Literature and Economic

Catalog description

This interdisciplinary course surveys connections between literature and economics. The course concentrates on various categories and objects—such as gifts, credit, paper money, banks and banking, digital currencies, and credit scores—as represented in both literary texts and economic writing. In examining theserepresentations, students will be introduced to the intertwined histories of literary genres and economic forms. Possible topics may include—but are not limitedto—the connections between ancient epic and ritual gift exchange; between Elizabethan theater and commercial credit; between the realist novel and the rise of paper money; and between finance capital and postmodernism. Readings will consist of works drawn from anthropology, philosophy, and economics considered alongside works of literature.