The New American Society

Semester and Year	SP 2011
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1573
Section	001
Instructor	Laurin Raiken
Days	Mon
Time	6:20 PM - 9:00 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement	SOC

Description

Until 2008 we took for granted that in the fifty years following World War II, the industrialized Western World experienced unprecedented economic expansion, and the United States was geopolitically the dominant superpower, indeed, the primary coordinator and beneficiary of the post World War II period. Only a few keen observers detected economic flaws or geopolitical vulnerability. Over the past two decades, however, new forms of violence, major economic shifts, and geopolitical reversals have seriously threatened world order. Recently, the self-destruction and breakdown of the U.S. financial system triggered a deep global destabilization and recession. To many, American life is becoming similar to the severe dislocations of the Great Depression. With this broad historical arc in view, this seminar offers a critical history of the Post World War II period, focusing especially on major social changes and world-historical economic collapse. Readings will include sociologists C. Wright Mills, Barrington Moore Jr. and Arthur J. Vidich; as well as economic thinkers as diverse as Milton Friedman, J.K Galbraith, Paul Krugman. Overall, our approach is influenced by the work of the great unsung American radical, Thorstein Veblen.

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)