Contents of the subject

Provisional programme:

1. INTRO: Why do we need a feminist perspective on economics? 
2. WORK: Paid and unpaid work
3. CARE: Caring economy
4. INTERSECTIONALITY: Queer economics
5. ECOLOGY: Ecofeminism
6. TIME: Economics of time
7. Introduction to the concept of sustainability, sustainable development and planetary boundaries
8. Theorising nature – society – capitalism
9. Can we decouple economic growth from environmental resources? Perspectives of environmental economics vs. ecological economics
10. Are we growth dependent? Focus on employment, social security system, public debt
11. Beyond growth, beyond development: which sustainable paths?
12. What can we do and what is being done? Insight from case studies
13. Feminist and Ecological Economics, joint class

Qualification aims of the subject

The course will be divided into two sections: 1) feminist and 2) ecological economics. In the first part students will learn about the influence of gender differences regarding economic and financial power and how leading organisations calculate gender-based inequalities. Feminist economics deal with structural injustices concerning care and house work, labour market participation and decision-making positions – to only name a few. We discuss several concepts and try to find similarities with ecological economic approaches. Thus, in the second part of the course, students will develop knowledge on the concepts of sustainability and environment. The focus will be given on the link between economic theories and environmental issues. The sustainability of economic growth will be questioned, and alternatives for sustainable economies will be presented and discussed.

Applicability of the subject

Preparation for the Master Thesis

Programme: MA International Economics and MA Political Economy of European Integration; MA LPG

The nature of the examination / requirements for the award of credit points

Written assignment (4000 words), in which the students demonstrate their general understanding of relevant theories and deepen and apply this to a certain topic in the area of feminist ecological economics.

Literature and learning resources

Feminist economics

Adam, Barbara (2002): The gendered time politics of globalization. Of shadowlands and elusive justice. In: Feminist Review 70, pp 3–29.

Benería, Lourdes; Berik, Günseli; Floro, Maria S. (2016): Gender, Development and Globalisation – Economics as if all people mattered, Routledge, New York & London, (second edition).

Fraser, Nancy; Bhattacharya, Tithi; Arruzza, Cinzia (2019): Feminism for the 99%. London: Verso.

Mellor, Mary (2013): The Unsustainability of Economic Man. In: ÖkologischesWirtschaften 28 (4), pp 30–33.

Mies, Maria; Shiva, Vandana; Salleh, Ariel (ed.) (2014): Ecofeminism. 2nd Edition. London: Zed Books (Critique influence change).

Perkins, Patricia E. (2007): Feminist Ecological Economics and Sustainability. In: Journal of Bioeconomics 9 (3), pp 227–244.

Wöhl, Stefanie (2014): The state and gender relations in international political economy. A state-theoretical approach to varieties of capitalism in crisis. In: Capital & Class 38 (1), pp 87–99.

Ecological Economics

Gómez-Baggethun, E., Naredo, J.M. (2015). In search of lost time: the rise and fall of limits to growth in international sustainability policy. Sustain Sci 10, 385–395.

Parrique T., Barth J., Briens F., C. Kerschner, Kraus-Polk A., Kuokkanen A., Spangenberg J.H. (2019). Decoupling debunked: Evidence and arguments against green growth as a sole strategy for sustainability. European Environmental Bureau.

Richters O., Siemoneit A. (2019). Growth imperatives: Substantiating a contested concept. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 59, 126-137.

Akbulut B. (2017). Commons, from: Routledge Handbook of Ecological Economics,Nature and Society Routledge.

Kothari A., Acosta A., Demaria F. (2015). Buen Vivir, Degrowth and Ecological Swaraj: Alternatives to Sustainable Development and Green Economy. Development 57(3-4), 362-375.

Scheidel A., Del Bene D., Liu J., Navas G., Mingorría S., Demaria F., Avila S., Roy B., Ertör I., Temper L., Martínez-Alier J. (2020). Environmental conflicts and defenders: A global overview. Global Environmental Change 63, 102104

Teaching and learning forms

Lecture and discussion in group based on pre-circulated texts

Participation requirements

All courses of the 1st semester of the MA International Economics or the MA Political Economy of European Integration; MA LPG