Finance, Corporations, and Society

Catalog description

This course was previously listed as PUBPOL 143, SUSTAIN 143, POLISCI 127A, INTLPOL 227. It is pre-approved to count toward majors in International Policy, Public Policy, Political Science, and Human Environmental Systems and may be petitioned to count towards other majors and degrees. As society faces major challenges, democracies and 'free market' capitalism appear to be in crisis. This interdisciplinary course will deepen your understanding of the key institutions in our system and the complex interactions between corporations, governments, and individuals. The course draws on insights from multiple areas of scholarship and practice in the social sciences (particularly Economics and Political Science), business, and law to understand how this interaction produces the rules and outcomes that shape our world. The course aims to help students become savvier in their interactions with our economic and political systems and understand better the governance issues that determine how well institutions in the private and public sectors serve us. Specific topics include financial decisions, financial markets, banks and institutional investors; corporations and corporate governance; political economy, the rule of law, and the role and functioning of the media. The course is analytical but not heavily mathematical. We will discuss current events regularly throughout the course and connect the material to specific themes such as climate change, social justice and economic inequality. Students will have the opportunity to explore a case of their choosing in more depth through group final projects. Visitors with relevant expertise and experience will enrich our class discussion.