Global Justice in Action- SUD I (2235.YR.014704.2)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	3	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	2 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 3	Ines Losada Cavestany	Sociedad, Política y Sostenibilidad	ENG

Students have to be enrolled in
a) 3rd year of the BBA programme
b) 4th year of the Double Degree in Business Administration and Law programme
c) 3rd year of GEL programme.

Workload distribution:

Lectures: 20 hours
Independent Study/Team Work: 20 hours

At Esade one receives the technical tools to exercise his or her professional life. Marketing, Finance, Economics, Corporate Law? These tools are meant to help you become a good (in technical terms) professional.

The remaining question is to what end? Each and every one of us may have (or may be building) a particular personal response to this question. As such, many of us are aware that there are many pending tasks for the World we may want to live in. For many of you, the question of "to what end? may be linked (even if partially) to these pending global problems.

As managers, lawyers, consultants, or economists there is a lot we can offer to address these global challenges. However, to do so one must understand these challenges: in what system do they play and how does it affect them. Additionally, professionals must understand the context (be it social, historical, economic, cultural) in which the challenges they address are taking place.

In Global Justice in Action we want to contribute to building a more comprehensive understanding of the global challenges the world faces, in terms of Global Justice, and the particular context of a region, Latin America, where these challenges take place and where most students interested in participating in the SUD Internship program will be working.

This course is particularly addressed to those students who want to carry out the SUD Internship Program as their internship in Esade. Nonetheless, the content we will cover can also be useful in professional terms, and personal development, for any Esade student.

The main objective of this course is to raise students' interest in global problems and Global Justice and to create awareness of the challenges we face in order to build a better world for everyone.

In line with this main objective there is a second goal: to have a better understanding of the Latin American region and its challenges.

1. Global Justice. A world in crisis? During this session we will address the question of Global Justice. We will have a quick look at global trends and global challenges around the world and how these are interrelated. Additionally, we will discuss the course dynamics as well as how the SUD Internship program works.

2. The System During this session we will discuss the system we live in, with a particular focus on the capitalist system and its consequences. Likewise, we will cover past solutions (through development theories) and those offered by the capitalist system to address global challenges such as poverty or inequality.

3. Close-up to Latin America: History During this session we will cover, in broad terms, the history of the Latin American region. We will take a look at the systems or institutions that were established throughout the centuries in the different countries and review some social problems with shared roots.

4. Close-up to Latin America: Culture During this session we will start by analyzing our own culture, and we will continue by covering the grandeur, legacy and cultural diversity of the region, in particular, appreciating the wealth of its literature.

5. Close-up to Latin America: Economy Students will be able to better understand the region's economic development of last century and its ups and downs in building a better future.

6. Institutions & Impact (I & II) In this session(s) (either 1 or 2 -yet to be determined-) we will cover the ecosystem of institutions that participate in the capitalist system. We will start by reviewing the concept of institutions. We will conduct an overview of the state institutions and the reasons behind these institutions. Followingly we will discuss the impact of institutions and globalization in the Latin America region.

7. Alternative systems and reasons for hope Re-thinking the world we live in and the alternative models for development.

Classes will generally consist of 3 parts:
1. Lectures on the session topics.
2. Additional material, articles and/or videos to complement the lectures and prepare students for class.
3. Class debates.

In addition, SUD Alumni will take part in some sessions to talk about their experiences.

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Warth (1938). Chapters 16, 19 and 21.

Thorp, Rosemary: Progreso, Pobreza y Exclusión. Una historia económica de América Latina en el siglo XX. Washington, BID, Unión Europea, 1998.

BID, Informe económico y social de América Latina (annual editions).
https://flagships.iadb.org/es/MacroReport2023/preparar-el-terreno-macroeconomico-para-un-crecimiento-renovado

CEPAL, Estudio económico de América Latina y el Caribe (annual editions) http://www.cepal.org/es/publicaciones/tipo/estudio-economico-de-america-latina-y-el-caribe

CEPAL, Panorama social de América Latina (annual editions)
http://www.cepal.org/es/publicaciones/tipo/panorama-social-de-america-latina

FAO, El estado de la inseguridad alimentaria en el mundo (Sofi), the latest annual edition.
http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/es

FAOSTAT, Base estadística electrónica:
http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home

UNDP, Informe sobre el desarrollo humano (the latest annual edition).
http://report.hdr.undp.org/es/

UNFPA, State of WorldPopulation (the latest annual edition).
http://www.unfpa.org/swp/

World Bank, "World Development Indicators" (the latest annual edition).
http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 3	Ines Losada Cavestany	Sociedad, Política y Sostenibilidad