This will change, especially toward the second half of the course.
When in doubt, check the online version.
This document was last modified on .
As of today, (9.11.03), most of the readings in the second half of the
course are unconfirmed and quite likely to shift around some.
| Class |
Date |
Reading |
Comments |
| W e e k Z e r o |
| 1 |
Thursday, September 11 |
|
Introductions. Ice Cream exercise. |
| W e e k O n e |
| 2 |
Monday, September 15 |
Chapters I-V, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
|
Come to class with two written questions on the reading:
- A big question, as big as you can think of. Something thematic or
large.
- A "little" question. Focus on the text. Why did Fitzgerald use a
certain word? Or why does he bother to tell us a certain detail?
|
| 3 |
Thursday, September 18 |
Chapters VI-IX, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
|
Meet in small groups. Come to class with a few discussion
questions on Gatsby |
| W e e k T w o |
| 4 |
Monday, September 22 |
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by
in America, pages 1-49.
Micro handout on Aristotle
Political Economy of Inequality, pp. xxxix-xli
|
Come to class with a few (or more) questions/observations on
Ehrenreich for discussion.
In class, I'll go over Gini coefficients in detail, and we'll
do an example. Bring a calculator if you have one.
|
| 5 |
Thursday, September 25 |
The Political Economy of Inequality, pp. 1-9, 33-41.
Each group read and be prepared to summarize and discuss one
additional article from The Political Economy of Inequality.
Prepare for discussion with Frank Ackerman. |
|
|
Friday, September 26 |
First Paper Due |
W e e k T h r e e |
| 6 |
Monday, September 29 |
TBA: A few additional readings from Political Economy of
Inequality
|
Class discussion with Frank Ackerman. Groups should come to
class with a few written questions. |
|
Monday, September 29. 7:00 PM, Gates Lecture Hall |
Talk by Frank Ackerman |
|
| 7 |
Thursday, October 2 |
Finish Nickel and Dimed. |
|
|
Friday, October 3 |
First Problem Set Due |
| W e e k F o u r |
| 8 |
Monday, October 7 |
Amitava K. Dutt, "Consumption, Happiness, and Religion" in Dutt
and Jameson (eds.), Crossing the Mainstream: Ethical and
Methodological Issues in Economics, University of Notre Dame
Press, 2001.
|
Read Dutt up to p. 151.
Finish discussion of Ehrenreich. Focus on Housing.
|
| 9 |
Thursday, October 9 |
Mosaics of Inequality, from
Bowles, Edwards, and Roosevelt, Understanding Capitalism:
Competition, Command, and Change (3rd edition), forthcoming,
2004.
|
Ethics. Different notions of justice and equality. |
|
Friday, October 10 |
Second draft of first paper due |
| W e e k F i v e |
| 10 |
Monday, October 13 |
Bowles and Gintis, The Inheritance
of Inequality, Journal of Economic Perspectives,
16:3-30. 2002. |
|
|
Thursday, October 16 |
No class |
Faculty retreat |
| W e e k S i x |
| 11 |
Monday, October 20 |
Andres Solimano, Alternative Theories of Distributive Justice
and Social Inequality: Liberal, Socialist, and Libertarian
Perspectives. In Andres Solimano, ed., Social Inequality: Values,
Growth, and the State, University of Michigan Press, 1998.
|
Class Midterm Evaluation
Finish Bowles and Gintis, The Inheritance of Inequality
|
| 12 |
Thursday, October 23 |
Julian Lamont, Distributive
Justice, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2003
Edition).
|
For each of the first six justice principles, be prepared to:
- summarize the principle
- give an example of something that you think should be
distributed according to that principles
|
|
Friday, October 24 |
First draft of second paper due |
| W e e k S e v e n |
| 13 |
Monday, October 27 |
Robert Nozick |
Introduction to modeling. |
| 14 |
Thursday, October 30 |
Thomas Schelling, On the Ecology of Micromotives. The Public
Interest. 25:61-98. 1971. |
Meet with Gray's section |
| W e e k E i g h t |
| 15 |
Monday, November 3 |
William J. Wilson, The
Roots of Racial Tensions: Urban Ethnic Neighborhoods. Presented
at 2002 meeting of the Network on the Effects of Inequality on
Economic Performance.
Sandra Hays, "Off the Rolls: The Ground-Level Results of Welfare
Reform," Dissent, Fall 2003.
|
David Camp joins us for a discussion of enthnography. |
|
Tuesday, November 4. |
U.S. Election Day Potluck/Party with Gray's section! |
|
| 16 |
Thursday, November 6 |
Readings on Human Ecology:
Human
Ecology, by Bill Carpenter.
Human
Ecology: On the Cusp, by Etta Kralovec.
The
Idea of Nature, by John Visvader.
Human
Ecology and COA, Ed Kaelber.
|
|
| W e e k N i n e |
| 17 |
Monday, November 10 |
Courtroom victories.
Some of the successful lawsuits filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
|
Social Change success stories |
| 18 |
Thursday, November 13 |
Erik Olin Wright, Real Utopian
Proposals for reducing Income and Wealth Inequality, 1999. |
Ken Cline and Doreen Stabinsky to visit class and talk about
activism, organizing, and social change. |
| W e e k T e n |
| 19 |
Monday, November 17 |
Student Presentations
|
|
| 20 |
Thursday, November 20 |
|
Conclusions, summary, course evaluations. |
|
Friday, November 21 |
Final paper due |