Political Research Seminar (395-0-21)

Topic

Growth

Instructors

Iza Ding

Meeting Info

University Hall 218: Wed 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

This seminar explores the evolution of the idea of growth and how it became a policy imperative—something governments are expected to deliver. The concept of growth has a distinctive intellectual history: emerging in the 18th century, reaching its peak in the 20th, and facing increasing scrutiny in the 21st. Today, growth is a deeply contested notion, challenged by concepts such as "green growth," "de-growth," and "zero growth," particularly in the context of escalating inequality and the climate crisis. This seminar traces the historical trajectory of growth—as a process of wealth accumulation, a tool of political legitimation, and, as some argue, a dangerous distraction.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression