Economic History of the US

elective courses

Class taught in English.

Blended learning
Classroom
Remote learning

The aim of this class is to familiarize students with historical conditions of American economic growth and expansion, also in a socio-economic context. The course covers the entire historical span - from colonization to the present, with in the terrory limited to the contemporary borders of the United States.

Each class consists of lecture: 45-60 minutes, followed by student presentations (15-30) minutes. Discussion and exchange of opinions is encouraged throughout.

The class topics include:

1. Colonialism

2. Native American economies

3. The economics behind the American Revolution

4. Slavery - the costs of coercion

5. Cotton Kingdom

6. Annihilating space and time

7. Immigrants make American Great

8. "The Gospel of Wealth"

9. The rise of the media moguls

10. Ford

11. American labor unions

12. Globalism

13. Military-industrial complex

14. "Super Size Me"

15. "Inequality of All"

Student presentations are based on chapters from Bhu Srinivasan,"Americana. A 400-year history od American Capitalism" (New York 2017). Students examine individual chapters from the book and share their interpretations of the major inventions, turning points in US economic history during the class. Topics for discussion (chapters) include: VENTURE, TOBACCO, TAXES, COTTON, SLAVERY, STEAM, CANALS, RAILROADS, TELEGRAPH, GOLD, WAR, OIL, STEEL, MACHINES, LIGHT, RETAIL, UNIONS, TRUSTS, BANKING, FOOD, AUTOMOBILES, BOOTLEGGING, PAPERS, RADIO, FILM, TELEVISION, FLIGHT, SUBURBIA, ROADS, COMPUTING, START-UPS, FINANCE, SHOES, INTERNET, MOBILE.

1/ Discussed in class:

1. Readings: Oliver La Farge, Myths That Hide the American Indian, in: Historical Viewpoints. Notable Articles from American Heritage, vol. I (to 1877), Harper Collins 1995, p.2-14

2. Carville Earle, “Pioneers of Providence: The Anglo-American Experience, 1492-1792,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82/3, The Americas before and after 1492: Current Geographical Research (Sep., 1992), pp. 478-499.

3. Stephen D. Behrendt, David Eltis, David Richardson, “The Costs of Coercion: African Agency in the Pre-Modern Atlantic World,” The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Aug., 2001), pp. 454-476.

4. Henry Steele Commager, “The Constitution: Was It an Economic Document?” in: Historical Viewpoints. Notable Articles from American Heritage, vol. I (to 1877), Harper Collins 1995, p. 161-172.

5. “A Beaver Perspective on North American History,” in: Major Problems in American Environmental History (1983), 78-83.

6. S.P.Teret, A.P.Michaelis, “Litigating for Native American Health: The Liability of Alcoholic Beverage Makers and Distributors,” Journal of Public Health Policy 26/2 (2005): 246-259.

7. L.A. Windley, “Runaway Slave Advertisements of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson,” The Journal of Negro History 63/4 (Oct., 1978): 373-374.

8. W.E. Wiethoff, “Enslaved Africans’ Rivalry with White Overseers in Plantation Culture: An Unconventional Interpretation,” Journal of Black Studies 36/3 (Jan., 2006): 429-455.

9. Herbert Gutman, “Immigrants Adjust to Industrial Labor, “Clock Time,” and Unionization in the Early twentieth Century,” in: Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History (1998), 219-229.

10. R. Philipson, The Harlem Renaissance as Postcolonial Phenomenon, “African American Review”, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Spring, 2006), pp. 145-160.

11. E.S. Abelson, “Women Who Have No Men to Work for Them”: Gender and Homelessness in Great Depression, 1930-1934, “Feminist Studies”, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Spring, 2003), pp. 104-127.

12. M. Crawford, The “New” Company Town, Perspecta, Vol. 30, Settlement Patterns (1999), pp. 48-57.

13. Coşgel, Metin M. "Religious Culture and Economic Performance: Agricultural Productivity of the Amish, 1850-80." The Journal of Economic History 53, no. 2 (1993): 319-31. Accessed February 9, 2020.

14. Harmon, Alexandra, Colleen O'Neill, and Paul C. Rosier. "Interwoven Economic Histories: American Indians in a Capitalist America." The Journal of American History 98, no. 3 (2011): 698-722. Accessed February 9, 2020.

15. Chapter: DIFFERENT WAYS OF MAKING SENSE OF CULTURE IN RELATIONSHIP TOTHE ECONOMY, in: Arjo Klamer, Doing the Right Thing. A Value Based Economy, Ubiquity Press. (2017)

16. Guiso, Luigi, Paola Sapienza, and Luigi Zingales. "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?" The Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, no. 2 (2006): 23-48. Accessed February 9, 2020.

17. Martinez, Elizabeth A., Nancy Beaulieu, Robert Gibbons, Peter Pronovost, and Thomas Wang. "Organizational Culture and Performance." The American Economic Review 105, no. 5 (2015): 331-35. Accessed February 9, 2020.

18. Alesina, Alberto, and Eliana La Ferrara. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance." Journal of Economic Literature 43, no. 3 (2005): 762-800. Accessed February 9, 2020.

19. Mark S. Mizruchi, Berle and Means Revisited: The Governance and Power of Large U.S. Corporations, Theory and Society, Vol. 33, No. 5 (Oct., 2004), pp. 579-617.

20. Manevska, Katerina, and Peter Achterberg. "Immigration and Perceived Ethnic Threat: Cultural Capital and Economic Explanations." European Sociological Review 29, no. 3 (2013): 437-49. Accessed February 9, 2020.

2/ Basis for the student project:

Bhu Srinivasan, Americana. A 400-year history od American Capitalism (New York 2017).

3/ Readings list for the exam: Students pick one book.

1. Nancy Isenberg, White Trash. The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, New York: Penguin 2016.

2. Scott Nations, A History of the United States in Five Crashes. Stock Market Meltdowns That Defined a Nation, New York: William Morrow 2017.

3. Corey Dolgon, Kill it to Save it. An Autopsy of Captialism's Triumph over Democracy, Policy Press 2018.

4. James Macdonald, When globalization fails. The Rise and Fall of Pax Americana, Farrar et al. 2015.

5. Scott Nations, A History of the United States in Five Crashes, William Morrow 2017.

6. Shane Hamilton, SUPERMARKET USA. Food and Power in the Cold War Farms Race, Yale 2018.

7. Steve Fraser, Class Matters. The Strange Career of an American Delusion Yale U. Press 2018.

8. Richard Drake, The Education of an Anti-Imperialist: Robert la Follette and U.S. Expansion (University of Wisconsin Press, 2013).

9. Ted Morgan, A Covert Life. Jay Lovestone: Communist, Anti-Communist, and Spymaster (Random House, 1999).

10. Graham Russel Gao Hodges, Taxi! A Social History of the New York City Cabdriver, New York, London:New York University Press, 2007.

Knowledge - Students:

a) have knowledge chronologically and thematically focused on the United States economic history

b) conteptualize selected economic issues in relevant historical context also within the realm of US international economic networks

c) understand professional terminology used in academic writings on US economic history

Skills. Students:

a) can run analysis of historical events and processes related to the US economic history

b) can find appropriate arguments to support their (written or oral) original thesis using opinions of other authors, reaching original conclusions

c) are able to prepare short presentations in English on selected issue related to US economic history

Social competences. Students:

a) take active part in discussions, interpret socio-economic phenomena in US history

b) understand the role and indentify the impact of the economic situation on other areas of American life, with a special attention focused on cultural differences and diversified historical experience of specific groups of Americans

C) are able to present the results of their work on a group forum, formulate their original opinion and support it with adequate arguments.

Time burden: (5 ECTS). 30 lectures/contact hours, 60 hours - class/exam preparation, 10 hrs to prepare class presentation, 30 hrs. - readings fro the exam.

Points:

1. Presentation in class: 20% of the final grade

2. Active participation in class discussions (based on the readings): 15% of the final grade

3. Exam: 65% of the final grade

a) short essay questions (students pick 2 questions they chose to answer): 2 x 25%

b) test (key terms, names, legal acts, inventions etc.) - 15%

n/a