This one quarter program will explore current issues in contemporary US political economy such as housing and homelessness; the changing nature of work and workers’ movements; financialization and debt; mass incarceration, anti-racist work and movements for abolition democracy; food regimes and food sovereignty movements; and sacrifice zones and movements for environmental justice. Throughout the quarter, we will learn how to use conceptual tools from feminist theory and political economy to develop race, class and gender as intersectional lenses of analysis.
Our studies will draw on analytical frameworks such as Feminist Economics, Marxian Economics and Neoclassical theory to explore the way contemporary developments in the economy have transformed our lives in the U.S. and globally. In tandem with our exploration of theoretical frameworks, we will read about the ways in which communities are collectively contesting structures of oppression, enacting and fighting for their visions of a more just and equitable society. We will learn about participatory economics, arguments for degrowth and solidarity networks, as well as feminist, queer and anti-racist ideas as seedbeds for envisioning alternative, liberatory future societies. Our work is to engage thoughtfully and generously in challenging conversations about contemporary societal issues.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
4 - U.S. Political Economy
4 - Economics of Current Social Issues
Registration
Academic Details
Government and non-government organizations, education, public policy, community advocacy and social work; graduate programs in economics, international studies, labor studies, law, political economy, social work and sociology.
$30 required fee covers museum entrance fee(s) and lecture ticket(s).