WMGS 340 - Race, Gender and the Politics of Poverty in the U

Institution:

Trinity College

Subject:

Description:

Images such as the lazy, irresponsible and sexually promiscuous "welfare queen" or the welfare-abusing "illegal" immigrant dominate contemporary U.S. political discourse about poverty. Not only do these images work to criminalize women of color, but they locate the origins of economic inequality in the cultural behaviors of the poor themselves. This course traces the historical emergence and development of these images of a "culture of poverty" in order to analyze how interlocking structures of race, gender, sexuality and capitalism have shaped social science approaches to poverty in the U.S. In particular, the course draws on historical analysis, political theory, and cultural studies to examine how contemporary understandings of poverty, deservingness, citizenship rights and obligations, and U.S. national identity gain their meaning through discourses of race, gender and sexuality. Specific issues we will consider include but are not limited to globalization, immigration and the feminization of poverty; recent changes in U.S. welfare policy; reproductive rights and population control; and women of color and the criminal justice sy 1.00 units, Seminar

Credits:

1.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.Trincoll.edu

Phone Number:

(860) 297-2000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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