Courses Offered
The Center seeks to encourage the study of capitalism across all disciplines at Wake Forest University in order to broaden awareness beyond its traditional conceptions and connotations. Although the classes below are not associated with the Center, click on the titles below to see courses that have been identified as relevant to the study of capitalism in each academic department.
First Year Seminar (FYS)
FYS 100. The Center provides support for the development of courses that foster critical examination of capitalism themes of interest. One such course development effort builds on the very successful Wake Forest First Year Seminar program for freshman. The following seminars, though not all funded through this effort, are representative of the scope of courses that focus on aspects of capitalism.
American Ethnic Studies (AES)
AES 310. Race, Class, and Gender in a Color-blind Society. Examines issues surrounding race, class, and gender in the U.S. Topics include income and wealth, theories of discrimination, public edu cation, gender bias, and patterns of occupational and industrial segregation.
Anthropology (ANT)
ANT 114. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.Investigates and interprets the historic cultural diversity of the world’s peoples through an understanding of economic, social, and political systems; law and order, ritual, symbol, and religion; language and culture; kinship and the family; and modernization and culture change.
ANT 210. Introduction to Latin-American Studies. Introduces the historical, economic, cultural, and social issues that shape Latin America.
ANT 301. Free Trade, Fair Trade: Independent Entrepreneurs in the Global Market. Field-based seminar compares the barriers to market participation experienced by independent entrepreneurs cross-culturally. Free trade policies are contrasted with fair trade practices to determine why so many independent producers have trouble succeeding in a globalizing world.
ANT 337. Economic Anthropology. Examines the relationship between culture and the economy and its implications for applied anthropology. The variable nature and meaning of economic behav ior is examined in societies ranging from non-industrial to post-industrial. Discusses the impact of economic development programs, foreign aid and investment, technology transfer, and a variety of other economic aid programs.
East Asian Languages (EAL)
EAL 275. Survey of East Asian Cultures. Explores the cultural, historical, political, and economic development of China and Japan, with an emphasis on cultural shifts that resulted from the transi tion from pre-industrial societies of the 17th and 18th centuries to world powers of the mid- to late- 20th and early 21st centuries. The interaction between these cultures is also examined.
Economics (ECN)
ECN 207. Intermediate Macroeconomics.Development of macroeconomic concepts of national income, circular flow, income determination, IS-LM analysis, and Phillips curves. Emphasizes con tributions of Keynes and the Keynesian tradition.ECN 211. Macroeconomic Models. Development of formal Keynesian, post-Keynesian, mon etarist, and new classical macro models. Static and dynamic properties of the models are explored.
ECN 221. Public Finance. Examines the economic behavior of government. Includes principles of taxation, spending, borrowing, and debt management.
ECN 222. Monetary Theory and Policy. Investigates the nature of money, the macroeconomic significance of money, financial markets, and monetary policy.
ECN 225. Public Choice. Traditional tools of economic analysis are employed to explore such top ics in political science as political organization, elections, coalition formation, the optimal provision of public goods, and the scope of government.
ECN 226. Theory of Social Choice. Development of Constitutional Economics in establishing rules for governmental and group decision-making by democratic means. Implications for various voting rules are considered in terms of both positive and normative criteria.
ECN 231. Economics of Industry. Analysis of the link between market structure and market performance in U.S. industries from theoretical and empirical viewpoints. Examines the efficiency of mergers, cartels, and other firm behaviors. Case studies may include automobiles, steel, agriculture, computers, sports, and telecommunications.
ECN 232. Antitrust Economics. Analysis of the logic and effectiveness of public policies designed to promote competition in the U.S.
ECN 235. Labor Economics. Theoretical and empirical survey of labor markets. Topics include: the demand and supply of labor, compensating wage differentials, education and training, discrimina tion, unions, public sector employment, earnings inequality, and unemployment.
ECN 241. Natural Resource Economics. Develops the economic theory of natural resource mar kets and explores public policy issues in natural resources and the environment.
ECN 253. Economies in Transition. Theoretical and institutional examination of historically socialist nations and the dilemmas of transition. Special reference to the former Soviet Union.
ECN 258. Economic Growth and Development. Study of the problems of economic growth, with particular attention to the less developed countries of the world.
ECN 261. American Economic Development. Application of economic theory to historical problems and issues in the American economy.
ECN 262. History of Economic Thought. Historical survey of the main developments in eco nomic thought from the Biblical period to the 20th century.
ECN 265. Economic Philosophers. In-depth study of the doctrines and influence of up to three major figures in economics, such as Smith, Marx, and Keynes.
ECN 268. Morals and Markets. Historical survey of individualistic ethical values that have accom panied the development of market economics in the West. Considers critiques of, and alternatives to, these values.
ECN 270. Current Economic Issues. Examines current economic issues using economic theory and empirical evidence. Topics may include recent macroeconomic trends, the distribution of income, minimum wages, immigration, Social Security, war, global climate change, trade, regulation and deregulation, antitrust policy, health care, labor unions, tax reform, educational reform, and others.
Education (EDU)
EDU 310. Race, Class, and Gender in a Color-blind Society.
English (ENG)
ENG 358. Postcolonial Literature. A survey of representative examples of postcolonial literature from geographically diverse writers, emphasizing issues of politics, nationalism, gender and class.
ENG 359. Studies in Postcolonial Literature. Examination of themes and issues in postcolonial literature, such as: globalization, postcolonialism and hybridity, feminism, nationalism, ethnic and religious conflict, the impact of the Cold War, and race and class.
Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise (ESE)
ESE 100. Creativity and Innovation. Interactive seminar introduces students to readings and processes from various disciplines that elucidate the interdisciplinary nature of creativity and enable students to create conditions that stimulate it. Projects and assignments are designed to encourage a “critical creativity” that challenges participants through inquiry, multi-faceted exploration and stra tegic development. Topics examined through writing and design assignments, group projects, and discussions include consciousness, receptivity, risk, ethics, self agency, and social engagement with the express objective of fostering creative potential and its application in all areas of experience.
ESE 101. Foundations of Entrepreneurship. Addresses the challenges of creating and sustaining organizations in today’s global environment. Provides an overview of the role and importance of en trepreneurship in the global economy and in society. Examines how individuals use entrepreneurial skills to craft innovative responses to societal needs. Also listed as BUS 113.
ESE 320. Social Entrepreneurship. Interdisciplinary seminar that introduces the concepts of entrepreneurship with a focus on entrepreneurial activities that further the public good through the integration of core concepts of social and cultural values and ecological sustainability.
ESE 325. Free Trade, Fair Trade: Independent Entrepreneurs in the Global Market. Field-based seminar compares the barriers to market participation experienced by independent entrepreneurs cross-culturally. Free trade policies are contrasted with fair trade practices to determine why so many independent producers have trouble succeeding in a globalizing world.
ESE 335. Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship: Science, Policy and Economics. This team-taught course provides overviews of the most important renewable energy sources. Explores the science, policy and economic issues related to renewable energy and investigates the potential for new markets, new products, and new entrepreneurial opportunities in the marketplace.
German (GER)
GER 321. German Culture and Civilization II. Survey of German culture and civilization from 1871 to the present, with emphasis on contemporary Germany. Conducted in German. Offered spring semester of even years.
Russian (RUS)
RUS 210. The Russians and Their World. Introduces Russian culture and society, with topics ranging from history, religion, art, and literature to contemporary Russian popular music, TV, and film. Taught in Russian.
Health Policy and Administration (HPA)
HPA 150. Introduction to Public Health. Survey of the basic structure of the health care system in the United States. Includes discussion of current issues of public policy toward health, organization of health care delivery, and health system reform. Serves as the introduction to the interdisciplinary minor in health policy and administration. Offered every fall.
History (HST)
HST 108. The Americas and the World. Examines North, Central and South America in global perspectives from premodern times to the present with particular attention to political, economic, social, and cultural developments and interactions.
HST 109. Asia and the World. Overview of Asia (primarily East, Southeast, and South Asia) since 1500 with emphasis on economic, diplomatic, cultural, and religious interactions with the outside world.
HST 110. The Atlantic World since 1500. Examines the major developments that have linked the civilizations bordering the Atlantic Ocean from 1500 to the present. Themes include exploration; commerce; European colonization and indigenous responses; disease; religious conversion and revivalism; mestizo and creole culture; imperial warfare; enlightenment; revolution; slavery and abolition; extractive economies; nationalism; ‘scientific racism’; invented traditions; the black diaspora and negritude; decolonization; the Cold War; segregation and apartheid; dictatorship; neoliberalism; and globalization.
HST 339. Sickness and Health in American Society. Analysis of major trends in health, sick ness, and disease within the broad context of social, political, and economic developments. Examines indigenous healing; colonial medicine; emergence of hospitals and asylums; public health; race, class, and gender issues; and natural versus high-tech approaches to health care in the 20th century.
HST 350. World Economic History: Globalization, Wealth and Poverty, 1500-Present. Explores the growth of globalization and its role in the creation of wealth and poverty in both devel oped and underdeveloped nations. Focus on trade, industrialization, and agricultural and techno logical advances in global contexts.
HST 359. U.S. History from Gilded Age Prosperity to Depression. Political, social, and economic history of the U.S. from 1877 to 1933 with emphasis on industrialization, urbanization, immigration, growth of Big Business, imperialism, Populism, Progressive reform, war depression, and race, class, and gender relations.
HST 360. U.S. History since the New Deal. Political, social, and economic history of the U.S. since 1933 with emphasis on the Depression, wars at home and abroad, unionism, civil rights move ments, countercultures, environmentalism, religion, the Imperial Presidency, and liberalism and conservatism.
HST 361. Economic History of the U.S. The economic development of the U.S. from colonial beginnings to the present.
HST 362. American Constitutional History. Origins of the Constitution, the controversies involving the nature of the Union, and constitutional readjustments to meet the new American industrialism.
HST 380. America at Work. Examines the people who built America from 1750 to 1945. Themes include free labor versus slave labor, the impact of industrialization, the racial and gendered realities of work, and the growth of organized labor and its political repercussions.
Philosophy (PHI)
PHI 160. Introduction to Moral and Political Philosophy. Examines basic concepts and prob lems in moral and political thought, including questions of right and wrong, virtue, equality, justice, individual rights, and the common good.
PHI 161. Medical Ethics. Study of moral problems in the practice of medicine, including informed consent, experimentation on human subjects, truthtelling, confidentiality, abortion, and the alloca tion of scarce medical resources.
PHI 163. Environmental Ethics. Examines ethical issues concerning the environment as they arise in individual lives and public policy.
PHI 164. Contemporary Moral Problems. Study of pressing ethical issues in contemporary life, such as abortion, euthanasia, animal rights, affirmative action, marriage, cloning, pornography, and capital punishment.
PHI 165. Introduction to Philosophy of Law. Examines prominent legal cases and their underly ing principles, with an emphasis on philosophical analysis and moral evaluation. Topics include the requirements for criminal liability, the proper subjects for criminalization, punishment, and freedom of speech and of religion.
PHI 241. Modern Philosophy. Study of the works of influential 17th- and 18th-century European philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, and Hume, with a concentration on theo ries of knowledge and metaphysics.
PHI 352. Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. Examines selected sources embodying the basic concepts of Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, especially as they relate to each other in terms of influence, development, and opposition.
PHI 360. Ethics. Systematic examination of central ethical theories in the Western philosophical tradition. Such theories include Kantian deontology, utilitarianism, Aristotelian virtue ethics, and divine command theory.
PHI 362. Social and Political Philosophy. A systematic examination of the work of selected contemporary and traditional philosophers on topics such as the state, the family, distributive justice, property, liberty, and the common good.
PHI 363. Philosophy of Law. Inquiry into the nature of law and its relation to morality. Classroom discussions of readings from the works of classical and modern authors focus on issues of contem porary concern involving questions of legal principle, personal liberty, human rights, responsibility, justice, and punishment.
Political Science (POL)
POL 216. U.S. Social Welfare Policy. Analysis of U.S. social policymaking and policy outcomes on issues such as welfare, education, health care, and Social Security, with emphasis on historical development and cross-national comparison.
POL 228. The Politics of Public Education. Introduces students to some of the most popular and contentious contemporary education policy debates and discusses what the U.S. school system tells us about the country’s fundamental political commitments.
POL 232. Politics in Russia and Eastern Europe. Analysis of the political, economic, and social patterns of the region, emphasizing the internal dynamics of the political and economic transition processes currently underway.
POL 233. The Politics of Modern Germany. Study of the historical legacy, political behavior, and governmental institutions of contemporary Germany (newly unified Germany).
POL 237. The Comparative Politics of Welfare States. Examines the various ways in which the U.S. and other advanced industrial societies respond to a number of shared “welfare issues,” and craft public policy in areas such as pensions, health care, anti-poverty programs, family stability, and immigration.
POL 238. Comparative Economic Development and Political Change. Overview of the relationship between economic development, socio-structural change, and politics since the creation of the international capitalist system in the 16th century. Organized around case studies of indus trialized democracies, evolving Communist systems and command economies, and “Third World” countries.
POL 239. State, Economy, and International Competitiveness. Introduces a range of impor tant case studies of national economic performance and does so in such a manner as to illustrate the role of public policy in economic performance in a number of leading industrial economies (the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Japan).
POL 248. Chinese Politics. Surveys the political institutions and processes in China (People’s Republic of China and Republic of China). Emphasizes group conflict, elites, ideology, as well as current policy changes in the process of modernization.
POL 253. International Political Economy. Analyzes major issues in the global political economy including theoretical approaches to understanding the tension between politics and economics, mon etary and trade policy, North-South relations, environmentalism, human rights, and democratization.
POL 115. Political Theory. Introduces the central concepts (democracy, liberty, equality, and power) and ideologies (liberalism, conservatism, and socialism) as they have been formulated within some of the main schools of political thought.
POL 270. Ethics and Politics. Investigates the relationship between ethical reasoning and political theory. Representative philosophers include Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Mill, Sidgwick, Green, Ayer, Hare, and McIntyre.
POL 271. Classical Political Thought. Examines the nature and goals of classical political theoriz ing, with attention to its origins in ancient Athens and its diffusion through Rome. Representative writers include Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero.
POL 272. Democratic Theory. Examines the theoretical underpinnings of democracy and some of the critiques of those foundations. Focuses on understanding some of the major theories of democ racy and on how key democratic concepts are defined differently within these various traditions.
POL 273. Marx, Marxism and the Aftermath of Marxism. Examines Marx’s indebtedness to Hegel, his early humanistic writings, and the vicissitudes of 20th-century vulgar Marxism and neo- Marxism in the works of Lenin, Lukacs, Korsch, Horkeimer, Marcuse, and Sartre.
POL 275. American Political Thought. Examines the republican, civic humanistic tradition vs. the liberal, juridical tradition in American political thought from the founding to the present. Read ings from Locke, Sidney, the Federalists and anti-Federalists, Spencer, Dewey, Rawls, and Sandel.
POL 276. Modern Political Thought. Political thought from Machiavelli to the present, including such topics as moral and natural rights, positive and negative freedom, social contract theory, alien ation and citizenship. Selected writings from Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and Rawls.
POL 279. Varieties of Philosophical Liberalism. Study of 20th-century philosophical liberalism such as libertarianism, utilitarianism, liberal utilitarianism, Kantian liberalism and communitarian ism with special focus on rival conceptions of freedom and on utilitarianism and its critics.
Sociology (SOC)
SOC 155. Public Culture in America. Employs critical sociological theories to enable students to understand the social forces responsible for shaping our cultural/leisure life and the effects of our lifestyle on political democracy, social community, and health.
SOC 270. Sociological Theory. Introduction to the classic works of social theory—”classic” not only as time-honored explanations of past events, but also because they provide the intellectual foun dations for contemporary and historical research. Theorists covered include Smith, Wollstonecraft, de Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Freud, Simmel, DuBois, and Goffman.
SOC 303. Business and Society. Historical development, organization, and current problems of business enterprises in American society.
SOC 336. Sociology of Health Care. Analyzes health care systems, including the social organiza tion of medical practice, health care payment, the education of medical practitioners, and the division of the labor in health care.
SOC 360. Social Inequality. Study of structured social inequality with particular emphasis on economic class, social status, and political power.
SOC 362. Work, Conflict, and Change. Changing trends in the U.S. labor force. The individual’s view of work and the effect of large organizations on white- and blue-collar workers. Use of some cross-cultural data.
SOC 363. Global Capitalism. Analyzes industrial organization, including discussion of market rela tions and the behavior of firms, the structure of industrial development, and labor relations and the growth of trade unions.
SOC 364. Political Sociology. Examines the structure and organization of power in society with emphasis on political socialization, political ideology, and the growth of the welfare state.
SOC 365. Technology, Culture, and Change. Examines the interrelated forces that shape change in organizations and societies; from the emergence of capitalist markets to the systems, controls, and information revolution of the 21st century.
Business and Enterprise Management (BEM)
BEM 261. Legal Environment of Business. Study of the legal environment in which business decisions are made in profit and nonprofit organizations. Emphasis is on how the law develops and how economic, political, social, international, and ethical considerations influence this develop ment. Includes an overview of private law topics (such as torts, contracts, and agency) and public regulation of the employment relationship, the competitive marketplace, and the environment.
BEM 315. Seminar in Comparative Management. Focuses on the global issues in management. Emphasis is on different management philosophies and styles practiced in an international context. Conducted in a seminar format, the course examines the complexities involved in operating in dif ferent cultures and the implications which these cultural differences have on managing organizations and employee behavior.
BEM 365. Ethics and Business Leadership. An interdisciplinary exploration of ethics applied to business. Lectures, readings, and a case-based approach introduce the necessary background infor mation. Examples of ethical and unethical situations are used to develop an understanding of how an efficient and effective business can also be ethical. (One-half of enrollment spaces are available for non-Calloway School students)
BEM 375. Capitalism—Foundations and Contemporary Issues. Explores the mechanics of the capitalist system, its moral and intellectual underpinnings, the principal arguments for and chal lenges to capitalism and free markets, and the obligations of free institutions in society. This will be accomplished through an examination of the work of leading thinkers about capitalism, econom ics, free markets, and the moral structure of free society—including a reading of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. These ideas will be applied to current business issues such as government regulation of industry versus laissez-faire, corporate social responsibility and the stockholders versus stakeholders debate, the ability of free markets to solve issues of health care or the environment, the viability of social enterprise, and the role of capitalism in development and progress in less-developed nations.
BEM 377. Entrepreneurship. Exposes students to multiple facets of entrepreneurship and teaches about creating new ventures in a hands-on fashion. A broad range of ideas, readings, and cases en able students to understand the ambiguous and highly-charged environment of entrepreneurship, the contribution of entrepreneurial endeavors to business and society, and the characteristics of successful new venture startups. Focuses on three areas that define successful entrepreneurial pursuit of new for-profit, nonprofit, and social enterprise initiatives: recognizing opportunity, management, and assembling resources. The completion of a team-based business plan for a new venture is usually required. Guest speakers present their views of entrepreneurial organizations based on real-world experiences—startup, financing, legal, transition, failure, etc.
Finance (FIN)
FIN 234. International Finance. Examines the impact of international financial economics on markets and the management of both domestic and multinational firms. Emphasis is on institutional and environmental factors influencing trade, foreign exchange, and capital acquisition and alloca tion.
FIN 237. Financial Markets and Institutions. Provides students with an understanding of the structure and functioning of U.S. and international financial markets. Topics covered in the class: banking theory, the roles of traditional and non-traditional financial intermediaries, the impact of securitization, international financial competition, financial system stability, and financial regulation. Although primarily targeted toward finance majors, the course is suitable for business and econom ics majors wishing to understand our financial system.
