THE END OF SOCIETY AS WE KNOW IT:
AMERICAN ECONOMY AND EMPIRE

Lynn Appleton

DESCRIPTION: More than a decade into this new century and several years after the crash that marked its true beginning, we can begin to see the contours of a new society emerging from the ashes of the old. This series of lectures will look at several types of societal alterations: changes in the relationships between people; changes in social roles and social norms; changes in the meaning of inequality and role of the economy in society; changes in our gender and family systems and changes in the economic system. We will examine all of these against the backdrop of the end of American empire, the restructuring of the American economy, and the bitter battles that are on the front page of American political news.

EIGHT LECTURES:

1. The End of Trust: Declining “social capital,” increasing interdependence, and the end of authority
   
2. Burning Bernie Madoff at the Stake: Symbolic justice and the financial system
   
3. Never Trust Anybody Over 55: The clash of generations in the aftermath of the crash
   
4. What Happened to Pity? Blaming the victim, the culture of victim-hood, and “ compassion fatigue”
   
5. Personal Responsibility, Collective Irresponsibility: Forging a new social compact
   
6. The Politics of Parenting: Tiger mothers, helicopter parents, and too much television
   
7. Why is gay marriage more threatening than unregulated credit default swaps? Understanding the structure of fears
   
8. Everyone has ADD: Creating a world in which no one has the patience to read this entire sentence

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Lynn Appleton (Ph.D. University of Chicago) is Chair of the Department of Sociology at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Her current research is on the therapeutic disciplines, with a particular focus on their connection to social, economic and political structures.