Call for papers: Teaching Political Economy Symposium, University of Sydney

The Discipline of Political Economy and the Journal of Australian Political Economy (JAPE) welcome submissions for our forthcoming Teaching Political Economy Symposium to be held on Monday December 8th at the University of Sydney. This workshop is being held as part of a suite of events celebrating the 50th anniversary of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. In 1975, a full program of study in political economy was offered for the first time at an Australian university, following a significant student-staff campaign for a pluralist and practical economics curriculum. On this important anniversary, we seek submissions on the past, present and future of political economy pedagogy and education both at Sydney and in other institutions in Australia and internationally. Papers presented at the workshop will be considered for inclusion in a dedicated winter 2026 issue of JAPE.

We welcome the submission of abstracts in the areas of:

• Issues that arise when teaching political economy in a pluralist and/or interdisciplinary manner, recognising the subject’s diverse contributory currents while seeking overall coherence in course content.
• Evidence of what teaching is most effective in equipping students with the skills, competence and confidence they need to analyse complex contemporary real-world issues.
• Reflections on the ethical responsibilities teachers of political economy have towards their students as well as broader institutional and social movements for progressive change.
• Strategies to decolonise and diversify economics and political economy teaching practice and curricula.
• Opportunities and constraints arising from political-economic dynamics within universities and the position of higher education in the Australian and global economies.
• Other contributions related to the pedagogy of political economy and heterodox economics, both in theory and practice.

We welcome submissions for individual papers as well as proposals for other presentation formats (e.g. panels, discussions).

We welcome submissions from teachers, students (including HDR students) and scholars from any institution and any related field to political economy.

Abstracts should be a maximum of 500 words and submitted by Friday October 17th to the organisers: Luciano Carment (luciano.carment@sydney.edu.au), Frank Stilwell (frank.stilwell@sydney.edu.au) and Gareth Bryant (gareth.bryant@sydney.edu.au).