Advanced Topics in PPE

Catalog description

401 is a research-based seminar in which students will dive deep into a focused domain of research within PPE. Students will read up-to-date scholarly research on the chosen topic, and they will be challenged to develop and complete their own substantial research project engaging the topic. Although topics and, consequently, methodological foci, will differ with each iteration of PPE 401, every offering of the course will include substantial engagement with philosophical, political, and economic issues and demand the use of several different elements of PPE methodology (logical reasoning, decision theory, quantitative research, and qualitative research). For example, an offering of PPE 401 focused on the moral limits of markets would require students to understand both the latest work in economic ethics and empirical studies on low-income factory work, sex work, commercial surrogacy, and other morally and political contested markets. Every student in PPE 401 will design and execute a substantial research project. Although projects may vary, all PPE 401 projects will employ multiple elements of PPE methodology and include a substantial writing component. The first half of the course will be devoted to an in-depth exploration of readings and/or research findings in the chosen topic. The second half of the course will be devoted to the helping each student frame a research question, construct a research plan, and ultimately complete an original research project. Prerequisites & Notes 1) PPE 101; 2) PPE 102; 3) All four PPE Foundations courses.