Course Description: This course introduces students to the issues, methods, and concepts of economic anthropology. Our goal is to place the study of economic features such as markets, commodities, and money into a larger cross-cultural context by exploring relations of power, kinship, gender, exchange, and social transformation. We will explore such diverse topics as gift exchange on a tropical Pacific island, peasant rice farming in Southeast Asia, the rise of a culture of capitalism in Western Europe, spirit possession among female employees in a Malaysian electronics factory, and rites of worship to the devil in a Bolivian tin mine. As we examine these issues, we will seek to answer three key questions:

1) How have anthropologists approached the study of the economy?

2) What do we mean by capitalism, economic development, and globalization?

3) How are individuals and communities around the globe responding to contemporary economic processes?

 
Course Syllabus

Writing Assignments

Lecture Handouts

Study Guide Questions for Readings

Exam Review Materials

Announcements: Will be posted here as necessary

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu