HIST-LIT 90GV: Global Histories of Capitalism

Tuesday, 9:45-11:45 am

Instructor: Ellis Garey

Over the past decade, forceful critiques of capitalism have emerged in the American political mainstream. But what is capitalism and how can we understand it as a historical formation? How have cultural productions about capitalism shaped its historical trajectory? This course offers a semi-chronological account of the major political and social transformations that have shaped and been shaped by capitalism including the rise of wage-labor, the role of slavery, colonial plunder and attendant anti-colonial movements, the financialization of the global economy, calls for “Wages for Housework,” and the carceral state. We will pay particular attention to the historical experience and cultural representations of capitalism in the Global South. Assigned materials will range from academic texts to political manifestos to films, including Evo Morales’s 2008 manifesto “Ten Commandments Against Capitalism,” Waguih Ghali’s 1962 novel Beer in the Snooker Club, the Black Panther Party’s 1966 “Ten Point Program,” and Mary Jirmanus Saba’s 2017 documentary film A Feeling Greater Than Love.

Course Goals:

• Develop a familiarity with dominant and critical approaches to writing and thinking about  the history of capitalism, particularly in the Global South. 
• Students will develop analytical skills through the close reading and interpretation of cultural and historical primary sources.
• Build critical analytical skills for reading and discussing complex academic texts, gain  confidence in identifying and assessing the arguments that the authors of these texts make.
•  Strengthen your writing skills through a number of short assignments culminating in an  original research paper.

Course format:

This is a discussion-based seminar that emphasizes close textual analysis. Brief lectures will contextualize the assigned sources and weekly themes.

Typical enrollees:

This course will prioritize enrollment for first-year and sophomore students considering concentrating in History & Literature, but all years and concentrations are welcome. There are no prerequisites. This course counts as a Modern World introductory course.

Assignments and grading:

Grading will be based on both written work (e.g. weekly response papers, essays) and class participation.

Absence and late work policies:

Everyone will start with 3 "grace days" to be used at your discretion.  You need not ask for an extension, but rather use these days as necessary. Your 3 days may be used in any permutation (e.g. 1 day on the first, 1 day for the second, or all 3 at once), but once you have used all three, no more will be granted, so please plan accordingly. After all days are used, papers will be deducted a step for each late day (an A becomes an A–, etc.). No grace days on the final paper.