History of Capitalism, 1500 to the Present

This seminar seeks the history of capitalism at the intersection of economic history, business history, labor history, political economy, and the history of economic thought. This course does not presume that capitalism is a function of timeless human nature nor the inevitable product of market forces. Instead, the course contends that capitalism is a historically-specific and contingent system of organizing economic life, and must therefore be studied as embedded in politics, culture, and institutions. The course will run from the period of early modern global integration and the Atlantic Slave Trade though the recent era of deindustrialization and finance capitalism. Enrollment limited to 20 graduate students.