AMST 7240:Enterprise & Labor in American Culture

3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate program in American Studies or permission of the program director.
This course will examine the history of enterprise and labor within their social and cultural contexts from an interdisciplinary perspective. The course will include an overview of the history of work and enterprise in the United States. Students will investigate business enterprise, work, production, and consumption as cultural phenomena. Topics may include: the emergence of the corporation; the labor movement and its cultural representations; enterprise and labor in film, television, literature, and popular culture; the work ethic as a cultural production; the history of corporate social responsibility; immigration and labor/enterprise; ethnic, racial, and gender diversity issues in American business and labor; exploration of labor and business concepts/issues through biography; the social/cultural impact of globalization; regional themes in labor and enterprise; American enterprise in the world. Course may be repeated for credit provided the content differs entirely from the previous offering.