This module is not currently running in 2021 to 2022.
The module is a cross-cultural analysis of economic and political institutions, and the ways in which they transform over time. Throughout the term, we draw upon a range of ethnographic research and social theory, to investigate the political and conceptual questions raised by the study of power and economy.
The module engages with the development and key debates of political and economic anthropology, and explores how people experience, and acquire power over social and economic resources. Students are asked to develop perspectives on the course material that are theoretically informed and empirically grounded, and to apply them to the political and economic questions of everyday life.
The module covers the following topics: the relationship between power and authority; key concepts and theoretical debates in economic anthropology; sharing and egalitarianism; gift exchange; sexual inequality; violence; the nation state; money; social class; work; commodification; financialisation.
The module is comprised of: 12 1-hour lectures + 12 1-hour seminars, i.e., 24 contact hours.
This module contributes:
BA in Social Anthropology and BA in Social Anthropology with a Year Abroad; BSc in Anthropology; BSc Anthropology with a year in Japan/year in Europe
Assessment is by 50% coursework in the autumn term, and 50% unseen examination in the summer term.
The coursework comprises: seminar participation (10%); one seminar presentation (10%); one essay of 1,500 words (30%).
Appadurai, A. ed. (1986) The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge University Press
Carrier, J. ed. (2013) A Handbook of Economic Anthropology. Edward Elgar
Carrier, J and D. Kalb, eds (2015) Anthropologies of Class: Power, Practice and Inequality. Cambridge University Press
Gupta, A and A. Sharma eds. (2005) The Anthropology of the State: A Reader. Wiley-Blackwell
Hart, K, J.L. Laville, and A.D. Cattani eds. (2010) The Human Economy. Polity Press
Humphrey, C and S. Hugh-Jones, eds. (1992) Barter, Exchange, and Value: An Anthropological Approach. Cambridge University Press
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
On successful completion of this module, students should:
1. Be conversant with the key disciplinary themes and trends of the anthropology of power and economy
2. Have acquired a critical understanding of the historical development of anthropological debates and theories about power and economy
3. Be knowledgeable about the theoretical contributions of the anthropology of power and economy to the broader discipline of social anthropology
4. Have cultivated a critical understanding of the global and historical diversity, operation and experience of political and economic institutions
5. Be able to apply anthropological insights to current transformations of political and economic institutions
6. Be able to construct coherent, logical written arguments based upon the theoretical concepts and ethnographic data discussed in the module
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