Markets, Environments, and Societies
one-way Exclusions
Two 1.5 hour lecture and discussion periods per week
Course readings will consist of academic journal articles and chapters, podcasts, films/documentaries, and long-form journalism. All readings will be available via the courses’ e-reserve.
Please note that course information listed in the Arts and Science Course Calendar supersedes any information listed on the Geography and Planning website.
For the most current course offerings, registered Queen’s students should consult .
Course Description
This course examines the spatial relations (politics, social relations, ecosystems) that shape market exchange and the functioning of economies. We will explore attempts to create markets out of social and environmental 'things' that resist commodification from carbon to care as well as the connections between markets and other aspects of life.
Course Overview
Markets are everywhere. From buying groceries at the supermarket to prediction markets that let you bet on politics, markets are fundamental to the organization of everyday life. This is truer now than ever, with the expansion of market logics into new areas of life from systems of care (social programs, long-term care facilities, etc.) to the pricing of environmental processes (carbon markets, green bonds for land conservation etc.).
In this course we will examine how political decisions, social structures, and environmental systems shape market exchange as well as the functioning of economies more broadly. We will pay particular attention to attempts to create markets out of social and environmental ‘things’ from carbon and wildlife to learning and care. In doing so we will investigate connections between economic activities within markets and the production of environmental, social, and political spaces and how these connections impact communities and ecological systems. This interdisciplinary approach is appropriate for students from a variety of backgrounds beyond economic geography.
Course Topics
Economic, social, and environmental crises; Theories of market activity; AI’s impact on economies; Impact investing; Markets for exotic wildlife; Debt relations and microfinance; Carbon markets; Alternative economies; Racialized and gendered inequality; Impacts of marketization of systems of education and care; Philanthrocapitalism; Financialization.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify relationships between economic, social, and environmental systems.
- Apply interdisciplinary insights to the study of economic activity and market exchange.
- Analyze the connection between market exchange and broader sociospatial structures.
- Evaluate and critique the relevance of market-based solutions to social and environmental problems.
- Present complex ideas in written form.
Assessments
Subject to Change
- Reading Responses: 30%
- In-Class Worksheets: 20%
- Final Exam: 35%