Session VI: “Capitalism in Action” by Jurgen Buchenau, Ph.D. 
August 5 and August 7; August 12 and August 14
10am – 12pm

A discussion of four important topics in the long and varied global history of capitalism. The first class examines the origins of capitalism in the early modern era (c. 1500-1800). The second discussion will introduce students to the rise of industrial capitalism and corporations in the nineteenth century. The third class will feature a discussion of the Great Depression as an example of boom and bust cycles in the twentieth-century capitalist economy, and the final class will present the students with an opportunity to talk about current trends, including financialization, the rise and decline of neoliberalism, and the role of new digital technologies. In all, attendees will get a good grasp of the major conceptual tools to understand capitalist economies and how they evolved over time. The instructor will provide students with short reading assignments to help prepare them for the classes.

Meet your instructor:

Dr. Jurgen Buchenau is Dowd Term Professor of Capitalism Studies and Professor in the History Department at UNC Charlotte. He is an expert on 19th and 20th century Mexico, the Mexican Revolution, and political violence, political economy, and immigration. He has recently published, The Sonoran Dynasty: Revolution, Reforms, and Repression (2023) and a co-edited volume of essays, Anti-Catholicism in the Mexican Revolution, and has finished drafting, Unequal Neighbors: The United States and Mexico. While wrapping up those books, he also began work on a major new project on Mexico in the late Cold War — conducting archival research in Mexico City and three presidential libraries in the United States (namely the Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan libraries). In all, he has authored, co-authored, and edited thirteen books and thirty-seven peer-reviewed book chapters and articles. While producing all this scholarship, Dr. Buchenau led the department of History for 13 years, directed the Latin American Studies Program, the Interdisciplinary Studies Program, and Capitalism studies. His UNC Charlotte graduate students place into top Ph.D. programs all over the country because of his dedicated mentorship.