Invite students to select a work of art from the image set that features people, such as Textile Merchant, “Wooding Up” on the Mississippi, or Addie Card, 12 years old. Spinner in cotton mill, North Pownal, Vermont. Encourage them to consider the multiple viewpoints or stakeholders, both seen and unseen, in the work. Next, ask them to identify a single individual and imagine that person’s point of view. Students might consider questions such as:

• What does this person gain from participating in this industry? What does this person lose?
• What does this person value or care about?
• What actions does this person engage in? How might those actions affect his or her body, mind, and emotions?

Students may use evidence that can be seen in the work of art, as well as primary and secondary sources about the industry. Ask students to contemplate the individual’s opinion of the industry. For a greater challenge, try this activity using the environment as the stakeholder.

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines capitalism as “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” The United States is a capitalist country. People from a variety of fields and backgrounds argue about the pros and cons of capitalism, and whether it is a sustainable system. (For more background, see “What ‘Capitalism’ Is and How It Affects People” in Teen Vogue.)

Distribute images from this unit to your students and ask them to identify which work of art they think best illustrates capitalism and why. Then, invite them to conduct more research into arguments for and against capitalism and ask them to take a position on the system.