Current Economic and Social Problems
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Academic Fair HandoutMarch 5, 2014
Current Economic and Social IssuesSpring 2014
PeteBohmer, faculty
867-6431, Office, Lab 2, 2271
Mailbox: Lab 2,2nd floor.
email:
Schedule
Lecture, Presentation, Workshop, Seminar, Discussion
Tuesday, 10-4, Sem 2, A 3107
Wednesday 10-1, Sem 2, A3107
Friday, 10-4, Sem 2, A3107
On Tuesday and Friday, we will take a one hour lunch break in the middle of class, usually but not always around 12:30 P.M.
Office Hours: after class Friday and by appointment.
Program Description
The cracks in America and the global system it underpins reveal the truth behind the glossy advertising and public relations. These cracks are the social and political economic issues that persist, unsolved, in “good” times and explode as crises in hard times like the current period. We will study fivemajor economic and social problems inthis one-quarter program, Current Economic and Social Issues.
We will begin by looking at the causes, human impact and resistance to contemporary poverty in the United States. We will examine different frameworks that analyze causes of and solutions to poverty. We will then develop the political economic analysis and tools to analyze the recent financial melt-down, the current economic crisis and related economic and social problems in the United States and globally. We will compare and contrast different frameworks such as neoclassical economics, liberalism, Marxism, etc. We will examine causes, consequences and possible solutions for these five major contemporary issues: 1) Poverty and inequality in the U.S. 2) Work and low wage labor3)The criminal justice system and mass incarceration; 4)The injustices of a border-divided world that show up in immigration; and 5) The ecologically unsustainable and unjust global economy with a focus on climate change in the global south. This is our premise: the world we live in generates poverty, inequality and injustice but there are always opportunities to resist, and that solidarity will win out in the end. We will examine opposition to these economic and social injustices looking at social movements that have challenged them as well as examining reform and societal transformation. We will imagine and examine alternatives to the current economic system in the United States and how they might address some of the issues we are addressing, through our reading the essays in the book, Imagine Living in a Socialist U.S.A.
We will spend one to two weeks on each of these topics, balancing theoretical assessments of the problem, stories drawn from real-life experience, and potential directions for organizing and social change.
In addition, students will choose an economic or social problem to research, focusing on both accounts of resistance to it and possible solutions. I will provide possible options and books; you will select one of them or a topic that you choose and I approveand research it over the course of the quarter. For week 10, students will write a paperof about tenpages or do another form of documentation such as a short story or video, expressing your analysis of the issue and making a presentation to the rest of the class.
This program will combine presentations and workshops with an emphasis on discussion of the subject matter facilitated by both students and faculty.
We will read seven books, probably in the following order.
Required Books
Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt (Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco)
Note: Read Intro and Chapters 1 and 2 for Tuesday, April 1 and all of this book by Friday, Week One!
Global Slump: The Economics and Politics of Crisis and Resistance, David McNally
Imagine: Living in a Socialist U.S.A. (Frances Goldin, Debby Smith, and Michael Steven Smith)
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, 10th anniversary edition (Barbara Ehrenreich)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness (Michelle Alexander and Cornel West)
Illegal People: How GlobalizationCreates Migration and Criminalizes People (David Bacon)
Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence,(Christian Parenti)
In addition, we will read a few shorter articles and news stories throughout the quarter.There will be several guest speakers and weekly films as well as a possible one day field trip.
Student work will consist of regular class attendance; active participation in seminars, discussions, workshops, and other activities; five short papers on the issues examined, a short paper on the causes of the global economic slump, and a short paper based on your reading of Imagine: Living in a Socialist U.S. A. In addition you will be expected to make an oral presentation during the quarter based on our readings,andalso a presentation in week ten based on your research. Students will be expected to keep up with current events related to this program.