Fall 2021  |  POL 3489W Section 001: Citizens, Consumers, and Corporations (22848)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/07/2021 - 12/15/2021
Wed 06:20PM - 08:50PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hanson Hall 1-107
Enrollment Status:
Open (34 of 45 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Corporations are among the most powerful actors in the global political economy. They employ millions of people, produce a variety of goods, and have massive effects on the ecological and social environments in which they do business. How do ordinary people act in order to hold corporations accountable for the effects that their activities have on communities and individuals? This course focuses on two ways that people have mobilized to counter corporate power--as citizens and as consumers. When people mobilize as citizens, they put pressure on corporations through the political system--e.g. through mass protests, lobbying politicians, and pursuing claims through the courts. When people mobilize as consumers, they use the power of their purchasing decisions to encourage corporations to change their behavior. We will explore these different modes of action through an examination of corporate social responsibility/sweatshops, the industrial food system in the US, and the privatization of life (e.g. genes), water, and war.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?caraway+POL3489W+Fall2021
Class Description:
Corporations are among the most powerful actors in the global political economy. They employ millions of people, produce a variety of goods, and have massive effects on the ecological and social environments in which they do business. How do ordinary people act in order to hold corporations accountable for the effects that their activities have on communities and individuals? This course focuses on two ways that people have mobilized to counter corporate power--as citizens and as consumers. When people mobilize as citizens, they put pressure on corporations through the political system--e.g. through mass protests, lobbying politicians, and pursuing claims through the courts. When people mobilize as consumers, they use the power of their purchasing decisions to encourage corporations to change their behavior. We will explore these different modes of action through an examination of corporate social responsibility/sweatshops, the industrial food system in the US, and the privatization of life (e.g. genes), water, and war.
Grading:
25% Final Exam
50% Reports/Papers
25% Class Participation
Exam Format:
The final exam will be an essay exam.
Class Format:
40% Lecture
15% Film/Video
30% Discussion
15% Small Group Activities
Workload:
80-100 Pages Reading Per Week
1 Final Exam (essay format)
2 short papers (about 9 pages total)
2 Homework Assignment(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/22848/1219
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
1 April 2019

ClassInfo Links - Fall 2021 Political Science Classes

To link directly to this ClassInfo page from your website or to save it as a bookmark, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3489W&term=1219
To see a URL-only list for use in the Faculty Center URL fields, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3489W&term=1219&url=1
To see this page output as XML, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3489W&term=1219&xml=1
To see this page output as JSON, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3489W&term=1219&json=1
To see this page output as CSV, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3489W&term=1219&csv=1
Schedule Viewer
8 am
9 am
10 am
11 am
12 pm
1 pm
2 pm
3 pm
4 pm
5 pm
6 pm
7 pm
8 pm
9 pm
10 pm
s
m
t
w
t
f
s
?
Class Title