Course Description
Survey of the economic, social, and cultural history of capitalism from 1877 to the present. Topics include class formation, industrialization, the currency debates, railroads, mass production, labor unrest and unions, the Great Depression, New Deal, World War II, deindustrialization, and the growing importance of the financial sector.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be expected to attend all undergraduate
class sessions, pursue further in-depth readings and research
appropriate to the graduate curriculum, and meet regularly with
the instructor to discuss their research. In addition to
preparing a more extensive research paper than the
undergraduates, graduate students will draft weekly critical
assessments of the readings.
Athena Title
CAPITALISM SNC 1877
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will come away with a nuanced understanding of how the United States became the world’s preeeminent capitalist nation (and the world’s largest economy). It will emphasize the social and cultural causes of economic development. Students will read primary sources, such as biographies, novels, short stories, and political tracts as well as works of economics. Students will also learn research skills and hone their writing skills.
Topical Outline
Commercial Agriculture, Railroads, Industrial Expansion, The Labor Question, Money and Prices, Urbanization, Capitalism Abroad, The Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the American Century, the Revolt Against Government, Deindustrialization
Syllabus