This course will provide an introduction to anthropological approaches to economy. We encounter the word ‘economy’ all the time in our daily lives as a mathematical and highly abstract phenomenon. It is often referred to as a separate sphere of life with its own principles, studied by ‘economics’ as a discipline in its own right. Anthropological approach to economy challenges this view by ethnographically grounded, comparative findings and theoretical questioning. Economic anthropology studies how people in different societies and cultures make a living and how culture, local and global politics and institutions affect and shape people’s choices in order to realize their life goals. The first part of the course will cover the classical analytical frameworks to economy in anthropology. In the second part, we will examine main themes in economic anthropology such as gift giving, commodity exchange, trade, reciprocity, householding and debt with examples from market and non-market societies. In the final part of the course, we will focus on the contemporary debates on value/morality, labour, skills and technology in relation to changing global trajectory of late capitalism. The aim of this course is to broaden students’ understanding of economy and develop an observant eye on the aspects of economic life that might not at first glance seem ‘rational,’ ‘economical’ or ‘modern.’
Recommended Reading: Wilk, Richard, and Lisa Cliggett. 2007. Economies and Cultures: Foundations of Economic Anthropology. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Mollona, Massimiliano, Geert De Neve, and Jonathan Parry, eds. 2009. Industrial Work and Life: an anthropological reader. London: Routledge.
Studienleistung: Wird in der ersten Stunde bekannt gegeben.
Modulleistung: Seminararbeit
Besonderheiten: Der Kurs wird auf Englisch unterrichtet. Alle Studien- und Modulleistungen werden auf Englisch erbracht.
Admission settings
The course is part of admission "Anmeldung mit Passwort: Economic Anthropology".
