Spring 2023

Trump, the Right, and American Society

Listed in: Anthropology and Sociology, as SOCI-241

Faculty

Jerome L. Himmelstein (Section 01)

Description

The election of Donald Trump in 2016 was startling to say the least. We begin with the many efforts to explain the results of the 2016 election as well as the more fledgling efforts on the 2020 elections (outcome unknown as I write this), focusing on the role of race, class, place and political party.  We then contextualize the results of these elections in four ways: (1) historically (how the American Right has developed over time), (2) socially (how political choices emerge from the complexities of everyday lives), (3) comparatively (how “right-wing populism” is similar or different in different societies), and (4) structurally (the role of large structures and big processes like globalization and neo-liberalism).  Placing recent political events in broader social/historical contexts will be challenging and exciting.

Limited to 20 students. Spring semester. Professor Himmelstein.

How to handle overenrollment: preference for sociology and anthropology majors, after that for first and second years

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: emphasis on written work and reading.

SOCI 241 - LEC

Section 01
M 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM CONV 209
W 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM CONV 209

This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
Citizen-Protector: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline Oxford University Press Carlson, Jennifer Amherst Books TBD
The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker University of Chicago Press Cramer, Katherine J.J. Amherst Books TBD
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right New Press Hochschild, Arlie Russell Amherst Books TBD
The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism Oxford University Press Skocpol, Theda Amherst Books TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

Other years: Offered in Fall 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2023