The purpose of 'The Rise of Empires - The Political Economy of Innovation' is to identify the process by which innovation takes place, the factors responsible for this, how empires subsequently rise; and how they fall. This will be accomplished by analysing the rise of empires over the last 8000 years at a multicultural level, starting with the emergence of Homo Sapiens. Furthermore, the course will take an interdisciplinary approach and so its findings will be relevant to Economics, Anthropology, Political Economy, Politics and International Relations.
The Rise of Empires: The Political Economy of Innovation
This is an Online course which requires your attendance to weekly meetings which take place online using Microsoft Teams meetings.
This short course will combine pre-recorded lectures with live, weekly, online meetings where discussion and debate will take place between students and the tutor. Visit our How our WOW courses work page for full details.
This course will close for enrolment 7 days prior to its start date.
Overview
Programme details
Courses starts: 21 Apr 2023
Week 0: Course orientation
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Theory of Innovation and Causal Dynamics
Week 3: Pre-History - Emergence and Palaeolithic to Broze Age (10,000 BC to 800 BC)
Week 4: The Babylonian Empire (1900 BC to 539 BC)
Week 5: Ancient Greece (1100 BC to 30 BC)
Week 6: The Roman Empire (443 BC to 395 AD)
Week 7: The Chola Dynasty (350 BC to 1279 AD)
Week 8: The Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) and The Song Dynasty (960 AD to 1279 AD)
Week 9: The Mongol Empire (1206 AD to 1368 AD)
Week 10: The British Empire (1603 AD to 1997 AD)
Recommended reading
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading
- The Rise of Empires - The Political Economy of Innovation / Dr Sangaralingam Ramesh
Certification
Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.
To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £238.00 |
| Take this course for CATS points | £10.00 |
Tutor
Dr Ramesh Ramesh
Sangaralingam Ramesh is an Economics Tutor in the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford and a Senior Teaching Fellow in Economics at University College London, UK. He has been an Associate Professor in Economics at the Université Paris Dauphine GBD and Economics Module Leader at Kings College London
Course aims
To evaluate how innovation has facilitated the transition of one civilisation to another over the last 8000 years.
Course Objectives
1. To evaluate the theory of innovation and causal dynamics.
2. To analyse how innovation in one civilisation would have allowed it to dominate contemporary cultures and civilisations.
3. To investigate whether innovation is just technical or if it can be political and procedural as well.
Teaching methods
This course will consist of a weekly, one-hour pre-recorded lecture to be viewed by students in preparation for the once weekly tutor-led live session at the time advertised.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. understand the theory of innovation and causal dynamics;
2. understand how innovation in one civilisation would have allowed it to dominate contemporary cultures and civilisations;
3. understand that innovation may not just be technical but that it may also be political and procedural.
Assessment methods
Students will be required to submit a 750 word Assignment 1 in week 5 of the course; and a 1500 word Assignment 2 in the week after the course has completed, i.e Week 11.
Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form
Application
We will close for enrolments 7 days prior to the start date to allow us to complete the course set up. We will email you at that time (7 days before the course begins) with further information and joining instructions. As always, students will want to check spam and junk folders during this period to ensure that these emails are received.
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an application form.
Level and demands
No previous knowledge is required for this course. However, participants level of spoken, reading, writing and listening in English should be near to that of a native speaker or someone who has studied at undergraduate level in English.
Most of the Department's weekly classes have 10 or 20 CATS points assigned to them. 10 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of ten 2-hour sessions. 20 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of twenty 2-hour sessions. It is expected that, for every 2 hours of tuition you are given, you will engage in eight hours of private study.