Gods and Profits: Religion and Capitalism

Catalog description

The course explores the ‘enchanted’ production and reproduction of capitalism and the effects of capitalism on ever-transforming religious practices. Through a combination of classical and contemporary approaches in political economy, religious studies, and anthropology, we will address what makes capitalism a unique mode of exchange and explore examples of the spirits that haunt the market’s invisible hand as well as those that resist its powerful reach. Our readings and discussions will cover important debates surrounding the history and origins of capitalism in Europe; classical anthropological writings on “pre-capitalist” economies encountered during European colonial expansion; and current writings that refuse the distinction between the supposedly separate spheres of religion and the economy.