Course

Economic History l

Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Department
Economics
Course code
ECON 1110
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks X 4 Hours per Week = 60 Hours
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
Productive resources have been organized in many ways by societies, from free peasant and slave economies to feudal economies and, finally, to the hybrids of Capitalism and Socialism that we observe currently. This course will provide students with an economics' perspective on the development of society from the dawn of civilization up to, and inclusive of, the Industrial Revolution. Theories of economic development will be discussed, and the impact of changing economic circumstances on the development of civilization, religion, social organization, government and economic thought will be examined.
Course content
  1. The relationship between economic theory and economic history.
  2. Transition from nomadic to agricultural economy.
  3. Early Greek and Roman economic development.
  4. The Western Mediterranean and the Roman Republic.
  5. The medieval economy in Western Europe.
  6. The rise of the manorial system.
  7. Early Capitalism.
  8. Mercantilism as a theory of economic development.
  9. The Industrial Revolution.
  10. The classical economists:  Smith, Malthus and Ricardo.
  11.  Problems of economic transition in underdeveloped countries.
Learning activities

Lecture and seminar

Means of assessment
Term Tests 30% - 50%
Assignments and/or Papers 10% - 30%
Final Exam 30% - 40%
Participation and/or Quizzes          0% - 10%
Total        100%

Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

  1. demonstrate a knowledge of the economic factors which have shaped the modern world and the ideas and theories that have contributed to the economic system under which we live;
  2. apply the economic factors which shaped the early Western World to the problems of economic transition in underdeveloped countries.
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

 

De Vries, Jan.  The Economy of Europe in an Age of Crisis 1600-1750, Latest Ed.  Cambridge University Press, paperback edition.

 

Duby, Georges.  Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West.  Latest Ed.  University of South Carolina.

 

North, Douglas C. and Robert Paul Thomas.  The Rise of the Western World,  Latest  Ed.  New York:  Cambridge University Press.

 

Supplementary material may be chosen from the following, as determined by the instructor:

 

Duby, Georges.  The Early Growth of the European Economy, Latest Ed.  Cornell.

 

Pounds, N. J. G.  An Economic History of Medieval Europe, Latest Ed.  Longman Group.

 

Morris, A. & Sayer, J.  The Worlds of Economics – a vailable on reserve

 

Heath, Joseph.  The Efficient Society, Latest Edition.  Penquin.

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for ECON 1110
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU ECON 1100 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG ECON 1XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU ECON 1XX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU ECON 1XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU ECON 1XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV ECON_V 1st (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC ECON 1XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV ECON 1XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC ECON 1XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU ECON 1st (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025