Dirk Philipsen is an economic historian and political economist at the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Department of History.  He also serves as Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics, and director of both the Regenerative Futures Lab and the Build a Better World Focus program at Duke University. His work and teaching is focused on underlying structural requirements for wellbeing of people and planet.  His research includes economic metrics, the history of capitalism, the role of private property, and the promises of a revitalized commons.

Raised in Germany and educated in both Germany and the United States, he received a BA in economics (College for Economics, Berlin, 1982), an MA in American Studies (John F. Kennedy Institute, Free University Berlin, 1987), and a Ph.D in American Social and Economic History (Duke University, 1992). He has taught at Duke University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia State University. For ten years, he served as Director of the Institute for the Study of Race Relations at Virginia State University, which he founded in 1997.

Dirk Philipsen has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Franklin Humanities Center at Duke, and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. He has published on the history of modern capitalism, economic growth, the commons, movements for social and economic justice, as well as race and race relations. His first book, We Were the People, chronicles the collapse of communism in East Germany and was published by Duke University Press. Recently, he served as editor and contributor to a volume on Green Business, published by SAGE. His latest work is published by Princeton University Press under the title The Little Big Number – How GDP Came to Rule the World, And What to Do About It (Spring 2015.)

Courses

• SUSTAIN 276: Denial, Faith, Reason: Sustainability and Survival More info
• PUBPOL 792: Special Readings in Public Policy Studies More info
• PUBPOL 590S: Advanced Topics in Public Policy More info
• PUBPOL 590: Advanced Topics in Public Policy More info
• PUBPOL 546: Well-Being Economics More info
• PUBPOL 302D: Policy Choice as Value Conflict More info
• PUBPOL 284: Denial, Faith, Reason: Sustainability and Survival More info
• PUBPOL 249: Life Within Capitalism: A History of its Values, Measures and Struggles More info
• PUBPOL 187FS: Globalization and Corporate Citizenship More info
• PUBPOL 171FS: Beyond Denial - A Thriving Future More info
• POLSCI 252: Life Within Capitalism: A History of its Values, Measures and Struggles More info
• HOUSECS 59: House Course More info
• HISTORY 590S: Topics in History Seminar More info
• HISTORY 325: Denial, Faith, Reason: Sustainability and Survival More info
• HISTORY 284: Life Within Capitalism: A History of its Values, Measures and Struggles More info
• HISTORY 170FS: Beyond Denial - A Thriving Future More info
• HISTORY 127FS: Globalization and Corporate Citizenship More info
• GSF 590S: Selected Topics in Feminist Studies More info
• GSF 590: Topics in Feminist Studies More info
• FOCUS 195FS: Special Topics in Focus More info
• ETHICS 285: Denial, Faith, Reason: Sustainability and Survival More info
• ETHICS 271: Life Within Capitalism: A History of its Values, Measures and Struggles More info
• ETHICS 182FS: Beyond Denial - A Thriving Future More info
• ETHICS 160FS: Globalization and Corporate Citizenship More info
• ENVIRON 276: Denial, Faith, Reason: Sustainability and Survival More info
• ECON 285: Denial, Faith, Reason: Sustainability and Survival More info
• ECON 270: Life Within Capitalism: A History of its Values, Measures and Struggles More info
• ECON 182FS: Beyond Denial - A Thriving Future More info
• ECON 112FS: Globalization and Corporate Citizenship More info