Politics 166 - American Dream as Ideology

This reading-intensive course examines the principal tenets of the American Dream (individualism, equal opportunity, and 'pursuit of happiness'), its roots in the Protestant Ethic, its relationship with immigration, race, ethnicity, citizenship, upward mobility, income inequality, and the 'politics of inclusion' offered by American Dream talk in contemporary American political rhetoric. Throughout the course we will examine the problems and prospects associated with the American Dream as an 'ideology of success.'