Political Economy
Loeb Building A818
Telephone: 613-520-7414
Fax: 613-520-2154
carleton.ca/polecon
The Institute
Director of the Institute: Rianne Mahon
The Institute of Political Economy, established in 1989,
developed out of the Graduate Summer School of Political
Economy, which was formed in 1983. The summer school was built
on the strong tradition of interdisciplinary studies at
Carleton, and on the interests of numerous faculty at Carleton
involved in political economy. Distinguished international
scholars have been attracted to teach in the summer school.
Through the Institute, these distinguished visitors will now be
in residence during the normal academic year, in addition to
the summer program.
The Institute offers a program of study and research leading
to the degree of Master of Arts in Political Economy, the only
program of its kind in Canada. Its interdisciplinary program is
designed to offer students both an exposure to the core
concepts of political economy and an opportunity to develop
individual areas of research concentration.
The program focuses on investigating the relationship
between the economy and politics as they affect the social and
cultural life of societies, and secondly, focuses on the
historical processes whereby social change is located in the
interaction of the economic, political, cultural, and
ideological moments of social life.
Carleton University has developed a strong tradition in
political economy. Faculty members from most of the social
sciences and history participate regularly in the Institute.
The program's curriculum includes courses with a political
economy orientation that are offered by other departments,
schools, and institutes. The Master of Arts in Political
Economy is an opportunity for students to study political
economy from the perspective of different disciplines within a
single program.
Master of Arts
Admission Requirements
The normal requirement for admission to the master's program
is B.A.(Honours), with at least high honours standing, in one
of the disciplines represented in the Institute. Prospective
applicants without such qualifications may be considered for
admission if they have both a strong academic record and
relevant work experience.
Program Requirements
The Master of Arts in Political Economy is a 5.0 credit
program, one of which may be at the 4000- (honours
undergraduate) level. Each candidate, in consultation with the
Institute, must select and follow one of two optional
patterns:
- 3.0 credits, a thesis equivalent to 2.0 credits, and an
oral examination of the thesis
- 4.0 credits, a research essay equivalent to 1.0 credit,
and an oral examination of the research essay
Whichever pattern is selected, all students in the Institute
are required to take PECO 5000 and PECO 5001, two 0.5-credit
seminars offered by the Institute.
Academic Standing
All master's candidates must maintain B standing or better
(GPA of 8.0). A candidate may, with the recommendation of the
Institute and the approval of the Dean of the Faculty of
Graduate Studies and Research, be allowed a grade of C+ in 0.5
credit.
Collaborative Ph.D. with a Specialization
in Political Economy
The Collaborative Ph.D. with a Specialization in Political
Economy is especially designed for doctoral students in
participating programs in the Faculties of Arts and Social
Science and Public Affairs and Management who wish to enrich
their training in a particular discipline or area of study by
developing a political economy approach through
interdisciplinary dialogue.
Program Coordinator P.R. Mahon, Director
Institute of Political Economy
Supporting Units
The following units participate in the Collaborative Program
in Political Economy:
- School of Canadian Studies
- Department of Geography
- Department of History
- Department of Political Science
- School of Public Policy and Administration
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The program is managed by the Program Committee, comprised
of representatives from the supporting units. The Program
Committee is responsible for admitting students into the
Collaborative Program and the Coordinator administers the
program.
Members of the Collaborative Program
- H. Armstrong, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- J. Chevalier, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- J. Clapp, School of Canadian Studies
- W. Clement, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- B. Curtis, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- S. Dalby, Department of Geography
- D. Dean, Department of History
- J. DeBardeleben, Department of Political Science
- G. B. Doern, School of Public Policy and
Administration
- M. Dolan, Department of Political Science
- P. Dutkiewicz, Department of Political Science
- L. Freeman, Department of Political Science
- C. Gabriel, Department of Political Science
- N. Hillmer, Department of History
- A. Hunt, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
- F. Klodawsky, Department of Geography
- P. Litt, School of Canadian Studies and Department of
History
- L. Macdonald, Department of Political Science
- F. Mackenzie, Department of Geography
- R. Mahon,School of Public Policy and Administration,
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
- D. Marshall,Department of History
- L. Mills, School of Public Policy and
Administration
- D. Muise,Department of History
- R. Paehlke, School of Canadian Studies
- F. Rocher, School of Canadian Studies
- B. Rutherford, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- P. Ryan, School of Public Policy and
Administration
- J. Sangster, School of Canadian Studies
- J. Siltanen, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- D. Stasiulis, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- D. Swartz, School of Public Policy and
Administration
- I. Wallace, Department of Geography
- W. Walters, Department of Political Science
- R. Warskett, Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
Application to the Program
Students who are enrolled in a doctoral program in one of
the participating units may apply to the Institute of Political
Economy for admission to the Collaborative Program. Admission
to the program is determined by the Program Committee and will
normally take place before the end of the first year of
registration in one of the participating doctoral programs.
Admission Requirements
Admission requirements to the Collaborative Ph.D. with a
Specialization in Political Economy are:
Registration in the Ph.D. program of one of the
participating units;
Registration in, or successful completion of, at least one
course or comprehensive field with political economy content.
This will normally be a course offered by the student's home
unit but could also be selected from appropriate courses in
other units. See Selection of Courses for a list of acceptable
courses;
Selection of a thesis topic with political economy content.
The Program Committee will determine, in consultation with the
supervisor, if the political economy content of the thesis
meets the requirements of the Collaborative Program.
Degree Requirements
Students enrolled in the Collaborative Program in Political
Economy must meet the requirements of their respective home
units as well as those of the Collaborative Program. The
requirements of the Collaborative Program do not, however, add
to the number of credits students are required to accumulate by
their home unit and the credit value of the degree remains the
same.
The requirements of the Collaborative Program are:
1. PECO 6000 (0.5 credit) Political Economy: Core
Concepts
2. In addition, the following requirement(s) specific to the
doctoral programs of the supporting units:
- Canadian Studies: a relevant political economy course
from the approved list (0.5 credit) or the comprehensive in
the major field of Policy, Economy and Society
- Geography: PECO 6000 replaces GEOG 6003 or GEOG 6004
(0.5 credit), the field seminar The Geography of Societal
Change, and students must register in GEOG 6906, the
comprehensive The Geography of Societal Change.
- History: a relevant political economy course from the
approved list (0.5 credit) or minor comprehensive field in
political economy
- Political Science: a relevant political economy course
from the approved list (0.5 credit).
- Public Policy and Administration: a relevant political
economy course from the approved list (0.5 credit) .
- Sociology: a relevant political economy course from the
approved list (0.5 credit) or part of comprehensive
preparation in the sub-field of political economy.
3. Submission and successful defence of a doctoral thesis on
a political economy topic in the participating unit.
The proposed topic must be approved by the student's home
unit and by the Program Committee. At least one of the
student's advisors or members of the examining committee will
be selected from among the core faculty for the Collaborative
Program.
Graduate Courses
Not all of the
following courses are offered in a given year. For an
up-to-date statement of course offerings and to determine the
term of offering, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca
The Institute's courses are not normally open to
undergraduate students.
- PECO 5000 [0.5 credit]
- Theories of Political Economy
- A survey of the core concepts and ideas proposed by
both the founders and modern practitioners of political
economy. Particular attention will be paid to contemporary
theorists and classical theorists such as Smith, Ricardo,
Marx, Mill, Schumpeter, Keynes, Veblen, and Innis.
- PECO 5001 [0.5 credit]
- The Methodology of Political Economy
- An examination of the methods, procedures, and rules
for developing theory and guiding inquiry in political
economy research, including topics such as logic of
inquiry, conceptualization, research design, dialectics,
level of analysis, comparison, evidence and
statistics.
- PECO 5501 [0.5 credit]
- Selected Problems in Political Economy I
- (Also listed as SOCI 5504 and PSCI 5501.)
- PECO 5502 [0.5 credit]
- Selected Problems in Political Economy II
- (Also listed as SOCI 5505 and PSCI 5502.)
- PECO 5900 [0.5 credit]
- Tutorial in Political Economy
- Directed readings on selected aspects of political
economy, involving preparation of papers as the basis for
discussion with the tutor. Offered when no regular course
offering meets a candidate's specific needs.
- Prerequisite: permission of the Director.
- PECO 5908 [1.0 credit]
- Research Essay
- Directly linked to the student's course work, the
research essay must be interdisciplinary in approach.
- PECO 5909 [2.0 credits]
- M.A. Thesis
- The thesis is an alternative to the research essay. It
must also be interdisciplinary in approach, and requires
greater substance and originality than the Research Essay.
Normally, a student's thesis committee will be composed of
members from more than one discipline.
- PECO 6000 [0.5 credit]
- Political Economy: Core Concepts
- Core concepts in political economy, drawn from
classical and contemporary writings. Topics will be
selected in consultation with participating units, taking
into account the potential number of students, their
research interests and those of the participating
units.
Selection of Courses
In addition to the graduate courses offered by, or
associated with, the Institute, the courses listed below are
relevant to students of political economy and would, with the
prior approval of the Institute, be used to design a coherent
and internally complementary set of courses to fulfil degree
requirements. The list is not exclusive and is subject to
change. Moreover, students in the Master's program may select
1.0 credit in political economy that is offered at the
4000-level.
Note: the number of spaces in graduate courses offered by
other departments may be limited, and registration may be
conditional upon obtaining the prior approval of the department
concerned. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that
permission is obtained from the appropriate department prior to
registering in any of the following courses.
The Institute expects to attract high quality graduate
students who will be likely to continue to a second
post-graduate degree. Master's students will be directed to
consult with the department where they might wish to pursue
doctoral studies so that they may select courses that will
prepare them for this next stage.
Business
BUSI 5300, BUSI 5301
Canadian Studies
CDNS 5101, CDNS 5102, CDNS 5201,
CDNS 5202, CDNS 5501, CDNS 5601
Economics
ECON 5101, ECON 5201, ECON 5202, ECON
5403, ECON 5500, ECON 5504, ECON 5505, ECON 5507, ECON 5806,
ECON 5807
Geography
- GEOG 4207 Urban Development and Analysis
- GEOG 4300 Comparative Environmental Movements
- GEOG 4400 Environmental Geopolitics
- GEOG 4401 Geographies of Globalization
- GEOG 5005, GEOG 5200, GEOG 5400, GEOG 5401, GEOG 5404,
GEOG 5500
History
HIST 5506, HIST 5508, HIST 5509, HIST
5602, HIST 5800
International Affairs
INAF 5007, INAF 5101, INAF
5300, INAF 5302, INAF 5303, INAF 5501, INAF 5502, INAF 5401,
INAF 5601
Law
- LAWS 4001 Law, Family and Gender
- LAWS 4002 Feminist Theories of Law
- LAWS 4003 Historical Perspectives on Law, Economy and
Society
- LAWS 5002, LAWS 5003, LAWS 5004, LAWS 5005, LAWS 5006,
LAWS 5007, LAWS 5200, LAWS 5302
Political Science
- PSCI 4000 Topics in Canadian Government and
Politics
- PSCI 4002 Policy Seminar
- PSCI 4009 Quebec Politics
- PSCI 4102 Politics of Western Liberal Democracies
- PSCI 4103 The State in Advanced Capitalist
Societies
- PSCI 4104 Theory and Practice in Third World
Development
- PSCI 4105 Selected Problems in Third World
Development
- PSCI 4401 Business-Government Relations in Canada
- PSCI 4500 Feminist Analysis in Comparative
Perspective
- PSCI 4505 Transitions to Democracy
- PSCI 4603 Analysis of International Political
Economy
- PSCI 4604 Selected Problems in International Political
Economy
- PSCI 5003, PSCI 5008, PSCI 5101, PSCI 5105, PSCI 5107,
PSCI 5202, PSCI 5501, PSCI 5502, PSCI 5504, PSCI 5507, PSCI
5509, PSCI 5607
Public Administration
PADM 5001, PADM 5002, PADM
5107, PADM 5401, PADM 5604, PADM 5607, PADM 5701, PADM 5703,
PADM 5806, PADM 5808
Social Work
- SOWK 4102 Aboriginal Peoples and Social Policy
- SOWK 4103 Practice and Policy in Immigration
SOWK 5102, SOWK 5105, SOWK 5106, SOWK 5301, SOWK 5805
Sociology and Anthropology
SOCI 5000, SOCI 5002, SOCI 5007, SOCI 5109, SOCI 5202, SOCI
5204, SOCI 5205, SOCI 5209, SOCI 5300, SOCI 5301, SOCI 5302,
SOCI 5308, SOCI 5400, SOCI 5404, SOCI 5405, SOCI 5408, SOCI
5409, SOCI 5500, SOCI 5504, SOCI 5607, SOCI 5608, SOCI 5804,
SOCI 5806
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