Economic Anthropology
Code
711001009
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Antropologia
Credits
6
Teacher in charge
Margarida Fernandes
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
1. To provide the students with synthetic information on the most relevant economic anthropology theories and studies, in the past and
nowadays.
2. To provide the students with the ability to use such knowledge in the observation, study and analysis of the various economic phenomena,
including in the contemporary capitalist societies.
3. To provide the students with the knowledge and competences which allow them:
a) to understand the various ways of sociocultural and politic integration of economic phenomena in the societies, so-called primitive or
modern, developed or underdeveloped, rural or urban;
b) to identify and analyze, from an economic anthropology point of view, daily socioeconomic practices;
c) to identify and analyze the presence of symbolic and political rationalities in the economical fields.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1.1 The Adam Smith revolution
1.2 From work-value to plus-value
1.3 Exchange, money and capital
1.4 Economic interpretations as projects of society
2.1 Interations economics/other social fields
2.2 The diversity and polemics of economic anthropology
3.1 From the Essay on the Gift to the reciprocity paradigm
3.2 Uses of reciprocity theory, faced to other interpretations
3.3 The gift in contemporary societies
4.1 Zen strategies and affluent societies
4.2 Tribal economies and kinship
4.3 Paisan economic rationalities
4.4 Health, healing, personhood and word visions
4.5 Development and cultural contraints
4.6 Informal economies
5.1 Cunsumption societies
5.2 Industrial labour, simbolism and power relations
5.3 Precariousness and uncertainty
5.4 Economy, social contract and violence
5.5 Financial capital and the current crisis
Bibliography
Cunha, M I, org. (2006) dossier Formalidade e informalidade. Etnográfica, X (2)
Feliciano, J F & Yañez-Casal, A (2006) Antropologia Económica - velhos e novos campos. Lisboa, U A: 123-139
Galbraith, J K (1980) A Era da Incerteza. Lisboa, Moraes
Godelier, M (1973) Horizontes da Antropologia. Lisboa, Ed. 70
Granjo, P (2004) «Trabalhamos sobre um barril de pólvora»: homens e perigo na refinaria de Sines. Lisboa, ICS
Granjo, P (2009) Saúde e doença em Moçambique, Saúde e Sociedade, 18 (4): 567-581
Ho, K (2009) Liquidated: an ethnography of Wall Street. Durham, Duke U P
Mauss, M (1998) Ensaio sobre a Dádiva. Lisboa, Ed. 70
Meillassoux, C (1976) Celeiros, Mulheres e Capitais. Porto, Afrontamento
Sahlins, M (1972) Stone Age Economics. Chicago, Aldine
Yánez-Casal, A (1996) Antropologia e Desenvolvimento: as aldeias comunais de Moçambique. Lisboa, IICT
Yañez-Casal, A (2005) Entre a Dádiva e a Mercadoria. Lisboa, ed. autor
VVAA (1978) Para Uma História Antropológica. Lisboa, Ed. 70
Teaching method
The CU is conceived as a process and route that, departing from the economical concepts and anthropological theories, explains and debates
their use both in the classical anthropological fields and in the most inovative ones, progressivelly providing the instruments which are required in
order to reach the teaching outcomes.
PC 1.1 to 1.4 present the essencial themes of economics, necessary to understand the following PCs.
PC 2.1 and 2.2 present the schools of economic anthropology, their contradictions and conexions with previous PCs.
PC 3.1 to 3.3 explore the uses and impacts of the reciprocity paradigm, in various contexts and eras.
PC 4.1 to 4.6 study economic phenomena in exotic and liminal contexts, and their interactions with politics, simbolism and kinship.
PC 5.1 to 5.5 does the same in capitalist societies, until the understanding of current economical crisis.
Evaluation method