Course for international guest/part time students

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences

Organization

TÁTK Department of Cultural Anthropology

Code

EKAN113

Title

Anthropology of Economics Seminar

Usual semester

Autumn

Published semester

2026/27/1

ECTS

3

Language

en

Learning outcomes

The anthropology of economics seminar’s aim is to introduce the anthropological literature concerning economical issues, varied from classical authors to contemporary researches, to show different viewpoints, theoretical schools, and to provoke questions, debates among the students. The group is divided into sections A, B and C, and each student must read the text prescribed in the section from class to class. The lesson is the presentation and discussion of these texts. Students should prepare questions and notes for each lesson.

Course content

1.Introduction 2.Ecological approach 3.Reciprocity 4.Change and Crisis 5.Economy and Gender 6.Gift 1. 7.Gift 2. 8.Labour 9.Consumption 10.Globalisation 11.FILM: Black Harvest 12.FILM: China Blue

Assessment method

Readings: Texts on the reading list should be read before the date they are assigned for, and the students should be prepared to discuss them in class. All texts are uploaded to Coospace. Final grade: The grade is based on weekly assignments (including attendance and participation). Attendance: Weekly online class participation in Microsoft Teams is mandatory. Students can miss three classes.

Bibliography

B: Rappaport, Roy: Ritual Regulation of Environmental Relations among a New Guinea People B: Reciprocity in the French Army in the First World War and in the Finnish Army in 1941–1944 C: Lee, Richard Borshay: Eating Christmas in the Kalahari Change and Crisis A: Weatherford, Jack: Cocaine and the Economic Deterioration of Bolivia B: Nietschmann, Bernard: Subsistance and Market: When the Turtle C: Diamond, Jared: The worst mistake in the history of the human race Economy and Gender A: Slocum, Sally: Woman the gatherer: male bias in anthropology B: Friedl, Ernestine: Society and Sex Roles C: Ehreinreich, Barbara & Russell Hochschild, Arlie: Global Women in the New Economy Gift: FILM: Ongka’s Big Moka Gift A: Weiner, Anette: Kula: The Paradox of Keeping-While-Giving B: Cronk, Lee: Reciprocity and the power of giving Stack, Carol. Domestic Network. Those you count on Labour Philippe Bourgois: Poverty at Work: Office Employment and the Crack Alternative B: Willis, Paul: Learning to labour C: Thompson, E. P: Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism Consumption A: Miller, Daniel: Family shopping and the fear of others B: Caldwell, Melissa: Domesticating the French FryMcDonald’s and consumerism in Moscow C: Miller, Daniel: Coca-Cola: A Black Sweet Drink From Trinidad Globalisation A: Brumann, Christoph: The Anthropological Study of Globalization. Towards an Agenda for the Second Phase B: Harvey, David: Time-space compression and the postmodern condition C: Mannerz, Ulf: The global ecumene as a network of networks FILM: Black Harvest FILM: China Blue

Programmes of the course