Neoliberalism New Wave

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 not only signaled the mainstream arrival of America’s rightward turn but also the blossoming of new social and expressive movements that responded to a culture of conservatism, consumerism, and corporate governing. Although Reagan called for the reduction of government, in practice, both major parties expressed a new politics of austerity, defined by a fiscal retrenchment of the state and the moving away from a centrally governed economy. Wall street, corporations, and lobbyists exerted a greater influence on government during the late 1970s, ‘80s, and into the ‘90s, that only helped to exacerbate class and racial disparities, disproportionately affecting people in urban America. Music, art, and culture during these decades, but particularly in the long 1980s, reflected these new realities adopting technological innovations and making new meaning out of deindustrialized spaces. This upper-level seminar will focus on the United States during the long 1980s to think about the links between neoliberalism and US culture, particularly music, but also including art, sport, and entertainment. Readings will enable us to look at how neoliberalism developed and shaped cultural, political and urban space. This mix of social history, economic policy, political history, and urban studies will impel us to imagine the workings of American capitalism and the state through music, consumerism, and urban culture.