Professor Ann Marie Leshkowich
Beaven 231
508-793-2788
aleshkow@holycross.edu
Office Hours: M 10-12, 2-3, W 10-12, F 11-12

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?

 

Class meetings

The class meets three times per week (MWF) from 1:00-1:50. Most weeks, two of these periods will be used for lectures, with the additional meeting devoted to viewing films or class discussion. Students will be expected to attend all class meetings (attendance will be taken) and to complete the readings as scheduled on the syllabus. Most weeks, students will write a brief response paper (2-3 pages) on an assigned topic. These will serve as the basis for group discussion.

 

Course Requirements

Course grades will be based on written work and class participation, broken down as follows:

1. Class Discussion and Participation (15%)

This course takes an active approach to learning economic anthropology; your presence and participation in class are essential to your success! You are required to attend all class meetings, including lectures, films, and discussion sessions. Participation consists of being alert and taking notes during lectures, asking questions to clarify points of misunderstanding, offering comments or alternative perspectives, engaging actively in small-group activities, and contributing meaningfully to classroom discussions. Because involvement in class activities is so important, more than two unexcused absences during the semester will result in the lowering of your participation grade by one-half of a percentage point for each additional class missed.

2. Response papers (30%)

In preparation for discussion sections, you will be asked to prepare short response papers on assigned topics. These papers require you to integrate what you have learned from lectures and readings, either by reflecting on them to develop your own insights or by evaluating their methods by completing your own ethnographic research exercise. Eleven papers are assigned, and you must complete ten. Each of the ten assignments will be worth three points, for a total of 30% of your course grade. An eleventh paper can be completed for extra credit up to a maximum of 30 points. Late papers will not be accepted.

3. Mid-term (20%)

An in-class mid-term will be given on October 14. The mid-term will consist of identification of key terms and concepts from the first half of the class (readings, lectures, and films), and a short essay question.

4. Final Exam (35%)

Like the mid-term, the final exam will consist of essays and identifications. For the essay portions, you will be asked to write in response to one broad question synthesizing the major themes of the course and one shorter question focusing on the material covered after the mid-term. The final exam will be held on Saturday, December 10 at 2:30pm.

 

Grade Calculation

The mid-term, final exam, and course grade will be calculated according to a 100-point scale. The grading scale is as follows:

A, 93 and above	C+, 77-79.99
A-, 90-92.99	C, 73-76.99
B+, 87-89.99	C-, 70-72.99
B, 83-86.99	D+, 67-69.99
B-, 80-82.99	D, 60-66.99
	F, 59.99 and below

Office Hours

My office hours are listed at the top of this syllabus, and I encourage you to visit with me during the semester. I am available to discuss specific issues arising from the course, as well as to exchange more general insights and chat about experiences from your studies or my research.

 

Course Website (http://www.holycross.edu/departments/socant/aleshkow/268/268.html)

The website for this course is a center for important information: syllabus, lecture handouts, writing assignments, study guide questions, exam review materials, and announcements. Please check it frequently, and feel free to pass along suggestions for additional links and information which should be included. Also, check out my homepage at:
http://www.holycross.edu/departments/socant/aleshkow/homepage.html

 

Readings

Readings marked "article" on the syllabus are available through ERes. The ERes website for this course is located at http://eres.holycross.edu/coursepage.asp?cid=915. The password for the course is ecanth. The following books are required for the course and can be purchased at the bookstore.

Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State. International Publishers, 1990. ISBN: 0717803597
Scott, Weapons of the Weak. Yale Univ Press, 1985. ISBN: 0300036418
Mauss, Marcel. The Gift. W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. ISBN: 039332043X (or 1990 edition, ISBN: 0393306984)
Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Routledge, 2001. ISBN: 041525406x
Mintz, Sweetness and Power. Penguin, 1985. ISBN: 0140092331
Taussig, Michael. The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America. University of North Carolina Press, 1980. ISBN: 0807841064
Ong, Spirits of Resistance and Capitalist Discipline. State Univ of New York Press, 1987. ISBN: 0887063810
Willis, Learning to Labor. Columbia University Press, 1977. ISBN: 0231053576
Freeman, Carla. High Tech and High Heels in the Global Economy. Duke University Press, 2000. ISBN: 0822324393

 

SCHEDULE FOR THE COURSE

Introduction: What is economics? What is economic anthropology?

At its most basic, economics is the study of the relationship between people, money, and objects as occurring through production, circulation, and consumption. Most of the theories which comprise the modern field of economics were developed to describe capitalist systems. Earlier this century, economic anthropologists used their studies of non- or partially capitalist societies to question economic assumptions about human behavior. How is economic anthropology different from economics? How have anthropologists analyzed "economics" in non-capitalist settings? How can we understand the relationship between culture and economics?

August 31 (W): The Anthropological Study of Economic Life
Read: Nash, "The Meaning and Scope of Economic Anthropology" (article)

September 2 (F): Homo Economicus?
Read: Malinowski, "Kula" (article)

September 5 (M): Substantivist and Formalist Approaches to Analyzing Economic Behavior
Read: Polanyi, "The Economy as Instituted Process" (article)
Sahlins, "The Original Affluent Society" (article)

September 7 (W): Discussion
Writing Assignment #1 due in class

 

Production in Pre-Capitalist Societies

In pre-capitalist societies, entire households tend to be engaged in common economic activities, such as hunting and gathering, or agricultural labor. What kinds of social, economic, and cultural features are associated with pre-capitalist production? How have anthropologists explained tranformations in forms of production? What is the connection between economics and morality in pre-capitalist societies?

September 9 (F): The Evolution of Economic Systems
Read: Start Engels, Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, Chapters 1 and 2
For an on-line version of this text, click here for Chapter 1 and here for Chapter 2.

September 12 (M): The Domestic Mode of Production
Read: Finish Engels, Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, Chapters 1 and 2

September 14 (W): Discussion
Writing Assignment #2 due in class

September 16 (F): The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Are Peasants Moral or Rational? (double lecture to be held from 1-2:30 in Haberlin 412)
Read: Begin Scott, Weapons of the Weak

September 19 (M): no lecture, due to conference in Edinburgh
Read: Finish Scott, Weapons of the Weak

September 21 (W): Movie: Millennium: A Poor Man Shames Us All

September 23 (F): Student Led Discussion
Writing Assignment #3 due in class on September 26

 

Exchange in Pre-Capitalist Societies

Building on ethnography by Malinowski and others, Mauss formulated a theory of gift exchange as the defining element of "primitive" societies. What are the conceptions associated with the exchange of gifts in these societies? What relationships between people does exchange establish? What does Mauss mean by a "total social fact"? What are the advantages and disadvantages of his analytical approach? How does Mauss use his account of gift exchange to critique contemporary society? Why have his ideas been so influential in anthropology?

September 26 (M): Kula, Potlatch, and Mauss's Theory of the Gift
Read: Mauss, The Gift, Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2
Writing Assignment #3 due in class

September 28 (W): Gifts, Commodities, and Gender
Read : Mauss, The Gift, Chapter 4

September 30 (F): Movie: Pig Tusks and Paper Money

October 3 (M): Discussion
Writing Assignment #4 due in class

 

The Morality of Capitalism

Max Weber presents a cultural account of the rise of capitalism in Western Europe. What, in his opinion, are the defining economic, social, and cultural features of capitalism? Is capitalism a cultural phenomenon? Does capitalism have its own morality? Is it the same everywhere?

October 5 (W): The Protestant Ethic
Read: Begin Weber, Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

October 7 (F): The Morality of Money
Read: Finish Weber, Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

October 10 (M): No class, October Break.

October 12 (W): Discussion
Writing Assignment #5 due in class

October 14 (F): MID-TERM

 

The Beginning of Globalization and the Spread of Capitalism

The societies which early anthropologists studied for clues about "stone age economics" and "primitive production" had already begun to experience transformations as a result of the spread of capitalism. How has capitalism spread from Western Europe to other parts of the world? What relations of dependency are involved?

October 17 (M): Economic Development, Globalization, and the Spread of Capitalism
Read: Begin Mintz, Sweetness and Power

October 19 (W): Dependency and the World System
Read: Finish Mintz, Sweetness and Power

October 21 (F): Discussion
Writing Assignment #6 due in class

 

Resistance and Possession: Moral and Gendered Responses to Economic Development

As capitalism spreads throughout the world, its form and content vary according to pre-existing social and cultural conditions. In this unit, we will explore reactions to economic development from two perspectives: morality and gender. What happens when new modes of production conflict with a community's values? What alternative views of the economy emerge as a result? What strategies do peasants and workers employ to adapt to or resist large-scale social and economic transformation? Are tradition and modernity really so distinct? Are men and women affected differently by economic development? What role do different conceptions of gender and gendered divisions of labor play in the development of market economies?

October 24 (M): Use Value, Exchange Value, and Commodities
Read: Taussig, The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America (chaps 1-7)

October 26 (W): Commodity Fetishism and Transactional Orders
Read: Taussig, The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America (chaps 8-14)

October 28 (F): Discussion
Read: Begin Ong, Spirits of Resistance
Writing Assignment #7 due in class

October 31 (M): The Impact of Economic Development on Women
Read: Continue Ong, Spirits of Resistance

November 2 (W): Women's Resistance to Capitalism
Read: Finish Ong, Spirits of Resistance

November 4 (F): No class today. Instead, attend at least one panel session during the "Class-ifying 'Asian Values'" Conference, to be held at Holy Cross from Friday afternoon through Saturday.

November 7 (M): Discussion
Writing Assignment #8 due in class.

 

The Culture of Class

In this unit, we will explore the relationship between economic structures of class and the cultural values associated the social experience of class membership. Do the poor and working classes have their own cultures? What are they? How do they reproduce or resist economic structures?

November 9 (W): The Culture of Poverty
Read: Willis, Learning to Labor

November 11 (F): The Cultural Reproduction of the Working Class
Read: Willis, Learning to Labor

November 14 (M): Discussion
Writing Assignment #9 due in class

 

Market Culture

The term "market" commonly has two meanings: the abstract trade in a commodity, and the concrete physical location in which such trade might occur. This week, we will focus on this second meaning of market by looking at contemporary Asian marketplaces as sites of cultural production and contestation. What kinds of activities occur within these markets? How are these activities valued? Do markets around the world have a single culture, perhaps like that described by Weber? What role does gender play in Asian marketplaces? How are markets used as symbols in local discourses about the benefits and disadvantages of economic transformation?

This unit requires that you view on your own the film, "Mama Benz." It will be placed on reserve at Dinand Library.

November 16 (W): Do Markets Have Culture?
Read: Weller, "Divided Market Cultures in China: Gender, Enterprise, and Religion" (article)

November 18 (F): Women's Roles in Marketplaces: Does Money Equal Power?
Read: Brenner, "Why Women Rule the Roost" (article)

November 21 (M): Discussion
Writing Assignment #10 due in class.

 

November 23 (W) and November 25 (F): No class, Thanksgiving Break.

 

Work, Consumption, and Identity in the Global Economy

In this age of increasingly rapid global flows of people, goods, money, and ideas, what will be the fate of modes of production, circulation, and consumption? How are people experiencing new forms of work and international divisions of labor? Why are many anthropologists currently focusing on consumption practices? How are anthropologists studying the economic culture of today's "global village"?

November 28 (M): Consumption: The Vanguard of History?
Read: Begin Freeman, High Tech and High Heels in the Global Economy

November 30 (W): Gender and Today's Global Economy
Read: Finish Freeman, High Tech and High Heels in the Global Economy

December 2 (F): Discussion
Writing Assignment #11 due in class

 

Conclusion

December 5 (M): Economics and Culture in the 21st Century

 

Saturday, December 10, 2:30 PM: Final Exam

 

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu