210. American Economic Development (3). (SS).
This course traces the origins, development, and growth of the American economy and American business institutions from colonization through the present, with a look beyond. It also focuses on our economic system's impact on our society and culture. (Lewis)
250/Poli. Sci. 250. American Institutions and American Political Thought Poli. Sci. 101 or 111 or History 160 and sophomore standing. (4). (SS).
An introduction to the development of American political and economic institutions. Particular attention will be paid to the Founding of the Republic, to the economic transformations of the late 19th century, and to post-New Deal American society. Emphasis will be on primary source materials in American political thought, although some secondary and historical reading will be included. (Chamberlin)
402/Soc. 402. Social Change in America. Soc. 100, 101, 102, 203, or 400. (4). (SS).
This course focuses on the causes and consequences of social change. Through readings on the major perspectives on social change, students will be particularly equipped with the intellectual tools to analyze particular change processes and their outcomes. However, a major component of the course will center on the lived experience of social change; that is, the way social actors (e.g., corporate executives, line supervisors or displaced or retained workers) engaged in or resisting change experience and explain their situations. To bring theory and practice together, students will form research groups to investigate a limited set of case studies in social change (e.g., reindustrialization, neighborhood change, desegregation, environmental degradation or experiments in new forms of industrial relations. The group studies will culminate with representative panels from the different factions in each case and reports on alternative options for social policy. (Thomas)
440/Poli. Sci. 489 Financial Institutions and Economic Change. Econ. 201 and 202. (4). (SS).
This course analyzes the structure, regulation, and role of financial institutions in the American economy. Subjects include: the organization and function of financial institutions; the role of these institutions in national and regional economic change; the nature and consequences of public regulation; and the expected impacts of technological innovation and deregulation. Financial institutions play a vital role in our national and local economics. Their performances in facilitating transactions among savers, investors, and consumers can enhance or inhibit economic activity, opportunity, and change. The organizations performing these tasks are very heterogeneous and function under an extensive array of national and state policies and regulations. The regulations and the technology governing this industry are rapidly changing and will have substantial implications for our economic welfare. Students will study these institutions and their role in our society through analytical readings drawn from economics, political science and finance and through a comparative study of financial institutions in Germany. (Jackson and Thomas)
445. Techniques of the Regulatory State. Poli. Sci. 111. (4). (SS).
This is a course in techniques by which governments regulate private behavior. Its purpose is to explore the dilemmas of regulatory policy, and to help students appreciate the relationships between and among policy, administrative procedure and power. The course will explore the large issues that surround government regulation - for example, whether and on what grounds government intervention into private decision-making is warranted, the tension between government's desire for discretion and flexibility and the underlying idea that the governments must be fair and rational in their dealing with citizens, the problem of designing government programs to deal with areas of risk and uncertainty, and so forth. Mainly, however, the course is designed to be about how government regulation works. We will look at health, safety and environmental regulation; rate regulation; wage, price and rent control; occupational licensing; and subsidy and entitlement programs, with the aim of appreciating the uses and limitations of various techniques, the administrative apparatus that is implied by a choice of one technique over another, the ideas that underlie them, and the way in which regulation interacts with the larger legal order. Materials will be drawn principally from administrative agency and judicial proceedings, with a smattering of secondary sources. Much of the primary material is dense. Class attendance and participation are mandatory. A term paper is required. (Payton)
460. American Industrial Organizations in Transition. Junior standing and permission of instructor. (4). (SS).
The course will examine the current predicament of the American Industrial Organization in the context of its historical evolution and of future trends. Emphasis will be placed on how organizations adapt and survive as an underlying theme in the current industrial transition. While no specific course prerequisites are necessary, some background in economics, organizational psychology, or sociology would be helpful. The course will form an integral part of the American Institutions Program and enrollment in the Internship Program will be necessary. Student evaluation will be based upon a combination of class participation, term papers and exams. A seminar format will be used to encourage student involvement. (Ross)
461. Industrial Relations in the United States: Past Experiences and Future Possibilities Junior standing and permission of instructor. (4). (SS).
This course will focus on the industrial system in the United States: what it is and where it might be going. The first part of the course will be a brief summary of the current American system. This will be followed by a look at the impact of the current economic situation on the American system (i.e., concession bargaining, plant closings, etc.). Then the industrial relations systems in other countries (Western Europe, Japan, and Australia) will be examined as possible new models. Finally, the future of the American system will be discussed in the context of changing economic times and other models. This course, designed for juniors and seniors who have had some previous social science background, will be primarily a lecture format, but hopefully there will be a great deal of interaction and discussion. The grade will be based on a paper and in-class exams. There will be no single text, but rather a series of readings from a variety of sources. (Schwartz)
472. American Family Life in the Past. Junior standing and permission of instructor. (4). (SS).
This course is an undergraduate research seminar which provides an opportunity for students to do original research. Students who have taken the previous lecture course on American Institutions and the Development of the Family (American Institutions/471 History 571) will be encouraged to enroll, but others will be admitted as well. Students will write an original research paper on the interaction between American Institutions and the family using historical sources. The focus of the seminar will be on family life in mid-nineteenth-century Michigan. Students will have an opportunity to utilize an extensive individual-level census data-set on four townships in Washtenaw County in 1860 (about 10,000 cases) that has been developed especially for this seminar. Those who would prefer not to use this machine-readable data-sets may rely more heavily upon the primary literary materials located at the Michigan Historical Collections on North Campus. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on the basic elements of research design and the production of an original term paper that is not only well-researched, but also clearly and concisely written. The grade in the course will be based mainly upon the final research paper although the quality of the student's classroom participation will also be taken into consideration. (Vinovskis)
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