New York University - Gallatin School of Individualized Study - New ...

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
GALLATIN SCHOOL OF Individualized STUDY
K 20.1527 SOC Interdisciplinary Seminar (4 credits)
FINANCE FOR SOCIAL THEORISTS
SPRING 2011
ROOM: 19 West Fourth Street, Room 102 Mondays 7:45-10:15pm
DR. PETER RAJSINGH
pr9@nyu.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The objective of this course is to use the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) as a lens through which to
examine core financial and economic concepts, thereby providing conceptual, interpretive and
analytical tools to understand the financial landscape.
The approach is interdisciplinary and interpretive, drawing upon political theory, economics,
psychology, basic statistics, finance and accounting. There is a quantitative component to the course,
but emphasis will be on conceptual material using concrete examples and cases to develop a
vocabulary in applied finance of operative core concepts which have enduring relevance.
Some key questions addressed are: Why are some private, profit-making institutions “too big to fail?”
What were the drivers of the financial crisis and in financial decision making generally? What
canonical “verities” of finance need to be challenged in light of current experience?
For example, we will use the GFC to discuss credit, banking, business ethics, monetary policy and
macro economics. We will reference key ideas from familiar texts and also take up contemporary
debates in finance. The aim is to help students become more literate and numerate as economic and
social agents.
No prior knowledge of finance is required or assumed. Students in the class are from diverse
backgrounds—Stern, Gallatin, CAS—which will make for rich and interesting interactions.
Entrepreneurship is a major engine for economic growth and a further course project is an
entrepreneurial activity in conjunction with a major corporation. The goal is to explore concepting,
messaging, target marketing etc. pertaining to a product or idea.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Preparing readings in advance along with regular attendance and active class participation are
essential. Grades will be based upon the entrepreneurship project, short writing assignments (topics
will be distributed) and a final essay.
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1. ATTENDANCE
There are 14 sessions for this course. Attendance will be taken and unexcused absences noted.
2. GRADING
Your brief writing assignments, and project will be evaluated by how well you integrate the course
concepts into your analysis.
3. HOMEWORK: Written Study Question Analyses (2 to 4 pages typed)
Each student is responsible for handing written homework assignments.
4. FINAL ESSAY (8 – 10 pages typed & double-spaced)
5. GRADE WEIGHTS
1. Class Participation 30%
2. Homework & Quizes 30%
3. Term Paper & Entrepreneurship Project 40%
6. HONOR CODE
Students are reminded that they must adhere to the MBA Honor Code and report any suspected
violation of the code that he or she has observed.
7. LAPTOP POLICY
Students are permitted to use laptops to take notes and for other relevant class activities. However,
persistent surfing the web or checking email during class resulting in students not being engaged during
class discussions will be noted and may penalize grades.
READING LIST:
Please note readings will mostly be announced and sent to students via Blackboard rather than being
apportioned in the syllabus for specific class dates. Some readings will be distributed and students will
be required to source others from websites. Many of the readings will be drawn from real time
materials ranging from newspaper articles and financial analytical pieces to reports from asset
managers.
Please also join www.rgemonitor.com using your NYU net ID.
Further supplementary readings may be added to this list.
Core Texts:
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (excerpts)
John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy (excerpts)
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Peter Bernstein, Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
Nassim Taleb, Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life
George Soros, The Crash of 2008
Benoit Mandelbrot, The (Mis)Behavior of Markets
Mohammed El-Erian, When Markets Collide
Richard C. Koo, Balance Sheet Recession
Seth A. Klarman, Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor
David Einhorn, Fooling Some of the People All of the Time
LIST OF SESSIONS
SESSION ONE: Monday January 24
SESSION TWO: Monday January 31
SESSION THREE: Monday February 7
SESSION FOUR: Monday February 14
Monday February 21 (Presidents Day)
SESSION FIVE: Monday February 28
SESSION SIX: Monday March 7
Monday March 14 (Spring Break)
SESSION SEVEN: Monday March 21
SESSION EIGHT: Monday March 28
SESSION NINE: Monday April 4
SESSION TEN: Monday April 11
SESSION ELEVEN: Monday April 18
SESSION TWELVE: Monday April 25
SESSION THIRTEEN: Monday May 2
SESSION FOURTEEN:
Monday May 9 (Last Class)
FINAL EXAM:
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USEFUL WEBSITES:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/MoneyAndFinance.html
http://www.duke.edu/~charvey/Classes/wpg/glossary.htm
http://www.investopedia.com/
http://www.stockmapper.com/NYXtrac.html
http://www.roubini.com/index.php
http://noir.bloomberg.com/
http://www.ft.com/home/us
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/
http://online.wsj.com/home-page
http://online.barrons.com/home-page
http://www.businessweek.com/
http://www.khanacademy.org/ (finance material on the site)
http://www.pimco.com/Pages/EducationOverview.aspx
http://www.sifma.org/research/research.aspx?ID=10256
http://www.edgar-online.com/DataDocuments.aspx
http://www.absolutereturn-alpha.com/
http://www.straightstocks.com/
http://paul.kedrosky.com/
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/
http://allaboutalpha.com/blog/
http://www.gurufocus.com/
http://www.pionline.com/section/blogbank
http://seekingalpha.com/
http://www.financialsense.com/
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