The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism (L2025)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

What is neoliberalism? How is power organised in the contemporary political economy and who are the winners and losers from this process? How do struggles from below challenge neoliberalism? These are some of the questions we will explore in this module where we will examine the rise, and the more debatable fall, of neoliberalism.

We will consider issues such as:

corporate power
the way debt has transformed everyday life
the changing fortunes of labour
struggles from the Global South against neoliberalism.

We will debate whether we think neoliberalism has actually fallen or whether – zombie-like – it continues to live on.

Teaching

50%: Lecture
50%: Seminar

Assessment

20%: Coursework (Essay)
80%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: