanied by a writing assignment which will be scored and contribute to the course evaluation (see assessment criteria below). Readings are crucial for your understanding of the course themes and your ability to actively participate in class. The readings will be available in the IS study materials.
Assessment methods
The evaluation consists of two parts:
1. Regular written assignments related to the readings submitted on due deadlines via IS. There will be 4 assignments, scored with maximum 5 points each. In total, you can obtain maximum of 20 points, the minimum required to pass the course is 12 points.
2. Review of a book selected from the list included in the detailed syllabus (see course study materials), or another book agreed upon with the teachers. The maximum score for the book review is 20 points, the minimum required to pass the course is 12 points.
In total, you can thus obtain a maximum of 40 points, with the minimum required to pass the course being 24 points.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Kurz se otevírá při 5 a více přihlášených studentech.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2024/ENSb1106