What the course catalog says:

Over the past five hundred years, a distinctive culture of capitalism has emerged, one dominated by a belief in trade and commodity consumption as the main sources of well-being. The spread of capitalism has been accompanied by the creation of peculiar ways of constructing relationships, viewing the world and the environment, producing food, and creating needs through advertisement. The spread of this culture has not gone unchallenged. How and why capitalist culture developed and the reasons why some groups resisted and continue to resist its development are among the questions we will explore in this course.

What the professor says:

[This course is full of the] kinds of breakthroughs that make me extremely happy to be a teacher at Luther College and in the United States. In Chile, every student would automatically agree with me about the problems of capitalism. Here, real debate and ideological struggle take place in the classroom. I love this course. Who said this job was boring?

—Anita Carrasco, assistant professor of anthropology

What the students say:

This class was mainly focused on discussion, like most of my classes at Luther, but the extended meeting times for class facilitated longer and more in-depth discussion. The extra time for discussion led to a lot more “a-ha” moments, which changed my perspective.

I love the structure of J-Term because it allows a lot of flexibility and a lot of time to focus on homework and friends. Meeting every day also helps to reinforce ideas and discussions throughout the week. You also get to know your professor very well, and that helps tremendously when getting feedback on papers and assignments.

—Matt Anderson

In a class of just 13 students, there was a large range of opinions that made the class very interesting, and I gained a greater appreciation for a diversity of perspectives. Although certain topics of the course make the current society appear dismal, the Culture of Capitalism shows the power that people have when they come together to make changes in society.

—Michelle Suri