Course code

HIA6348.HT

old course code

Course title in Estonian

Majandusantropoloogia

Course title in English

Economic Anthropology

ECTS credits

6.0

Assessment form

Examination

lecturer of 2025/2026 Spring semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

lecturer of 2026/2027 Autumn semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

Brief description of the course

Is the economy a distant, abstract system, or is it something we create every moment through our relationships and choices? This course challenges conventional understandings of money, labor, and value. We explore paradoxes such as why a gift can be more burdensome than a commodity, why certain forms of labor are deemed "real work" while others are marginalized, and how our daily consumption is inextricably linked to global energy transitions and the climate crisis. The course provides a systematic toolkit for economic anthropology, ranging from classic theories of gift exchange to critical analyses of contemporary capitalism. Students will learn to perceive the economy as a cultural practice, engage deeply with ethnographic texts, and conduct empirical group work to investigate modern social paradoxes and shifting norms.

Learning outcomes in the course

Upon completing the course the student:
- applies concepts of economic anthropology and political economy to analyze economic phenomena, explaining the interconnections between the economy, society, and environmental sustainability;
- interprets economic anthropological ethnographies, distinguishing between authors' theoretical and normative arguments and empirical material, and synthesizes the readings in an academic written form;
- compares the diversity of economic practices and resource distribution across various cultural contexts, analyzing the structural impact of social inequality on human livelihoods;
- plans and conducts empirical group work, sharing tasks and responsibilities within a team to analyze contemporary capitalist processes and related cultural practices;
- formulates and presents orally research problems related to economic practices, providing analytically sound solutions based on theoretical arguments and relevant examples.

Teacher

Eeva Kesküla

Study programmes containing that course

Liberal Arts in Humanities (HTLAB/28.HT)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/27.HT)
Anthropology (HIANB/26.HT)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/26.HT)
Anthropology (HIANB/25.HT)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/25.HT)
Anthropology (HIANB/24.HT)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/24.HT)
Anthropology (HIANB/23.HT)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/23.HT)
Anthropology (HIANB/22.HT)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/22.HT)
Anthropology (HIANB/00.HT)