This blended course will highlight how economic theories have changed over time, and how there has always been a plurality of different views at any point in time. 

It will provide students with the opportunity to read and discuss key economic texts from the past, as well as to analyse and understand specific topics or concepts from a variety of points of view. 

Our discipline has always been characterized by a plurality of competing perspectives and research paradigms, despite the recent, worrying involution in both teaching and research. A historical view of the development of economics is key to understanding where economics comes from and where it is going.

The course comprises three modules (each with 3 ETCS):

• Module 1: reading seminars (online)
• Module 2: lectures (online)
• Module 3: workshop in Rome (in person)

Students can opt to take part in one or both of the virtual component modules (Modules 1 and Module 2). The physical component module (Module 3) is mandatory for all students. Based on the participation to the virtual components module, students will receive either 6 ECTS or 9 ECTS (corresponding to 3 ECTS for each module).

The physical mobility component of the course will take place in Rome, Italy, from 18 to 22 January 2027.

During the physical mobility period, students will attend seminars on selected topics delivered by professors from the organizing universities and by guest speakers. They will also participate in roundtables and in a series of group activities prepared during the virtual component of the course. 

The activities planned for this in-person component will make use of innovative teaching methods, including theatrical performances and mock trials. Their purpose is to enable students to consolidate and apply what they have learned during the online modules. The specific formats chosen are intended to foreground, and in some cases require, explicit engagement with the plurality of ideas and perspectives that characterizes economics.

The theatrical performances will take the form of dialogues, in which students will impersonate previously defined characters on the basis of scripts they have written themselves under the supervision of a professor. In the mock trials, students will be divided into four groups. 

Two groups will argue for and against a given thesis, such as a major contested question in the history of economic thought, while the other two groups will serve as the jury; the professors will act as judges. The groups will then switch roles: the two groups that initially served as the jury will become the advocates in a second trial on a different topic, while the former advocates will form the new jury.

The pedagogical aim of both types of activity is to bring out the coexistence of different points of view through structured debate.

The virtual component will run from 1 October 2026 to 14 January 2027.

The virtual part is divided into two separate modules. Students may participate in one or both. We suggest awarding 3 ECTS for each module; however, please note that the final decision on credit recognition rests with each participating university, not with the BIP organizers.

The first module, “Reading Seminars,” is based on the discussion of selected key texts from current debates and from the recent history of the discipline. Students will read assigned texts and then discuss their content and significance collectively in class. The final reading list will be adapted to the students’ prior knowledge and interests, but it is likely to include works by Veblen (1898), Pigou (1917), Schumpeter (1928), Keynes (1930), Pen (1971), Minsky (1973), Robinson (1974), Boserup (1975), Hirschman (1982), Agarwal (1992), Sen (2000), Folbre and Nelson (2000), and Sylos Labini (2003). This module is entirely synchronous: students are expected to attend every session and actively contribute to class discussion. In each class, one or more students will act as rapporteur on a reading selected from those proposed by the instructors.

The second module, “Lectures,” will be delivered in a mixed format, combining asynchronous and synchronous activities. Students will be given access to a series of recorded lectures by the instructors and guest speakers, which they may watch independently at their own pace. Regular live meetings will then be held to discuss the material, help students keep up with the expected pace of study, and address any questions or comments. Topics will include value theory, employment theory, monetary theory, and related issues, all examined from a historical perspective, with attention to how different economists have interpreted and explained these questions over time. Compared with the Reading Seminars, the Lectures module will cover a broader chronological range, from the “prehistory” of economics to the mid-twentieth century, and will also introduce basic issues in economic methodology and the philosophy of economics.

In both modules, the online sessions will mainly take place between early October and mid-December. If necessary, one or two sessions may be scheduled in January.