FS 005 PZ -A Short History of the Sale*

Institution: Pitzer

Description: When people buy and sell things, what goes on at the heart of the transaction? Why do we buy what we buy? What are the moral dilemmas of the trusting relationship between the buyer and seller? How has the art of selling developed over time in the United States? Rather than looking at salesmanship (and saleswomanship) as a business practice or a form of advertising, this seminar will employ literary and historical texts-such as Melville’s The Confidence Man and Miller’s Death of a Salesman-to examine the moral and social meanings of transactions in American culture. [S. McConnell, History]

Prerequisite(s): First-Year Seminars are required for all incoming freshman and do not have prerequisites.

Note(s): *This course includes an additional required hour of “global-local” programming each week.

First-Year seminars are not listed on the course schedule. Incoming students will be assigned to a first-year seminar and registered automatically.