Teaching Economic Inequality and Capitalism in Contemporary America

This book discusses pedagogical solutions that enable students to see how capitalist processes and economic inequalities intersect and shape our assumptions and behaviours. The contributors provide thoughtful reflections on the struggles and opportunities instructors face in teaching about these topics while competing against the invisibility of capitalist forces and prevalent social myths, such as "anyone who works hard can achieve". This book will not only help instructors empower students to recognize economic injustice and its interaction with capitalist organization, but also develops and acts on transformative solutions. Through analysis of the classed dimensions of the current political, economics, and cultural climate, as well as presenting novel lesson plans and classroom activities, this book is of great value for college and university professors.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-vii Introduction (Walda Katz-Fishman)....Pages 1-10 Front Matter ....Pages 11-11 ‘Teaching Naked’ in Late Capitalism: Instructors’ Personal Narratives and Classroom Self-disclosure as Pedagogical Tools (Danielle Docka-Filipek)....Pages 13-25 Untold Stories: Bringing Class into the Classroom (Adj Marshall, Betsy Leondar-Wright)....Pages 27-40 ‘Self-made’ Success on the Private Dole: An Illustration of the Reproduction of Capitals (Roxanne Gerbrandt, Ann Strahm)....Pages 41-53 Financial Stumbles, Consumer Bankruptcy, and the Sociological Imagination (Deborah Thorne)....Pages 55-66 Front Matter ....Pages 67-67 Capitalism 101: Teaching First-Year Students How to View the Social World Through the Lens of Marxist Theory (Laura Earles)....Pages 69-79 Teaching Global Inequality Through the World of Commodities (Eric M. Edwards)....Pages 81-90 Radical Pedagogical Homesteading: Returning the ‘Species’ to Our ‘Being’ (Phoebe Godfrey)....Pages 91-101 Socialist Grading (David I. Backer)....Pages 103-109 Front Matter ....Pages 111-111 Overcoming Students’ Fear: Scaffolding to Teach Money and Society (Stephanie L. Bradley)....Pages 113-124 Capitalism in the Classroom: Confronting the Invisibility of Class Inequality (Charlotte A. Kunkel)....Pages 125-130 Experiencing the Outcomes of Economic Inequality in the Day-to-Day Workings of the Classroom (Susan Machum)....Pages 131-143 Teaching Economic Inequality and Capitalism in Contemporary America Using Resources from the Federal Government (Andrew E. Kersten)....Pages 145-156 Teaching Social Inequality Through Analysis of Hidden Assumptions in Non-Academic Publications (Pidi Zhang)....Pages 157-167 Participatory Action Research as Problem-Based Learning: A Course Study of Rural Poverty, Low-Income Housing, and Environmental Justice (Leontina Hormel, Cynthia Ballesteros, Haylee Brister)....Pages 169-182 Inequality and Violence (Barbara H. Chasin)....Pages 183-195 Front Matter ....Pages 197-197 Intersectional Marginalities in Rural Teacher Preparation: Teaching Beyond “What I Am Able to See Visibly” (Vanessa Anthony-Stevens)....Pages 199-211 Economic Inequality and Race: No, It Can’t Be that Bad... (Paul R. Croll)....Pages 213-220 Irreversible Punishment: Teaching About Inequalities in Capital Punishment (Kristine Levan)....Pages 221-232 Making Room for a Postcolonial Critique in the Introductory STS Curriculum (Dilshani Sarathchandra)....Pages 233-241 Utilizing Social Science Theories, Findings, and Comparative Analyses to Create a Framework for Understanding Economic Inequality” (Derek J. Robey, Jason P. Robey)....Pages 243-254 Front Matter ....Pages 255-255 Capitalism and the Cost of Textbooks: The Possibilities of Open Source Materials (Annie Gaines)....Pages 257-266 Writing Against Ideology: Exploring Strategies that Resist Assessment Orthodoxy in the Classroom (Joshua Olsberg, Raphi Rechitsky)....Pages 267-282 Lessons on Inequality and Capitalism: Perspectives from a Community College (Peter J. Wruck)....Pages 283-290 Capitalism, Racism, and the Neoliberal University: The Case of the University of Missouri (Mizzou) (Rose M. Brewer)....Pages 291-299 Against the “Institutional Real”: The Structural and Cultural Foundations of Corporate Higher Education and the Challenge to Developing Politically Engaged Students (Corey Dolgon)....Pages 301-319 Back Matter ....Pages 321-380 "This book discusses pedagogical solutions that enable students to see how capitalist processes and economic inequalities intersect and shape our assumptions and behaviours. The contributors provide thoughtful reflections on the struggles and opportunities instructors face in teaching about these topics while competing against the invisibility of capitalist forces and prevalent social myths, such as 'anyone who works hard can achieve.' This book will not only help instructors empower students to recognize economic injustice and its interaction with capitalist organization, but also develops and acts on transformative solutions. Through analysis of the classed dimensions of the current political, economics, and cultural climate, as well as presenting novel lession plans and classroom activities, this book is of great value for college and university professors"--Back cover Annotation This book discusses pedagogical solutions that enable students to see how capitalist processes and economic inequalities intersect and shape our assumptions and behaviours. The contributors provide thoughtful reflections on the struggles and opportunities instructors face in teaching about these topics while competing against the invisibility of capitalist forces and prevalent social myths, such as "anyone who works hard can achieve". This book will not only help instructors empower students to recognize economic injustice and its interaction with capitalist organization, but also develops and acts on transformative solutions. Through analysis of the classed dimensions of the current political, economics, and cultural climate, as well as presenting novel lesson plans and classroom activities, this book is of great value for college and university professors