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AMS 3326/521
THE U.S. IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Course Description
This course examines the new realities and new challenges in the early 21st-century America
after a thoughtful study of the trends and events as witnessed in the late 20th century. The course
offers a rethinking of cultural, economic, legal, medical, political, and social institutions. It aims
to decode why the bubbles of the 1990s burst soon after the no-show of Y2K. With the stock
market meltdown, the 9.11 terrorist attacks, and the Enron scandal, American society started to
face a wide array of crises and challenges in the beginning of the new century. Why is the job
market still sluggish? How does the digital revolution reshape culture and social order? What is
the new financial system? What is the future of social security? How can we balance security
with civil liberties? What is the next phase of the computer revolution? How can we embrace the
biomedical revolution with prudence? How are we going to afford new medical technologies?
How can we reform the health care system for the public good? What is the future of global
capitalism? What are the future roles of the U.S. in the world community? And how can
Corporate America rise again with higher ethical standards? Those are some of the questions to
be tackled in class. There are no prerequisites. Poor attendance and late work will impact on the
grade negatively.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Identify and describe new realities and new challenges in the early 21st century.
2. Offer critical and constructive comment on the crises in both medical care and
corporate governing with anthropological and sociological perspectives.
3. Comprehend the dynamic interaction between culture and economy.
Required Readings
Barlett, Donald, and James Steele.
Critical Condition.
Fishman, Charles.
The Wal-Mart Effect.
Levitt, Steven.
Freakonomics.
I Orientation May 16
Understanding New Realities with Anthropological and Sociological perspectives
Doing Ethnography