Hold your horses folks, it's not quite as boring as it sounds. Choosing a textbook for 300+ students is no joke, which is why I'm thinking about it on June 2, 2010, 4 months before the course starts. Bernie Goldbach also introduced me to audio boo today, so here's my first 'boo' on the subject of choosing a textbook. I'm not sure what I'll use this thing for, but it's really easy to set one up and get started, and I may bring this into my lectures next semester, we'll see.
Stephen Kinsella
Economist at the University of Limerick
List
Hi Stephen, You didn't say what course the textbook is for. I assume, having heard your boo, that it is meant for a First year/Freshman Economic Principles course. Is that the case? Also, what were the textbooks that you looked at? Or would you prefer that knowledge to be private? Also, which one(s) have you settled on? Why?
I ask because we've recently been having a similar discussion here in Cape Town. For the principles course they use Lipsey and Chrystal, and in 2nd and 3rd year core micro we use Perloff's . We had a long debate (and will continue to have more debates) about whether we think these textbooks suit our needs relative to others in the field. I also suspect that these kinds of choices should not be restricted to one course, but to a more extensive discussion of the kind of curriculum that a department of economics wants to teach. What are your thoughts, therefore, on curriculum design in economics education rather than just the design and structure of one course?
That was meant to be Peloff's Microeconomics: Theory and Applications with Calculus.
Hi Simon,
I'm thinking of either Blanchard's Macroeconomics, or a combination of Nicholson and Snyder and Tucker for the macroeconomic part. The problem we have in UL I think is keeping everything between courses in sync--I have to teach, say, monopolistic competition to sync with other colleagues whom students will meet in later courses, without blowing student's minds all together. You're right thought, it is an issue of curriculum design.
Let me get back to you on the issue of curriculum design--it's a big topic, one worth devoting some thought to. Thanks for the comment!
Give them Mas Colell for micro and Wickens for Macro.
Well, they are going to have deal with them at some stage of the economics career, better now then later!
Will you guard me when I go into the lecture theatre after assigning those two lunatic books to 300 undergrads? Fairly sure I'd be assaulted daily!
It would truly be an excellent test of the behaviour of a complex system!
Yes but the kicking, and the biting--shuurely there's a better or less painful test?
Textbooks have never been subject to this much debate. One would do great to remember what textbooks are meant to do
Hi, I'm not sure I get the point you're making, apologies.