82-008-L-ANG41-V-S-SE-0916.20261.001

Literature and Media (Mastermodul): Capitalism, Class, and US Culture: From Industrialisation to Platformisation

Seminar (präsent)

Englisch

15.04.2026 - 17.07.2026

Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaftliche Fakultät

Earnshaw, Sarah

Semesterbegleitende Prüfung

Hausarbeit

25 unbegrenzt

How has capitalism informed US culture and how has culture interpreted, legitimised, contested and shaped ‘American capitalism’ and class relations? Ranging from the late 19th century Gilded Age to the contemporary platform economy, this class explores cultural narratives and imaginaries around work, consumerism, inequality and the ‘American Dream’ in literature, film, television, audio and other media. Examining texts such as Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, postwar advertising, the work of Bruce Springsteen, The Wire (Simon, 2002-2008), and Nomadland (Zhao, 2020), we will consider entanglements of race, gender, migration, technology and empire in US class formation across transitions in American capitalism, moving through industrial expansion and Fordist mass production, the Great Depression and postwar prosperity, to neoliberal restructuring and the ascendance of Big Tech. Analysing historical transformations, struggles, and representations in conversation with contemporary issues around gig work, debt, algorithmic management and automation, in this class we will develop close textual analysis and cultural theory methods while engaging key debates in American Studies.

17.03.2026 -

a.Anmeldbar