All readings should be completed before class on the date they appear on the syllabus (this means you should have read “Conspicuous Leisure” before class on Wednesday, 1/11). Unless otherwise noted, all assignments should be submitted to the appropriate folder on Sakai before class time on the date that they are due.
| Date | Readings and Assignments |
| Unit I: Defining the Gilded Age, Then and Now | |
| M 1/9 | Introductions |
| W 1/11 | Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class, “Conspicuous Leisure” (course reader) Introductory blog post due Introductory reflection due |
| F 1/13 | Veblen, “Conspicuous Consumption” (course reader) |
| M 1/16 | No class |
| W 1/18 | Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, “Introduction,” “The Capital-Labot Split in the Twenty-First Century” (course reader) |
| Unit II: Muckraking | |
| F 1/20 | Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 1-80 |
| M 1/23 | Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 81-204 |
| W 1/25 | Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 205-296 |
| F 1/27 | Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 298-388 |
| M 1/30 | Eric Schlosser, Foreword to The Jungle, vii-xv Close reading due |
| W 2/1 | Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, 1-49 |
| F 2/3 | Ehrenreich,Nickel and Dimed, 50-119 |
| M 2/6 | Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed, 120-238 |
| W 2/8 | Cecilia Tichi, Exposés and Excess: Muckraking in America, 1900/2000, “From The Jungle to Fast Food Nation: American Déjà Vu” (course reader) |
| F 2/10 | Tichi, Exposés and Excess, “Muckrakers c. 1900: Civic Passions, ‘Righteous Indignation’” (course reader) Group 1 blog posts due |
| Unit III: Environmentalism | |
| M 2/13 | David Stradling, Conservation in the Progressive Era: Classic Texts, vii-41 |
| W 2/15 | David Stradling, Conservation in the Progressive Era, 43-72 |
| F 2/17 | David Stradling, Conservation in the Progressive Era, 73-101 Mid-semester reflection due |
| M 2/27 | Mary Austin, “The Land of Little Rain” and “The Scavengers” (course reader) |
| W 3/1 | Austin, “Water Borders” and “Other Water Borders” (course reader) |
| F 3/3 | Paolo Bacigalupi, The Water Knife, 4-79 Rhetorical analysis due |
| M 3/6 | Bacigalupi, The Water Knife, 80-220 |
| W 3/8 | Bacigalupi, The Water Knife, 221-295 |
| F 3/10 | Bacigalupi, The Water Knife, 296-371 Paper proposal due Group 2 blog posts due |
| Unit IV: Race and Naturalism | |
| M 3/13 | Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Sport of the Gods, 321-368 |
| W 3/15 | Dunbar, The Sport of the Gods, 368-433 |
| F 3/17 | No class |
| M 3/20 | Shelley Fisher Fishkin and David Bradley, “General Introduction,” The Sport of the Gods, ix-xxv Fishkin and Bradley, Introduction to The Sport of the Gods, 297-318 Dunbar, “The Race Question Discussed” and “The Fourth of July and Race Outrages,” 260-267 and 293-294 Paper draft due |
| W 3/22 | Thomas L. Morgan, “Black Naturalism, White Determinism: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Naturalist Strategies” |
| F 3/24 | The Wire, episodes 1-3 Last day to turn in revised work for comments |
| M 3/27 | The Wire, episodes 4-7 Group 3 blog posts due |
| W 3/29 | The Wire, episodes 8-10 |
| F 3/31 | The Wire, episodes 11-13 |
| M 4/3 | Frederic Jameson, “Realism and Utopia in The Wire” |
| W 4/5 | Ava DuVerney, 13th Final reflection due |
| F 4/7 | Final Paper due Last day to turn in revised work for a grade |
| Exam week | Final exam |