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Economic Anthropology 1 ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY Principles, Practices and Comparative Perspectives – A Project-Driven Approach ANG5266/ANT4266 Fall 2020 Thurs per 7-9 (1:55-4:55p) Professor Brenda Chalfin, [email protected] (ZOOM) Office hours Mon 3-5p and by appointment Course Description: Economic Anthropology addresses the diversity of human economic practice across the present and past with an eye on future trends and pathways of interconnection and transformation. Focused on production, exchange and consumption, and grounded in ethnographic research from across the world, the class develops a broad-ranging approach to the study of economic life. Our anthropological study of economies will examine cultural meanings, social relations, historical continuities, local and global interdependencies, and structured inequalities in power and resources. This is a project-driven course designed to accommodate the unusual circumstances of the semester and synchronous remote-learning. The class combines reading, discussion, and hands-on research and brainstorming toward the application of questions and principles from course materials to our own lives and contexts. Building research and communication skills, each of 4 class projects will require students to apply and test the relevance of definitions and frameworks from course material to their personal experience and the contemporary moment. It will also allow students to offer their own insights via anthropological research and theory building and offer a grounded contribution to the anthropology of the present. Simply put, students will consume and produce anthropological knowledge as well as exchange their findings through shared presentations and feedback. Students will serve as a source of comparative perspectives via means of rigorous data collection and analysis and collective critique. At the center of the course is the critical interrogation of capitalism. We will investigate prevailing evidence and arguments regarding capitalism’s origins, its defining and 2 enduring features, and trajectories of variation and transformation. We closely examine the similarities, differences and interdependencies between capitalism and other economic systems, whether labor-intensive agrarian economies predominant in many parts of the world, reciprocity-based foraging economies characteristic of earlier eras of human existence, or systems of centralized redistribution and social provisioning. Taking up UF President Kent Fuchs charge to use the 2020-2021 academic year to focus on the Black experience, racism and inequity, we will also attend to the place of racial identity and disparity in the world’s varied but closely linked economic orders. By the end of the semester, students will comprehend large scale shifts as well as small-scale efforts by individuals, communities and, in some cases, corporations to generate alternatives to and within capitalism. A prevailing concern is to track capitalism’s internal contradictions and collective recalibrations in situations of acute crisis, including the economic shocks set-off by COVID. Taught through a combined seminar/studio format, the course is appropriate for ambitious undergraduate students and graduate students in anthropology, geography, history, development practice, international business, international studies, sustainability, African studies, Latin American studies, english, and related fields. In addition preparing students for BA, MA and PhD, students will gain critical analytic and communication skills appropriate for work in the public and private sector. The course will include opportunities to learn about the application of knowledge and skills in Economic Anthropology outside of academe through short guest lectures and presentations from practicing anthropologists. Learning Outcomes: • Become conversant with the analytical and historical foundations of economic anthropology. • Understand the application of economic anthropology to contemporary social issues. • Learn to evaluate and apply abstract theoretical constructs to empirical case studies. • Develop skills in participatory and observational research, data analysis, and project presentation. • Grasp the on-going development and variation of modern capitalism. • Use the perspectives of economic anthropology to capture and anticipate economic trends. Core Topics: Exchange, Reciprocity and Gift Economies; Labor, Reproductive Work and the Gig Economy; Global Economies, Racial Capitalism and Supply Chains; Conspicuous Consumption, Class and Commodity Fetishism; Finance, Speculation and Neoliberalism; Crisis, Debt and Austerity; Human Economy & Sustainable Economic Futures. Required Texts and Course Materials: (Purchase used copies on-line) Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History, S. Mintz, 1986. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street, K. Ho, 2009 The Power of Debt, H. Appel, S. Whitley, C.Kline, 2019 (free on-line download) 3 Dispossessed: How predatory bureaucracy foreclosed on the American middle class, N. Stout. 2019 Other required course readings, podcasts and other materials will be available on CANVAS. Readings are to be completed PRIOR to the course period for which they are assigned. Students should be prepared to refer to readings during class. Pls pay close attention to the EXACT PAGES indicated in the posted readings and course communications. Course readings rely on carefully selected extracts from longer works in addition to the main anthropological texts. Students will be asked to listen to Podcosts and view film clips and other popular media during and prior to class. Participation in class and small group discussions is expected as is providing feedback on student projects. Course Requirements: Projects - Mapping Exchange Networks (7%), Covid Work Diaries Podcast (15%), Supply Chain Capitalism Prezi (15%), Economic Futures ‘Zine (18%), Reading Assignment Annotations (7x5%), Class Participation (10%). All work should be submitted in appropriate electronic/digital format via Canvas, email or dropbox. Grading Policies and Grade Scale Grading in this class is consistent with UF policies available at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/grades-grading-policies/ Point Range for this Class: A 100-94, A-94-90, B+90-87, B 87-84, B-84-80, C+ 80-77, C 77-74, C- 74-70, D+ 70-67, D 67-64, D-64-61, F <60 Policy on Late and Make-up Work: Assignments should be completed and submitted via Canvas or email ([email protected]) by the start of the class period for which they are assigned. Any concerns about late assignments or inability to complete course work on time should be discussed with instructor prior to the due date. Failure to communicate will result in grade reduction without an official excuse from academic advisor, Dean of Students Office, or a health professional. Students will have the opportunity to rewrite, revise and resubmit graded work. Any resubmitted assignments must be turned in within 2 weeks of receiving an initial grade or as otherwise instructed. Communications: Course Communication will be via email, zoom and Canvas. Zoom Etiquette: • Do not share your Zoom classroom link or password with others. • Arrive/Zoom in on time or a few minutes early if possible. Attendance will be taken at the start of each class session, and tardiness will be marked. 4 • Set up and mount the webcam video at the level of your eyes to show your full face. If you are using a laptop, you may need to place a book or two under it. Test the audio of your webcam. For any technical difficulties, please contact the UF Computing Help Desk (352-392-4357). https://elearning.ufl.edu/media/elearningufledu/zoom/How-to-Join-a-Meeting.pdf • During class session, set yourself on mute unless you want to speak or you are called upon. • If you want to speak, you can raise your hand (click the “raise hand” button at the center bottom of your screen) and wait to be called upon. • Your webcam must remain on throughout the class hour. If you have a reason to keep your webcam off, please communicate that reason with me or through the Dean of Students Office. • Important: Our class sessions may be audio visually recorded for students in the class to refer back and for enrolled students who are unable to attend live. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded. If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate orally are agreeing to have their voices recorded. If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature, which allows students to type questions and comments live. The chat will not be recorded or shared. As in all courses, unauthorized recording and unauthorized sharing of recorded materials is prohibited. • During unrecorded group work sessions we expect students to interact with each other using audio and their webcam whenever possible. If you have a reason to keep your webcam and audio off, please communicate that reason with me or through the Dean of Students Office. • Dress appropriately for class. Even though you may be alone at home your professor and classmates can see you. • Find a quiet space with stable internet connection to attend class. The study space does not need to be a separate room; a chair and desk/table set
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