Class number:
2313
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Title: Debt and American Citizenship |
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Department: Political Science |
Career: Undergraduate |
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Component: Seminar |
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Session: Regular |
Instructor's Permission Required: No |
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Grading Basis: Regular |
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Units: 1.00 |
Enrollment limited to 18 |
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Current enrollment: 17 |
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Available seats: 1 |
Start date: Tuesday, September 6, 2022 |
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End date: Wednesday, December 21, 2022 |
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Mode of Instruction: In Person |
Schedule: MW: 10:00AM-11:15AM, MC - 313 |
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Instructor(s): Laws, Serena |
Prerequisite(s): None |
Distribution Requirement: Meets Social Sciences Requirement |
Note: This course is a Sophomore/Junior Seminar |
Course Description:
This course considers the connections between debt and American citizenship, historically and in the present. We begin by examining the important role of debt in the form of indentured servitude as a key means for populating the American colonies. We then explore the gradual transformation of debt from a highly stigmatized condition to a routine part of life for most Americans through home mortgages, student loans and credit card debt. We consider how debt has been associated with decreased status-from debtors' prisons to low credit scores-yet also linked to creating opportunity, as with political movements demanding credit access for disadvantaged populations. Throughout the course we will be attentive to the role of politics and public policy in creating, mediating, and shaping debt relationships. |