Women,Gender,Sexuality Studies 291C - S-Gender, Race and Capitalism

How does capitalism depend on gender, race and sexuality? In turn, how are gender, race, and sexuality defined through our economic lives? Why are women so often cast as the solution to poverty in the Global South? Is sex work distinct from other types of work? How can we think about the household as the fundamental socio-economic unit in light of queer and feminist critiques of the nuclear family? In this course, we will examine these types of intersections, taking our cue from an interdisciplinary social science literature featuring feminist political economists, theorists of racial capitalism, economic sociologists and anthropologists, and scholar-activists. We will think through both the large scale of global macroeconomic systems, as well as the microlevel of everyday life and popular culture. No prior background in economics or politics is assumed. After considering the historical origins of capitalism, we will survey topics including work, social reproduction and care labor, debt, finance, poverty and development.