GOVT 3012 - [The Politics of Poverty in the U.S.]

(crosslisted) AMST 3012
(SBA-AS, SSC-AS)

Fall. Not offered: 2023-2024. Next offered: 2024-2025. 4 credits. Student option grading.

J. Michener.

Poverty is a phenomenon of enduring importance with significant implications for democratic governance. This course explores contemporary poverty in America, with a particular emphasis on its political causes and consequences. What is the proper role of government in addressing poverty? Under what conditions are the poor able to gain power despite their relative lack of privilege? What is the relationship between race and poverty? How do notions of “culture” shape conceptualizations of the poor? We will tackle these questions by drawing on insights from seminal texts in political science and sociology, supplemented with journalistic accounts of poverty. (AM)