- get acquainted with the major schools of economic thought and the work of the greatest economists of the past; 

- be able to critically assess and compare various economic theories; 

- be able to analyse economic theories in their broader intellectual contexts; 

- understand the diversity and complexity of economic thinking as it developed through time, as well as the major factors of this development. 

This course explores the main developments of economic science since the modern age and up to the end of the 20th century. It focuses on the major authors (such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx) and schools (Classical school, Marginalism, and Historical school). The course is essential for academic culture of an economist: apart from providing insights into major approaches and theoretical perspectives that developed in economics so far, it demonstrates how economics as a social science was shaped through time, traces the dynamics of consensus and disagreement among economists, and reveals the inherent pluralism of the discipline, thus going beyond the textbook portrayals of a single and homogenous economic theory.