Workers American Capitalism

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Workers and American Capitalism: From the Gilded Age to the Gig Economy This course aims to introduce students to the most important recent works and discussions within the field of U.S. labor history. Set within a framework of changing political economy, the readings move from a focus on capitalist power in the era of Gilded Age factories to the attempted class compromise of the ‘New Deal’ order to the consequences of globalization and declined labor union power in the post-1970s era of Neoliberalism. The course is also attuned to the ‘crossover’ of labor history with related works in African-American, American women’s history, gender and sexuality, Latino/Mexican-American, Native American, as well as the history of social movements. Finally, the course is designed to stimulate subsequent primary research in the field. With this goal in mind (spelled out below), the major writing assignment for the term will focus on the student’s interpretation of a major primary source—at once emphasizing the process of documentary ‘discovery’, historiographical context, and construction of an argument or interpretation.