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Cursus: GE3V17022
GE3V17022
Made in Holland: Global Dutch Enterprises from VOC to Shell
Cursus informatie
CursuscodeGE3V17022
Studiepunten (EC)7,5
Cursusdoelen
Learning outcomes: after completing the course, students will have:
  • knowledge of a relevant historical case study pertaining to the specialised topic;
  • knowledge and understanding of the historical context of the specialised topic;
  • basic knowledge of the theoretical discourse around the course topic;
  • knowledge of methods relevant to the study of this specialised topic;
  • knowledge of the latest scholarship: current historiographical issues;
  • skills to conduct independent research on a historical topic on the basis of a research question formulated on their own and using historical sources;
  • basic skills in the application of theories to historical material;
  • basic skills in data analysis and use of requisite tools in a historical context;
  • a skills set enabling them to think, act and communicate at an academic level and in line with academic standards of conduct ('academic integrity'). 
Learning objectives and skills: after completing the course, students will be able to:
  • find and assess relevant scholarly articles and historical sources;
  • define their own research topic that fits within the course topic;
  • formulate a clear research question;
  • conduct research based on primary and other sources and anchored in the historiography;
  • independently plan and conduct research
  • analyse primary sources and literature in relation to the research question;
  • draw conclusions on the basis of previous arguments;
  • present the results of this research in writing at an academic level;
  • give and receive feedback (peer review) on parts of research papers.
Inhoud
This is the second course of Specialisation 4: The Great Challenges: Crises, Inequality and Sustainability. All courses of this specialisation are in English. 

LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major, need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/

Early Exit option (5 ECTS)
Exchange students who are required to return to their home university before January, are allowed to choose an Early Exit option for this course. The Early Exit option means that students can finish the course before Christmas break, receiving 5 ECTS for the course. Students must make arrangements with the course coordinator at the start of the course.

From a Western European perspective, the rise of global enterprise is a success story that begins with the establishment of the Dutch and English East India Companies around 1600. These giants of early capitalism allegedly paved the way for the creation of modern corporations. These corporations, in turn, changed the face of the world economy as they built multinational concerns with very large production facilities and global trade networks. But is this really a success story? In this course we will explore the history of Dutch multinationals from the VOC to Shell to answer this question. We will analyse the economic contribution of these big corporations in comparison to the much larger number of small and medium-sized enterprises, often owned by families instead of anonymous shareholders. We will also look for the damage the multinational corporations may have done to the world, through their careless handling of natural resources, their exploitation of workers, or their cornering of markets driving up prices to the disadvantage of global consumers. These are well-known criticisms, of course, but are they valid?

The course consists of three parts. In the first four weeks, students will study the historical literature about the development of corporate enterprise between 1600 and 2000. In weeks 5 through 8 students use primary and secondary sources to write a 4,000 words paper that explores the positive or negative impact of a particular Dutch business (e.g. a colonial company, an international merchant house, or a multinational corporation) on society. Students are free to choose sides, focusing for instance on technological progress, the growth of trade, and increased employment, or rather on human exploitation, the depletion of natural resources, or the abuse of market power.


 
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