Culture of Late Capitalism

Pre-requisites: Knowledge of fundamentals of contemporary social theories and theories of social change.

Course objectives: The aim of the course is, firstly, to give an overview of the main theoretical approaches to culture of late capitalism; and secondly, to help students develop an ability to analyse contemporary social and cultural phenomena using concepts from social theories.

Course description: The course examines the changing cultural and moral aspects of economic life in light of the structural transformations of capitalism after World War II. Topics covered include: attitudes and moral orientations toward work; relationship between economic life and moral order; corporate culture and managerial discourse; audit culture; consumerism; contemporary love; violence, war; postmodernism.

Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to understand different cultural aspects of late capitalism; to recognize the part played by culture in today’s capitalism; and to demonstrate basic critical approach to contemporary social and cultural theories.

Literature/Reading:

• Ričard Senet (2006 [2007]) Kultura novog kapitalizma. Beograd: Arhipelag. (19–69, 149–161)
• Majkl Hard, Antonio Negri (2003 [2000]) Imperija. Beograd: IGAM. (302–324)
• Luc Boltanski and Ève Chiapello (2007 [1999]) The New Spirit of Capitalism. London, New York: Verso. (1–43, 103–128, 151–156, 217–254)
• Michael W. Apple (2005) Education, markets and an audit culture. Critical Quarterly 46 (1-2): 11–29.
• Naomi Klein (1999 [2002]) No logo. Zagreb: V.B.Z. (15–54, 101–141)
• Naomi Klein (2008 [2007]) Doktrina šoka. Uspon kapitalizma katastrofe. Zagreb: V.B.Z. (32– 78, 132–142)
• Ana Birešev (2009) „Kapitalizam i opravdavanje“. Filozofija i društvo 20 (3): 223–244.
• Kešejan, Razmig (2016 [2013]) Leva hemisfera. Kartografija novih kritičkih mišljenja. Beograd: FMK.
• Yann Moulier-Boutang (2011 [2007]) Cognitive Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
• Nigel Thrift (2005) Knowing Capitalism. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage.
• Michael W. Apple (2014) Obrazovanje na "pravom" putu: tržišta, standardi, Bog i nejednakost. Beograd: Edicija REČ.
• Jean Baudrillard (1998 [1970]) The Consumer Society, Sage. Myths & Structures. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage.
• Zygmunt Bauman (2007) Consuming Life. Cambridge: Polity Press.
• George Ritzer (1998) The McDonaldization Theses. Explorations and Extensions. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage.
• Eva Illouz (1997) Consuming the Romantic Utopia: Love and the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
• Eva Illouz (2008) Saving the Modern Soul: Therapy, Emotions and the Culture of Self-Help, Berkeley. Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
• Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri (2004) Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire. New York: Penguin Press.
• David Harvey (1989) The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Cambridge, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Fredric Jameson (1991) Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham: Duke University Press.
• Simon Susen (2015) The ʻPostmodern Turnʼ in the Social Sciences. London: Palgrave Macmillan.