Teresa Ghilarducci

Professor of Economics

 

 

 

The Economics of Desire and Work 

 

This class will examine theories of consumption and economic systems that produce materialism, debt, and particular distributions of paid time off from holidays, retirement, and weekends. Some emphasis will be on the nature of work and the production systems that maintain a spend – work cycle. We examine the link between happiness and material wants and needs. The class is oriented towards learning various oral communication skills and we will merge material from the economics, history and literature.

 

Texts:

 

The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, And The New Consumer. By Juliet B. Schor, Basic Books

 Luxury Fever: Money and Happiness in an Era of Excess by Robert H. Frank, Princeton University Press

Grading Policy. The College of Arts and Letters wants students to learn oral communication skills. This is one-step in that process. Two-thirds of the class grade will be based on in structured class participation and on performance as examiner and examinee. The Midterm and final will be oral examinations. In one 20 minute segment you are the examiner and in the other you are examined. I, the professor, sit in and am silent in each one. Your grade depends on:

·         Defining the issue

·         Identified controversy or different perspectives

·         Referred to material read in class, scholarly authorities, personal experience, comments and views from other students

·         Solicited and connected arguments.

·         Seeks truth through dialogue

 

 

 

Date

 

Subject

 

Reading and activity for the lecture day (All readings are in the Reader unless it refers to chapters in your books.)

19-Jan

Forms of Speech

·         Debate Curriculum,

·         Leading discussions,

·         Chapter One: “Opportunity Knocks” from the Lost Art of the Great Speech

24-Jan

Inequal-ity

·         Fastest Growing Occupations (BLS)

·         Disposable Workers, Magdoff and Magdoff. Monthly Review April 2004

·         “So Far Economic Recovery Tilts to the Highest Americans, Wall Street Journal 7/20/05 p. 1. (Jon Hilsenrath and Sholnn Freeman

26-Jan

 

Inequality Exercise reported, Causes of Inequality

   31-Jan

Poverty

*Poverty and Living Standards  -- worksheets

2-Feb

Work

 “Alienated Labor” Karl Marx, 1844

Fredrick Taylor, Scientific Management

7-Feb

 

FEB 6. CLOCK WORK MONDAY Discuss

9-Feb

Sweatshops

·         “The Unsettling Price of Low Cost Clothes”

·         “More Jobs, Worse Work” Stephen Roach, New York Times, 7/22/04

14-Feb

 

·         “China Trade and Progress,” Robert Samuelson, Newsweek

·         AFL-CIO TO Press Bush for Penalities Against China

·         “Human Rights Accuses Coke” June 10,2004 Rocky Mountain

·         “Local 226: The Culinary New York Times 6/3/04

16-Feb

 

·         from Taking Sides, “Should we Sweat Sweatshops” 

·         A Study of Toil and Trouble

21-Feb

 

·         “Behind Globalizations Glitz” The Nation

23-Feb

 

Debate on Sweatshops

28-Feb

 

Debate on Sweatshops

2-Mar

 

Debate on Sweatshops

7-Mar

 

Overspent American, Juliet Schor

9-Mar

 

Overspent American

14-Mar

 

Break

Overspent American

16-Mar

 

Break

21-Mar

 

MARCH 20 THE CORPORATION

Financial Times July 16, 2005 Saturday

Laugh? we nearly cried Hilarious and sometimes obscene documentaries  tim Harford

23-Mar

 

Oral Midterms

28-Mar

 

Oral Midterms

30-Mar

 

Luxury Fever

4-Apr

 

Luxury Fever

6-Apr

 

   No class to make up partially for the mandatory films

11-Apr

 

“The Price of Parsimony” Adrian Le Blanc, New York Times 6/6/04 

13-Apr

 

Consumption and Happiness, Amitava Dutt 

18-Apr

 

·         Not A Fairy Tail: Once upon a $20,00 Mattress

·         Marx, The Commodity, from vol. 1. Capital

20-Apr

 

·         Wanting and Liking in Happiness by Daniel Nettle “

25-Apr

What is To be Done

·         Exiting the Squirrel Cage. Schor

·         The New Politics of Consumption, Schor

27-Apr

 

·         Presentations

2-May

 

Oral Exams

 

SIGN UP SHEET

Date

 

Assignments  

19-Jan

 

24-Jan

·         Topic: how does the reading relate to inequality

·         Presenter for Fastest Growing Occupations (BLS)__________________

·         Disposable Workers,  ____________________________________

·         “So Far Economic Recovery____________________________________

 

26-Jan

.

31-Jan

Seven Volunteers from each group to present findings on Poverty and Living Standards  -- worksheets

2-Feb

 “Alienated Labor____________________________________Fredrick Taylor, Scientific Management ____________________________________

7-Feb

FEB 6. CLOCK WORK MONDAY

Discuss ____________________________________

 

9-Feb

·         Discussion leader

·         Presenter – Roach ____________________________________

·         POV of EMPLOYER ____________________________________ with “The Unsettling Price of Low Cost Clothes”

·         POV OF AMERICAN WORKER ____________________________________

 

14-Feb

·         POV BUSH OFFICIAL ____________________________________

·         POV AFL_CIO “____________________________________AFL-

16-Feb

·         Discussion Leader _________________

·         Present PRO______________________

·         CON_________________________

 

21-Feb

·         “Behind Globalizations Glitz” The Nation

·         POV OF TOURIST

·         POV OF WORKER 

 

23-Feb

Debate on Sweatshops

28-Feb

Debate on Sweatshops

2-Mar

Debate on Sweatshops

7-Mar

Presenter _______________________

Chapters 1 – 3 in Overspent American, Juliet Schor

9-Mar

Presenter _______________________

Overspent American

14-Mar

Break

16-Mar

Break

21-Mar

MARCH 20 THE CORPORATION

Financial Times July 16, 2005 Saturday

Laugh? we nearly cried Hilarious documentaries  tim Harford

23-Mar

Oral Midterms

28-Mar

Oral Midterms

30-Mar

 

4-Apr

 

6-Apr

·          

11-Apr

Presenter _______________________

 “The Price of Parsimony” Adrian Le Blanc, New York Times 6/6/04 

13-Apr

Presenter _______________________

Consumption and Happiness, Amitava Dutt 

18-Apr

Presenter POV OF CONSUMER  _______________________

Presenter POV OF WORKER __________________________

·         Not A Fairy Tail: Once upon a $20,00 Mattress

·         Marx, The Commodity, from vol. 1. Capital

20-Apr

·         _______________________Wanting and Liking in Happiness

25-Apr

Presenter POV OF CONSUMER  _______________________

Presenter POV OF WORKER __________________________

Presenter POV OF EMPLOYER _______________________

Presenter POV OF GOVERNMENT________________________

·         Exiting the Squirrel Cage. Schor 

·         The New Politics of Consumption, Schor

 

Small Groups 

 

Name of Person Debating ______________________________
NAME OF EVALUATOR________________________________________
DEBATE JUDGMENTS: (each item will be judged:  1 = poor to fair ;2 = adequate; 3 = good to excellent)
                                                                                                                               SCORE 
Does the speaker identify the thesis at beginning of the presentation? Do you know at the onset what the speaker will set out to prove?   
 
 
 
 
A good communicator raises the level of curiosity of the listener; this is done with an interesting metaphor, turn of phrase.
 
 
 
 
 
How many arguments does the speaker make for her or his argument? 
 
 
 
 
Did the speaker conclude well, repeating the point in a different way that emphasizes the point? 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes: 
 
Comments:  
 
 
1-minute rebuttal 
Did the rebuttal refer to arguments made by the other side
 
 
 
Did the rebuttal provide new evidence? 
 
 
Comments: