Schedule

The State of the State

Jan 20:    Long Island:  A Study in Statistics [Santaniello/Russo]
What does the future hold for Long Island?  How does it rank with other parts of the country?  Is the long Island region sustainable (economically, socially, demographically, environmentally)?

Living in a Plutocracy

Jan 27:   What is a Plutocracy?  [Santaniello]
What is a plutocracy?  What are the characteristics of a plutocracy? In what ways can our American system of government be more properly described as a plutocracy then a democracy? What are some of the problem with the kind of income inequality that we currently have in the United States?  How do these ideas apply to life on Long Island?

Feb 3:  The Declining Standards of the Working Classes  [Santaniello]
One of the most damaging effects of income inequality is on the quality of life of the working classes.  What do the statisticsoffered in these reading tell us about the what it's like trying to survive if you are poor in the United States?  What are some possible strategies (as offered in RD,PD) that can help to counterbalance these trends?  Do you think that any of this applies to life on Long Island?

Feb 10:  The Declining Standards of the Working Classes [Santaniello]
The selection from Nickel and Dime that you will be reading provides an illustration of what it's like to try to survive working at a place like Walmart?  The "How Well Would You Do?" game gives you the opportunity to see how you yourself would survive if you have to live this kind of life.  Did your perspective on working poverty change at all after reading the selection and doing the exercise?  If so, how?
  • Read:  Nickel and Dimed (selection)
  • How Well Would You Do?  [play the game and comment]
  • Watch:  Capitalism: A Love Story (Part 2)
  • Research Session  [Lab A]

Feb 17:  Education and Upward Mobility in the Plutocracy  [Santaniello]
As Dr. Mike Santaniello points out in College Bound, one of the few avenues for upward mobility in the United States right now is education.  Is our educational system overall up to the task of providing students with the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive world?  Is higher education still worth the costs?  How does all this apply to your own educational experience on Long Island?

Feb 24:  Consumption and the Middle Class  [Russo]
The economic system that we have in place here in the United States affects not only the poor, but the middle class as well.  How does consumerism (or affluenza) adversely affect the quality of life of the middle class in the United States?  To what extent are you a victim of this "disease"?  How does all this apply to life on Long Island?

The Coming Crises

March 2:  The Crises [Russo]
There are three potentially devastating crises that our species faces as a result of the reckless and irresponsible way that we are living: overpopulation, climate change, and oil depletion.  Each of these on its own has the potential to destroy life on our planet as we know it.  Based upon the readings, how would each of these potential crises affect the quality of life for future generations? What do you think we can do, locally and globally, to address these problems? 

Alternative Paradigms 

March 9:  Tools for Civic Engagement [Russo]
The Occupy Wall Street movement presents an alternative model for civic engagement that is based upon collaboration and consensus rather than upon competition and coercion.  How feasible do you think some of the ideas presented by this movement are?  What insights do the readings offer for working with your fellow citizens to change political and economic systems in this country?

March 16:  Spring Break:  No Class

March 23:  Distributivist Economics [Santaniello/Russo]
What alternatives are there to free-market economic system that is prevalent in our country? Do you think some of the economic ideas presented in the readings could work in a country like ours?  Why or why not?

March 30:  The Post Consumer Citizen and Voluntary Simplicity [Russo]
One of the most practial steps that any of us can take to take back economic control over our lives is to practice voluntary simplicity.  What is voluntary simplicity?  What are some of the benefits of this practice?  How could you live a simpler life?  Would you want to? Do you think that the principles of voluntary simplicity would work in a place as consumeristic as Long Island?
April 6:  Easter Break:  No Class

April 13:  Living Sustainably [Russo]
Creating a sustainable planet starts with the choices you make every day.  How big is your environmental footprint?  What are some of the changes you could make to your own lifestyle to live simpler and more sustainably? 

April 20:  Living Sustainably 2: Sustainable Homes and Transportation 
How can your home be made more sustainable?  How can we make transportation more sustainable?  Do any of the ideas you've read about have any relevance for the way we live on Long Island?

April 27:   TBA

May 4:  Sustainable Communities
One of the most provocative movements to arise in the late 20th century, the New Urbanism, is actually an attempt to return to more traditional (i.e., sustainable) ways of designing communities.  What are some of the principles of the New Urbanism?  How could applying these principles to communities on Long Island create a more livable environmental for everyone? 

May 11:  Individual Meetings With Instructors
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