The 2008 global financial crisis sparked vibrant debate between the discipline of economics and other social sciences about how to study finance beyond quantitative modeling. This accelerated the emergence of 'critical finance studies', which this course approaches from the perspective of anthropology, sociology, and the history of political economy. We begin by examining the longstanding conversation between anthropology and economics on themes such as economic reasoning, money and debt, and capitalism and inequality. The second part of the course zooms into contemporary ethnographic studies of finance across the global North and global South, focusing on the social institutions, professionals, events (e.g financial crises), and power relations that constitute the global financial apparatus. The topics covered include stock trading and popular finance, the construction of expertise in investment banking, the globalization of credit markets, and the ethics of innovation and financial technology. We will also learn about the role of finance in post-colonial political debates of economic freedom, about the intersection of race and finance, and the influence of religion on financial practices, e.g. Islamic finance. Adopting a broad comparative approach, this course encourages debate on alternative ways of arranging the global financial system in the 21st century.
- Profesor: Susanna Adjei Arthur
- Profesor: Anna-Riikka Kauppinen