Anthropology
Making Money, Making Life: Capitalism, Care and the Environment
Module code: L6070
Level 4
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Essay
On this module, you’ll explore the anthropological study of economic life.
Through economic anthropology, you’ll critique the universalism of mainstream economics, which has ‘naturalised’ capitalism. You’ll question why capitalism has come to be seen as the best, only, or inevitable way of organising economic processes.
You’ll explore:
- how people participate in, alter, or resist the economic relationships they’re part of
- how people define these relationships to include the unpaid and invisible care work that supports human flourishing
- humans’ relationships to their material needs on a finite planet
- environments and non-human beings as an integral part of economic life.
Module learning outcomes
- To demonstrate understanding of anthropological approaches to production, consumption and exchange.
- To summarise the impact of global forces on non-western economies and societies.
- To apply anthropological theory to different cultural and historical contexts.
- To demonstrate knowledge of forms of social stratification and economic inequality.