CHASS

The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is pleased to announce its Annual Theme for 2009 -2010: Capitalism.

The term Capitalism most often refers to an economic system in which the means of production are owned by individuals, or private corporations, and these owners gain from transactions in a free market. Seen from a social perspective, capitalism more properly refers to a class system where the main asset most people have is their labor, converted to a commodity, bought and sold. Some see capitalism as fundamentally good – preserving individual freedom and liberty – others see it as an unfair, even dehumanizing, economic and social order.

Capitalism has a complex history. The welfare-state capitalism seen in Europe and to some extent in the United States is a far cry from the laissez-faire capitalism that Karl Marx criticized. In the midst of each new economic crisis, capitalism reinvents itself by finding new ways of accumulation. Today, during the current economic crisis, millions of people have lost billions of dollars in the recent collapse of the American financial system. While many people in California and elsewhere have lost their homes, their retirement investments, and their job security, others will find ways to profit from the crisis.

Of course capitalism is far more conceptually intricate than these simple success/failure, freedom/hierarchy dualities suggest. For this reason, CHASS invites a year-long consideration of capitalism as its theme for the 2009-2010 academic year. Economics and business may be the first disciplines that come to mind when one hears the word. However, in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, every one of our academic departments and programs has questions to ask and inquiries to make. What changes has capitalism gone through since the 19^th century? What different forms does capitalism take across history and across the globe?  What is the relation between economic class and political equality?  What affect does capitalism have on moral relations?  How have artists engaged the marketplace? How does the literature of the world comment on it?

By asking these and other questions in a variety of different classes, on campus talks, exhibits and other contexts, we hope to advance our collective understanding of capitalism and its effects. Perhaps, too, we will uncover the next forms of accumulation.

This year we are pleased to present the CHASS Annual Theme Speakers Series with presentations by Professors Victor Lippit, Economics; Vorris Nunley, English, David Glidden, Philosophy among others. We will have two speakers per quarter.

The inaugural CHASS Annual Theme Film series (in conjunction with the HASS 010: Arts and Ideas Experience) will begin on Tuesday, October 13. We will show two movies a quarter. Each movie will be introduced by a faculty member who will then lead a short conversation after the screening. Our first movie will be Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times introduced by Prof. David Glidden.

We would like to thank the following people who helped develop this year’s Annual Theme: Dean Stephen Cullenberg, Associate Dean Georgia Warnke, Associate Dean Steven Brint, Juliet McMullin, Martin Johnson, Rickerby Hinds, Heidi Brayman Hackel, Freya Schiwy, Devon Hackelton, Elissa Weeks, Colin Westerbeck, Tyler Stallings, Shane Shukis, Nancy Cruz, and Edward (Eddie) Eason.