HIST142

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HIST142

Poverty in the United States HIST142 SP

Not Currently Offered

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.)

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-22-1999

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