Winter 2023 Course: January 14 – March 8

Class Schedule

Week 1: January 14

  • Saturday, January 14 – 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Cayce, SC in person, lunch provided.
    • Syllabus review
    • Course overview
    • Economic history of technology and energy transitions- Industry 20, 50, 100 years ago?
    • Guest speaker – Is decarbonization real?
    • The Electric Cooperatives in S.C. and their role in energy transitions

Week 2: January 15-21

  • Tuesday, January 17th – 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Synchronous Zoom session
    • Guest lecture on the path to a clean energy future
    • Discussion of key principles; resilience, reliability, sustainability, and market structure
  • Asynchronous participation:  Watch The Day After Tomorrow movie and complete the discussion board

Week 3: January 22-28

  • Tuesday, January 24th – 6:30-8:30 p.m. – Synchronous Zoom session
    • Economics, policy, and innovation implementation
      • Can we do nothing? Is inaction possible?
      • How do we get there?
      • What can history tell us?
      • Will markets get us there?
  • Asynchronous participation:  Teamwork on energy innovations; readings on coal and nuclear power; discussion boards

Week 4: January 29-February 4

  • Tuesday, January 31st – 6:30-8:30 p.m. Synchronous Zoom session
    • Guest lecture on energy markets and the electric grid- case study of Texas grid failure
    • Team presentations on energy innovations
  • Asynchronous participation:  Podcast review and discussion on the economics of renewable energy.

Week 5: February 5-11

  • Tuesday, February 7th – 6:30-8:30 p.m. Synchronous Zoom session
    • Discussion on technology and policy path dependency, adaptation and dominant technologies.
    • Guest lecture on the role of electric vehicles in electrification
  • Asynchronous participation:  Independent reading and home inventory on electricity use and reflection of short- and long-term social and behavioral change. Team meetings for final presentations.

Week 6: February 12-18

  • Tuesday, February 14th – 6:30-8:30 pm Synchronous Zoom session
    • What are the real choices? Coal, Nuclear, Natural Gas, Wind, Solar, etc.
    • National and global market and policy forces and the drive to change.
    • Coal as a case on the intersection of national and global market forces, shifting demand across markets, policy pressures and more.
  • Asynchronous participation:  Team meetings for final presentations and independent research.

Week 7: February 19-25

  • Tuesday, February 21st – 6:30-8:30 Synchronous Zoom session
    • Examine the winners and losers of electrification, tradeoffs, and unintended consequences.
    • Why are so many public goods monopolies or oligopolies? What are the costs of benefits of this type of marker for consumers?
  • Saturday, February 25 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Cayce, SC in person, lunch provided.
    • Guest Panel on Electrification
    • Team Presentations and discussions
    • Collaborative governance simulation- what would you do? Where do we go from here?

Week 8: February 26-March 8

  • Asynchronous participation and individual consultation with Dr. Dickes
  • All final assignments are due Saturday, March 8

In-person contact hours- 14 contact hours (840 minutes)

Synchronous contact hours – 12 contact hours (720 minutes)

Asynchronous contract hours- 21 contact hours (1260 minutes)

Description of Assignments

  • In-class participation – discussions and group projects.
  • Two discussion boards based on independent readings and videos.
  • One reflection paper on a podcast on renewable energy and energy innovations.
  • Mini team presentations on Energy Innovations.
  • A home inventory of electricity use and a short reflection on behavioral change in a decarbonizing future.
  • Team presentations and reflections.
  • Two to three individual, grade-specific lesson plans to cover approximately three class periods.

Dr. Dickes will be available for consultation online as needed.

Assignment Due Dates- ALL Final Drafts assignments are due on the day and time listed below.

Assignment Due Date
Discussion Boards (DB) DB1 – January 21

DB2- January 28

Reflection Podcast Paper February 4
Mini team presentations In-class, January 31
Home electricity inventory and reflection February 15
Final team presentations and reflections Presentations- February 25 in class

Reflections- March 4

Lesson Plans March 8

Academic Credit

Three graduate hours from the University of South Carolina will be awarded based on your successful completion of this course. Due to the shortened nature of this course, attendance in synchronous Zoom sessions along with participation in asynchronous sessions is mandatory.

Registration and Fees

While the course tuition is free for the participants, students are required to apply to the Graduate School as non-degree seeking students with The University of South Carolina to receive the graduate credit which will be reflected on one’s official transcript. 

  • The course accommodates a maximum of 25 students.
  • If accepted, a $100 registration fee (refundable after successful completion of the course) is required.
  • Students are required to pay the $50 ($15 if you are already in the University system) application fee required by The University of South Carolina. This fee is non-refundable.
  • Participants will be notified of their acceptance status by email.

Course Description

This course seeks to integrate, history, energy, and economics into a cohesive interdisciplinary course for the social studies, economics or science middle and high school curriculum. Economics has long held great faith in technology as the driver of productivity, employment, and economic activity broadly. We are in an era of great technology transitions and the energy sector is a critical illustration of this. Through the lens of 21st-century electrification there are important opportunities to learn about the intersection of history, economics, science, engineering, innovation, and other key drivers of our global economy.

The choices any society makes about how and which energy sources to invest in generate short-run and long-run social and economic consequences for individuals, firms, and nations. This course will use historical cases to frame the characteristics and consequences of major technology and energy disruptions like the lightbulb, telegraph, train, computer, etc. Students will be provided an opportunity to learn about current and future energy markets, the methods by which energy supplies could meet these demands, and the way our energy supply and economy must change and adapt to shift energy infrastructure and mitigate climate change in the future. Students will also explore the energy policy landscape in the U.S. to better understand how to enable the changes towards a potential transition to full electrification. An introduction to basic tools of economic and policy analysis will be provided to understand costs/benefit analysis, the unintended consequences of potential energy and economic transitions, issues of path dependency and measures of resiliency and adaptation.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course students will be able to:

  1. Understand the role of technology transitions on economic activity throughout U.S. history.
  2. Identify major energy technology changes and related energy transitions throughout world history over the past 50+ years.
  3. Examine the current trends and patterns in energy markets, energy investments, technology innovations, and related policy changes.
  4. Analyze the current U.S. and state energy policy landscape and describe the future landscape.
  5. Apply economic and policy tools and decision-making concepts to current and future energy and economic transitions.

DOWNLOAD COURSE SYLLABUS

EXPECTATIONS AFTER REGISTRATION