Global Histories of Capitalism

Catalog description

In this course, we will explore how people decide what they owe to each other, whether in the context of property, physical injuries, or fatal accidents. We will also examine how people determine who is authorized to engage in diplomatic agreements and to conduct economic exchanges. In studying how technologies for regimenting and inscribing difference shape social mobility and access to capital, we will consider how the individual profile functions as a credit profile as well as a forensic profile. We will ask if the same is true of nation-states, as we explore the role of patient profiles and health indices in measuring social standing.