Material Histories of American Capitalism

Catalog description

Political upheavals of the last decade have re-centered capitalism as a social ill, at the root of our current climate crisis, racial and gendered inequality, and the alienating experience of work and life in the 21st century. But how did we get here? A historical approach to capitalism can help us better understand our current conditions. But this history is more than a timeline of events. This course will examine capitalism mainly in North America from 1750-1950 through three types of material culture: Landscapes/Architecture, Objects, and Infrastructure. We will examine concepts argued to be associated with “capitalism”: modernity, individualism, industrialization, waged work, enslavement, dispossession, consumerism, and patriarchy. Methodologically, we will examine these concepts through specific material histories tied to spatialized and object forms, such as factories, lumber, plantations, mines, railroads, teacups, or greenbacks.