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Instructors: Dr. Damien Schlarb
Event type:
online: Practice class
Displayed in timetable as:
05.866.132
Hours per week:
2
Language of instruction:
Englisch
Min. | Max. participants:
- | 45
Registration group: AS 132
Priority scheme: Senatsrichtlinie
Requirements / organisational issues:
- Active Participation Requirements
- Final Exam
Contents:
Some characterize the current political moment as a global crises of democracy (WSJ / Jacobin). In this Cultural Studies course we examine some of the mechanisms—political, economic, social, and cultural—behind the global rise of nationalism and right-wing populism, particularly its American iteration, as manifested in the rise of Donald Trump to the presidency. However, we will be less interested in Donald Trump, the person—although his story encapsulates many of the dynamics that we examine in the course. Rather, we will turn to the conditions that enabled a Trump Presidency. What led to the emergence of figures like Trump, Viktor Orbán, or Jair Bolsonaro? What characteristics define the current American cultural moment? How did we get here and where are the future political prospects? To begin answering these questions, we will review work by political scientists, historians, journalists, literary authors, and economists on issues like the political economy, the public-private partnerships, and the tax code. We start with the events and ideas of the “Reagan Revolution” of the 1980s, whose legacy shapes American life to this day. We review the transformation of the American economy in the 1990s (“Dot-com” era), 9/11 and the War in Iraq (2003), the Great Recession (2008/9) and the political and financial recalibration that followed. We trace out the thinking behind these events, the political rhetoric that enveloped them, and the socio-cultural responses to them as we try to sketch out conflicts between generations, nations, race, gender and class groups.
Recommended reading list:
This following is a preliminary list of readings. The list is subject to change and final course readings will differ. You may have to buy some of these titles. Details follow at the beginning of the semester.
A Neo-Liberal’s Manifesto (Peters)
Hillbilly Elligy (Vance)
Democracy in Chains (Maclean)
Kochland (Leonard)
The Management of Savagery (Blumenthal)
What the Eyes Don't See (Hannah-Attisha)
Free Lunch (Johnston)
Austerity (Blythe)
The Entrepreneurial State (Mazzucato)
Digital teaching:
I will specify course content and digital teaching measures at the beginning of the semester. Please monitor your student email account for updates.
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