Primitive Accumulation: The Beginnings of Capitalism
AMST 207
Spring 2025 not offered
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Course Cluster and Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory Certificate |
Karl Marx wrote in Capital, Volume I, "The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signaled the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production." This course will address the violent beginnings of capitalism from the perspective of the Americas and their connections to other parts of the world. By addressing class struggle, imperial expansion, and environmental degradation, we will analyze the emergence of an unprecedented mode of production that now dominates the world and threatens human existence. But this will not be a simplistic history of good and evil, a moralizing tale. We will unpack the complex historical process and the overwhelming historical forces that go beyond the moral choices of individual human beings. We will look into the interactions between society and nature to reflect on how capital has made an indelible mark in human lives and the rest of living beings on our planet. We will study primary and secondary sources to reconstruct the history of extraction and exploitation that gave birth to the modern era. |
Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AMST |
Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (AMST) |
Major Readings:
Major readings: Karl Marx, Capital Camilla Townsend, Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs Tessa Murphy, The Creole Archipelago: Race and Border in the Colonial Caribbean Jennifer Morgan, Reckoning with Slavery: Gender, Kinship, and Capitalism in the Early Black Atlantic Jason W. Moore, Capitalism in the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital James Belich, Replenishing the Earth: The Settler Revolution and the Rise of the Angloworld
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Examinations and Assignments:
Examinations and assignments: Take-Home Essays Classroom Activities |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Additional requirements and/or comments: |
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