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Academic Year 2003/2004

Poverty in the United States
HIST 142 SP
Crosslistings:
AMST 142
WMST 121

Who are the poor, and what function do they serve for the larger social, economic and cultural order in the United States? This seminar will address knowledge about poor populations from the late 19th to the late 20th century, with an emphasis on the shifts in capital accumulation, class formation and industrial organization that the poor themselves must engage. Attempts to redress poverty, statist and nonstatist, will also be a focus. Our readings will combine structural and political analyses with cultural theory that addresses the meaning of work, ideologies of self-improvement and community empowerment, public responsibility for the poor, and struggles over relief.

MAJOR READINGS

Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, REGULATING THE POOR Karl Marx, CAPITAL Michael Harrington, THE OTHER AMERICA Robin Kelley, YO' MAMA'S DISFUNCTIONAL! Jane Addams, TWENTY YEARS AT HULL HOUSE

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Four short papers (2 pp.); final research project (15-20 pp.)

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2004

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