University of Cape Town

This course examines the great contemporary problems of poverty and inequality within the context of a globalizing world. Sources and selected empirical cases of poverty and inequality are explored and related development theories and policies are examined. The geographical scope of the course ranges from local to international. One or more African languages may accompany English in some lectures or reading material. Coursework counts 60%; an examination counts 40% of the final mark.

This course introduces students to the epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues that arise when science is considered from a philosophical perspective. Through the study of philosophers such as Popper, Kuhn, and Feyerabend, among others, the questions discussed include: Do scientists employ a special method that sets them apart from non-scientists and give their claims greater authority? Do electrons, genes, and other entities that we can't see or touch really exist? Are scientists inevitably influenced by political and moral agendas or can pure science be value-free? DP requirements: Regular attendance at lectures and tutorials; completion of all tests, submission of all essays and assignments by due dates, and an average mark of at least 35% for the coursework. Assessment: Coursework counts 40%; November examination 3 hours 60%. Course entry requirements: At least second-year status.

This course reviews the theories and approaches that are typically used to analyze the political economies and political regimes of countries in the global South. The reliability, validity and normative implications of these theories will be evaluated with reference to key case studies - in many cases drawn from the African continent - in order to illustrate or problematize their claims. Though this is a political science course, our study of the politics of the South will be informed by debates that span a number of disciplines, including history, economics, law, anthropology and sociology.

This is an introductory course in game theory, the framework for analyzing strategic interaction. Game theory is the basic technology for understanding most phenomena in microeconomics and some phenomena in macroeconomics, along with many processes in political science, law, evolutionary biology, and the science of animal behavior. This course studies the basic structure of the theory.