The University of Texas at Dallas Summer, 2006

Dr. Dachang Cong dccong@utdallas.edu

Class Meeting Time: Tues.: 6 – 10 PM 972-883-2297

AMS 3326/521
THE U.S. IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Course Description
This course examines the new realities and new challenges in the early 21st-century America
after a thoughtful study of the trends and events as witnessed in the late 20th century. The course
offers a rethinking of cultural, economic, legal, medical, political, and social institutions. It aims
to decode why the bubbles of the 1990s burst soon after the no-show of Y2K. With the stock
market meltdown, the 9.11 terrorist attacks, and the Enron scandal, American society started to
face a wide array of crises and challenges in the beginning of the new century. Why is the job
market still sluggish? How does the digital revolution reshape culture and social order? What is
the new financial system? What is the future of social security? How can we balance security
with civil liberties? What is the next phase of the computer revolution? How can we embrace the
biomedical revolution with prudence? How are we going to afford new medical technologies?
How can we reform the health care system for the public good? What is the future of global
capitalism? What are the future roles of the U.S. in the world community? And how can
Corporate America rise again with higher ethical standards? Those are some of the questions to
be tackled in class. There are no prerequisites. Poor attendance and late work will impact on the
grade negatively.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Identify and describe new realities and new challenges in the early 21st century.
2. Offer critical and constructive comment on the crises in both medical care and
corporate governing with anthropological and sociological perspectives.
3. Comprehend the dynamic interaction between culture and economy.

Required Readings
Barlett, Donald, and James Steele.
Critical Condition.
Fishman, Charles.
The Wal-Mart Effect.
Levitt, Steven.
Freakonomics.

Methods of Measuring Learning

Each student is required to write a 10-page-long term paper about a crisis in American society
and economy. The paper is based on original/ethical ethnography. He or she is also required to
complete an exam (two essay questions).
1) Term paper 50% of final grade
2) Exam 50% of final grade
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Topics and Reading Assignments

I Orientation May 16
Understanding New Realities with Anthropological and Sociological perspectives
Doing Ethnography

II Shifting from GM to Microsoft May 23

Decoding American Corporate Culture (1)
Understanding Wal-Mart (1)

Fisherman. The Wal-Mart Effect, Chapters 1 - 3.

III Shifting from Microsoft to Wal-Mart May 30

Decoding American Corporate Culture (2)
Understanding Wal-Mart (2)

Fisherman. The Wal-Mart Effect, Chapters 4 - 6.

IV Google and EBay June 6

Decoding American Corporate Culture (3)
Understanding Wal-Mart (3)

Fisherman. The Wal-Mart Effect, Chapters 7 - 9 and Epilogue.

*Prospectus (50 words) for term paper due

V Examining Health Care (1) June 13

Social Security

Barlett and Steele. Critical Condition, chapters 1 and 2.

VI Examining Health Care (2) June 20

The Bubbles in the 1990s

Barlett and Steele. Critical Condition, chapters 3 and 4.

VII Examining Health Care (3) June 27

Biomedical Ethics

Barlett and Steele. Critical Condition, chapters 5 and 6.

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VIII Reading American Culture, Economy, and Society (1) July 11

Deciphering the Financial System (1)
The New Economy and the Digital Revolution
21st-Century Scenarios

Levitt. Freakonomics, Intro. and Chapters 1 - 2.

IX Reading American Culture, Economy, and Society (2) July 12

Deciphering the Financial System (2)
The Job Market and Career Development

Levitt. Freakonomics, Chapters 3 - 5.

** Take-home exam questions to be distributed

X Reading American Culture, Economy, and Society (3) July 18

Deciphering the Financial System (3)
U.S. in the World Community
Conclusion

Levitt. Freakonomics, Chapter 6 and Epilogue.

XI Term Paper and Take-Home Exam Due July 25