Department of Politics and Economics, Ankara University
2025-2026 Academic Year, Fall Term Course
Fridays at 13.00 // Room: 125
Lecturer & TA Information
- Altuğ Yalçıntaş
- Mail: altug.yalcintas[at]politics.ankara.edu.tr
- Personal Site
- Office Hours: Appointments only
- Suay Tosyalı
- Mail: suaytosyali[at]gmail.com
- Personal Site
- Çağıl Derköken
- Mail: derkoken_cagil[at]icloud.com
- Personal Site
In this course, you will improve your reading and reflection skills while learning how to efficiently use AI tools to integrate first-hand PolEcon resources into your knowledge. The course will explore pluralist perspectives and key ideas in politics and economics, encouraging critical engagement with diverse viewpoints.
The course focuses on researching and analysing the key works of economic and political thinkers such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, Mariana Mazzucato, and Daron Acemoğlu. It is designed to take place in three sessions once a week.
Midterm Exam: 40% attendance and assignment + 60% offline exam
Final Exam: 40% attendance and assignment + 60% offline exam
Dedicated to showcasing AI tools that can support your studies, both in this course and beyond. These tools will enhance your academic experience and contribute to your future professional success.
Dedicated to reading and note-taking. During this time, you will either turn off your technological devices or switch them to airplane mode to ensure focus for yourself and your peers.
You will have two hours to finish your reading with your peers and respond to the following questions related to your weekly reading and/or assignment. Your response can include direct references or quotes from the reading. You don't need to be in the class for the reading and form.
Example Questions:
- What is the core question of this text?
- What is the most interesting or relevant idea for me?
- What are my three key takeaways?
While you are encouraged to use AI tools (including ones you are unfamiliar with), you cannot simply copy and paste from them—you must incorporate your ideas and words. In this session, we will start by covering AI tools and having short discussions on reading before moving on to the writing stage.
For this course we suggest you to use 3 types of resources: AI-based, dictionaries, and supplementary readings.
Resources List
Suggested AI Tools:
Suggested Resources:
- Online Oxford English Dictionary
- The Penguin Dictionary of Economics
- The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
Note: Form links will be inactive at midnight.
Week 1 Reading Assignment: "Mind the Divide: Shaping a Global Perspective on the Future of Work" (2024) by ILO
Submit Your Week 1 Assignment Here.
Week 2 Reading Assignment: "The Simple Macroeconomics of AI" (2024) by Daron Acemoğlu
Submit Your Week 2 Assignment Here.
Week 3 Reading Assignment: "The Intellectual Origins of the Industrial Revolution" (2005) by Joel Mokyr.
Submit Your Week 3 Assignment Here
Week 4 Reading Assignment: "Why the Middle East is Economically Underdeveloped" (2004) by Timur Kuran
Submit Your Week 4 Assignment Here
Week 5 Reading Assignment: "My Students Use AI, So What?" (2025) by John McWorhter
Submit Your Week 5 Assignment Here
Week 6 Assignment: Familiarising with Zotero
Submit Your Week 6 Assignment Here
Week 7 Reading Assignment: "Gender Differences in Computing Interest" (2024) by Zeynep Tüfekçi
Submit Your Week 7 Assignment Here
MIDTERM
Week 8 Reading Assignment: "Innovation, Reallocation, and Growth" (2018) by Uufk Akçiğit
Submit Your Week 8 Assignment Here
Week 9 Reading Assignment: "The Making of the Turkish Financial Crisis" (2003) by Korkut Boratav
Submit Your Week 9 Assignment Here
Week 10 Reading Assignment: "The Modernization of Turkish Women" (1978) by Nermin Abadan Unat
Submit Your Week 10 Assignment Here
Week 11 Reading Assignment: "Developing Countries in World Trade" (2004) by Yılmaz Akyüz
Submit Your Week 11 Assignment Here
This is a reading and communication course, so you are expected to focus on your reading comprehension and communication skills only in English. The aim is to keep your curiosity engaged, whether reading classical or contemporary texts. Attendance is compulsory. Your passing grades will be calculated based on the quality of written assignments, participation, and in-class performance.
Instructions for cheat sheets: You can prepare a 1-page cheat sheet and use it during the midterm. You cannot exchange cheat sheets once the exam has started. You can only use handwritten cheat sheets (written with a pen on blank A4 paper). You are not allowed to use machine-typed cheat sheets or a copy of somebody else's cheat sheet. You are neither allowed to use dictionaries nor mobile phones.
Please read the following paper in order to get ready for your exam:
| Reading Name | Reading Link |
|---|---|
| Acemoğlu, Johnson, and Robinson. 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation" | Link |
| Kuran. 1995. "Islamic Economics and the Islamic Subeconomy" | Link |
| Tüfekçi. 2007. "Can you see me now? Audience and disclosure regulation in online social network sites" | Link |
Instructions for cheat sheets: You can prepare a 1-page cheat sheet and use it during the final. You cannot exchange cheat sheets once the exam has started. You can only use handwritten cheat sheets (written with a pen on blank A4 paper). You are not allowed to use machine-typed cheat sheets or a copy of somebody else's cheat sheet. You are neither allowed to use dictionaries nor mobile phones.
Please read the following papers in order to get ready for your exam:
| Reading Name | Reading Link |
|---|---|
| Korkut Boratav, Oktar Türel, and Erinç Yeldan. 1996. "Dilemmas of Structural Adjustment and Environmental Policies Under Instability: Post-1980 Turkey". World Development. | Link |
| Nermin Abadan Unat. 1989. "Legitimacy, Participation and Restricted Pluralism: The 1987 Elections in Turkey" Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi. | Link |
| Zeynep Tüfekçi. 2018. "YouTube, the Great Radicalizor" New York Times. | Link |