HIST342

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HIST342

Poverty in the United States HIST342 FA

Next Offered in 9900 FA

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 the production of poor populations from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century, with an emphasis on the shifts in capital accumulation, class formation and industrial organization which the poor must engage. Attempts to redress poverty, statist and non-statist, will also be a focus: our readings will combine structural and political analyses with cultural theory which 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
Jane Addams, TWENTY YEARS AT HULL HOUSE

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Short weekly papers (2 pp.); final research project (15-20 pp.).

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS HIST

Prerequisites: None

Last Updated on MAR-03-1998

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