Courses

This course will explore the tumultuous political, economic and labor history of twentieth-century America. We will consider the central economic transformations of this time period—including the rise of industry and large-scale corporate enterprise; the birth of the labor movement; the Great Depression and the New Deal; mass consumption and postwar economic growth; deindustrialization and the rise of finance and the service economy; and the market-oriented economic policies of the late 20th century. Throughout, we will consider politics from below (social movements and the impact of politics on daily life) as well as elections, legislation, and social policy. We will look at economic life from the perspective of workers as well as the broad trends and decisions of captains of industry. We will look at how politics and economic life are closely bound up with each other. Authors we will read include Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Michael Harrington, Frances Beal, Marcia Chatelain, Ronald Reagan, and Gary Gerstle, among many others.