(in Polish) Anthropology of Money 3700-ISSC-AOM-MON
We are going to start with classical case studies of economic anthropology: the Kula system of Trobriand Islands and the Potlach at Northwestern coast of Canada. Those examples gave rise to big anthropological theories of value, gift giving, and reciprocity and in general sparked an assumption that those allegedly primitive people in remote places of the world are not that different from allegedly civilized Europeans. Then, we will pass to philosophical foundations of thinking on economic action and money – ranging from Aristotle, through John Locke and Karl Marx, to Georg Simmel. Lastly, we are going to discuss several situations of functioning money and money-like objects in order to understand various contexts of our social life in modern capitalism, such as mortgages or commoditization of love and body. What do we value? What are the origins of money? How does money relate people to each other? And why it drives all of us so crazy? These are some questions we are going to tackle during the course.
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
a. Knowledge:
An alumni:
- Understands the relationships between the various dimensions of social change (especially with regard to various aspects of modernization and globalization) (K_W02).
- Knows the advanced methods of analysis and interpretation used in anthropological research (K_W08).
b. Skills:
An alumni:
- Is able to select and make a critical assessment of information coming from various sources, of primary and secondary nature (K_U01).
- uses interdisciplinary methods and interpretation tools for analysis of different phenomena of the culture (K_U04).
c. Social competences:
An alumni:
- respects principles of tolerance and demonstrates a sensitivity in viewing cultural differences while discussing with partners (K_K05)
Assessment criteria
- 10 in-class quizzes (80%). The questions in quizzes will pertain to assigned readings and will be signalized to students in advance.
- active participation in the class discussions (20%).
Absences:
- It is possible to have 2 absences;
- In case of 3 or 4 absences, it is possible to make up for them after consultation;
- In case of 5 absences there is no possibility for obtaining course credit.