AMST 407
Neoliberalism: A Key Concept for Our Times
Last Offered Fall 2013
Division II
Cross-listed
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Neoliberalism is, in essence, the belief that unencumbered market mechanisms will maximize prosperity and happiness. Over the past thirty years this idea has come to shape the global economy, the ways governments function, and how individuals understand themselves and their relations with other people in their lives. However, political movements around the world have challenged these principles — pointing to growing wealth inequality, environmental destruction, and negative cultural changes that have followed the implementation of neoliberal policies. This interdisciplinary course will provide students with a detailed understanding of the concept and these ongoing debates. We will begin by tracing the rise of neoliberal thinking in the fields of economics and public policy. We will then explore its impact on American society, relying on sociological accounts of changes in welfare provision and education, as well as analyses of the political implications of reality television shows. Anthropological studies will help us assess neoliberalism’s effects on the Global South. The course will conclude by looking at political movements resisting neoliberalism and asking whether the current economic crisis marks the end of this policy agenda and mode of governance.