U.S. Nonprofits, Civil Society, and Democracy

Catalog description

This course explores the historical development of nonprofits and philanthropy, broadly defined, within the American/United States context from the colonial period to the present. Topics include the origins of and relationships between charity and philanthropy as concepts for social change and social justice, the rise of benevolent societies in the nineteenth century, the creation of philanthropic foundations and advocacy organizations in the twentieth century, and the construction of complex relationships between the nonprofit sector, private capital, civil society, the state, and democratic theory and practice.