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Module content

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the latest research on prosperity and use it as a lens for understanding and tackling the pressing challenges of the twenty-first century, beyond the standard governance response of stimulating economic growth. The module will address a number of questions that are at the core of contemporary academic and policy debates about prosperity:Ìý

• What is prosperity and why is it important in today’s world?Ìý

• What are some of the main challenges that we – as individuals, communities, cities, nations, and a planet – face today, and how can we understand and approach them in new ways through the lens of prosperity?Ìý

• What are the concepts, models, metrics, and practices that we need to help us create more prosperous communities, cities, and environments?Ìý

The dominant economic cultures of the 20th century have produced both immense material wealth and deep social and ecological dilemmas. The key assumptions of these cultures – that limitless economic growth is both possible and desirable – continue to shape the way our lives are governed. Yet, at the same time, there is a growing recognition that an increase in economic wealth is not, and cannot, be the solution to contemporary global challenges.Ìý

After more than two centuries of continuous growth, the problems that nations and communities face across the globe are abundant – from climate change and environmental degradation, to massive income inequality, collapse of democratic norms, and lack of good quality jobs and services. These problems (and many other pressing challenges) are not just economic in their causes and consequences, but also social, political and environmental; they interact and intersect with one another, impacting multiple domains of our lives and our environments in specific ways depending on the context. This means that the solutions we devise for our problems have to be multiply constituted as well, and with an emphasis on strengthening the connections and collaborations between diverse actors, forms of knowledge, capabilities and resources.Ìý

Pathways 1 will present students with a series of lectures, readings, class discussions and speaker events, that will support them in understanding the origins of prosperity thinking, and the connections between contemporary global challenges, on the one hand, and the solutions that can help us create better futures, on the other.Ìý

The module will focus on introducing students to the latest conceptual thinking and debates on prosperity in the twenty-first century, as well on using prosperity as a lens for understanding challenges and developing solutions.Ìý

The module is a compulsory component of the MSc Global Prosperity and a compulsory primer for students undertaking a PhD Global Prosperity. We also welcome other Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê graduate students who wish to take this module as an option.Ìý

Within the MSc in Global Prosperity, the Module acts as an introduction to core ideas and concepts. The Module compliments the programme’s two research modules - Measuring Global Prosperity and Problem Solving for Global Prosperity - which focus respectively on defining and measuring prosperity and the creation of transdisciplinary solutions to complex challenges.

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PART 1: INTRODUCTORY SESSIONSÌý

TOPIC 1: Addressing 21st Century Crises: Prosperity as AssemblageÌýÌý

TOPIC 2: The Terrain of Prosperity: Rethinking Value, Measurement and RealisationÌýÌý

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PART 2: ECONOMISTS RETHINK THE ECONOMYÌý

TOPIC 3: The Financial Crisis 2008: Social and Political CostsÌýÌý

TOPIC 4: Financial Crises and PopulismÌýÌý

TOPIC 5: Wealth Generation is not Enough: Critiquing Heterodox Approaches Ìý
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PART 3: THE IMPERATIVE OF INCLUSIONÌý

TOPIC 6: Feminist Economic AlternativesÌýÌý

TOPIC 7: Decolonising the Economy Ìý
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PART 4: ALTERNATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF WELL-BEING AND PROSPERITYÌý

TOPIC 8: Beyond GDP: Towards Sustainable Well-BeingÌýÌý

TOPIC 9: New Forms of Measurement and their Importance: The Prosperity Index in ContextÌýÌý

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PART 5: PROSPERITY IN PRACTICEÌý

TOPIC 10: Pathways to ProsperityÌý