The module is a cross-cultural analysis of economic and political institutions, and the ways in which they transform over time. Throughout the term, we draw upon a range of ethnographic research and social theory, to investigate the political and conceptual questions raised by the study of power and economy. The module engages with the development and key debates of political and economic anthropology, and explores how people experience, and acquire power over social and economic resources. Students are asked to develop perspectives on the course material that are theoretically informed and empirically grounded, and to apply them to the political and economic questions of everyday life.
Total contact hours 22
Total private study hours 128
Total module study hours 150
Compulsory for BA Social Anthropology (including cognate programs)
BSc Anthropology (including cognate programs)
Running last time 2024/25.
Essay 2,500 words 50%
Examination 2 hrs 50%
Reassessment method:
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Appadurai, A. ed. (1986) The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge University Press
Carrier, J. ed. (2013) A Handbook of Economic Anthropology. Edward Elgar
Carrier, J and D. Kalb, eds (2015) Anthropologies of Class: Power, Practice and Inequality. Cambridge University Press
Lewellen, T.C. 2003 (third edition). Political Anthropology: An introduction. Westport: Praeger. GN492
Hart, K, J.L. Laville, and A.D. Cattani eds. (2010) The Human Economy. Polity Press
Humphrey, C and S. Hugh-Jones, eds. (1992) Barter, Exchange, and Value: An Anthropological Approach. Cambridge University Press
Scott, J.C. 1985. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. New Haven: Yale University Press.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
8.1 Converse with the key disciplinary themes and trends of social anthropology, i.e. power and economy
8.2 Demonstrate a critical understanding of the historical development of those anthropological debates and theories
8.3 Demonstrate knowledge about the theoretical contributions of the anthropology of the key themes studied to the broader discipline of social anthropology
8.4 Evidence a critical understanding of the global and historical diversity of political and economic institutions
8.5 Apply anthropological insights to contemporary developments in relevant ways
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