How America Became a Right-Wing Nation: Lessons from the 1970s

David Gibbs
Spring 2023
Fridays |  
10 AM – 12 PM
February 3, 10, 17, 24, March 3, 17, 24, 31, April 7, and 14, 2023
Course Format: Hybrid
Location: Main Campus
Tuition: $295

Attend In Person OR Online

The decade of the 1970s represented a turning point in US politics, which shifted in a rightward direction toward free market economics at the domestic level, combined with more militaristic and interventionist policies overseas. The course explores the origins of this political shift, with a special emphasis on the role of elite business interests in orchestrating the project. We will look at how the shift played out in such diverse areas as economic policy, cultural politics, and foreign/military policy. The course will also explore how the rightward shift in US domestic politics helped generate the globalization of the economy and the off-shoring of US jobs. I argue that many of the sources of political conflicts in twenty-first century America — including conflicts over stagnant living standards, overseas military intervention, free trade, and cultural/social issues — had their origins in the 1970s.

Hybrid Course Format

  • All classes will be delivered in-person and online via live video streaming. Students will enroll in their preferred format during registration.
  • In-Person classes will be held in the Rubel Room at the University of Arizona’s Poetry Center (1508 E Helen St, Tucson, AZ 85721). Enrollment for in-person classes is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. All student enrolled to attend in person also have complete online access and may choose to attend one or all class sessions remotely if desired.
  • Online students may attend all classes via live video streaming and will be able to participate in all course Q&A sessions with the professor in real time. A high-speed internet connection and a device capable of running Zoom are required to connect. Online access will be password protected and only available to enrolled students.
  • Class Recordings – All HSP classes regardless of format are recorded and available for every enrolled student to watch for the duration of the course and one month after the last class session. This option is offered to aid students who may be unable to attend the live class times but desire to enroll and participate asynchronously. We hope this option also aids students who are traveling or have an important appointment that conflicts with a class session to stay connected and engaged with the course material.

Registration Will Open Online:
Monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2022, at 8 AM (AZ Time)

Required Reading
  • David M. Kotz, The Rise and Fall of Neoliberal Capitalism. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015.

Meet Your Instructor

Professor

David Gibbs has taught at UA for the past 32 years in both the political science and history departments. His doctorate in political science is from MIT, with a MacArthur Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. He is now a Professor of History at UA. He is completing his third book, which focuses on the rightward shift in US domestic politics. He has published extensively in academic journals as well as in newspapers and magazines.

Location

POETRY CENTER
Dorothy Rubel Room
1508 E Helen
Tucson, AZ 85721
United States

Located on the SE corner of Helen Street and Vine Avenue, one block north of Speedway and three blocks west of Campbell Ave.

Street map image of Poetry Center

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