The University of Texas at Dallas Summer, 2005

Dr. Dachang Cong dccong@utdallas.edu

Office Hours: M and W: 10 AM - 12 PM, GR 2.210 972-883-2297
Class Meeting Time: T: 6-10 PM

AMS 3326/581

THE U.S. IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Course Description

The goal of this course is to envision and examine the 21st-century scenarios of the U.S. by
studying the trends and events as witnessed in the last 10 years. The course offers a rethinking
of cultural, economic, legal, medical, political, and social institutions. It examines 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.
Each student is required to write a term paper and to complete a take-home exam. There are no
prerequisites. Poor attendance and late work will impact on the grade negatively.

Required Readings

Barlett, Donald, and James Steele.

Critical Condition (Doubleday).
Fukuyama, Francis.
The Great Disruption (Free Press).
Shiller, Robert.
New Financial Order (Princeton).

Method of Evaluation

1) term paper 50% of final grade

2) take-home exam 50% of final grade
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Topics and Reading Assignments

I Orientation May 17
Understanding New Realities with Anthropological and Sociological perspectives
Doing Ethnography

II Reading American Culture and Society (1) May 24

American Corporate Culture (1)

Fukuyama. The Great Disruptio n, Chapters 1-5.

III Reading American Culture and Society (2) May 31

American Corporate Culture (2)

Fukuyama. The Great Disruption, Chapters 6-11.

IV Reading American Culture and Society (3) June 7

American Corporate Culture (3)

Fukuyama. The Great Disruption, Chapters 12-16.

*Prospectus (50 words) for term paper due

V Examining Health Care (1) June 14

Social Security

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

VI Examining Health Care (2) June 21

The Bubbles in the 1990s

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

VII Examining Health Care (3) June 28

Biomedical Ethics

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

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VIII Deciphering the Financial System (1) July 5

The New Economy and the Digital Revolution
21st -Century Scenarios

Shiller. New Financial Order, Intro. and Part One.

IX Deciphering the Financial System (2) July 12

The Job Market and Career Development

Shiller. New Financial Order, Part Two and Part Three.

** Take-home exam questions to be distributed

X Deciphering the Financial System (3) July 19

U.S. in the World Community
Conclusion

Shiller. New Financial Order, Part Four and Part Five.

XI Term Paper and Take-Home Exam Due July 26