Readings in the Social History of Money and Debt

Catalog description

This course asks students to consider money as a social relation in world history: as a moral obligation, a shared language, and a political bond. We investigate the ancient foundations of money and debt; how different monetary forms have been shaped by politics, society, and culture; and how money has functioned as a means of rule, technology of power, and tool of discipline. This course is reading-intensive and spans the fields of history, anthropology, sociology, political science, and literary criticism. Topics include cross-cultural currencies, counterfeiting, and money under neoliberalism, with special attention to the relationship between differential access to money and systems of race, class, and gender.