How can we understand the gendered tropes that suffuse our financial system, from the wolves of Wall Street and their double-breasted banker suits to the scandalous promiscuity of money? What are their historical grounds, processes of transformation, and contingent alignments? This course offers an anthropological and interdisciplinary examination of sex, gender, and economic life at their intersection. We read ethnography and social theory to explore the economic dimensions of gender and sex as they are experienced and organized within financial systems and the institutions that make them work. Simultaneously, we question how key aspects of “economy” (especially money, corporations, and finance) are themselves sexed and gendered in theory and practice. Topics include kinship and exchange; social reproduction; cultures of Wall Street; financial labor; money and social relations; nature and biotechnology.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon Successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Identify and discuss the political economy of sex/gender
systems and their intersection with regimes of labor, exchange, and finance.
- Draw upon and analyze major schools of anthropological
and social theory to make arguments about financial systems and their gender
dimensions.
- Interpret ethnographic material and evaluate the research
methods and contributions to anthropology in writing.
- Identify major issues within financial practice and
reflect on its use in areas of social life including work, kinship, gender,
morality, mobility, and globalization.
- Develop an in-depth analysis of a topic in gender and finance using ethnographic sources, media, and archives.
Indicative Assessment
Participation, 10% [learning outcome 1]
Response papers, 20% (4 papers, 5% each), 400 words, [LO 2,3]
Ethnography practicums, 20% (2 assignments, 10% each), 500 words [LO 2,3]
10 minute tutorial presentation, 10% [LO 1,4]
Final writing project, 40%. 2,000 words [LO 4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
A 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial per week for 13 weeks. Students are expected to undertake a further 7 hours of independent study each teaching week of the semester (total 130 hours).
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Readings will be indicated on the Wattle course site.Preliminary Reading
- Macpherson, Sandra. "Rent to Own; or, What's Entailed
in Pride and Prejudice." Representations 82.1 (2003): 1-23.
- Chamberlain, Shannon. “The Economics of Jane Austen,” The Atlantic, August 2014, online: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/the-economics-of-jane-austen/375486/
Readings for the course will include selected book chapters
and articles from current ethnographies, social theory, media studies, and
journalist accounts of the financial system. For example:
- Kelly, Patty. Lydia’s Open Door: Inside Mexico’s Most
Modern Brothel. Berkeley CA: University of California Press (2008).
- Engels, Frederick. The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State. New York: International Publishers (1975).
- La Berge, Leigh Claire. "The Men Who Make the
Killings: American Psycho, Financial Masculinity, and 1980s Financial Print
Culture." Studies in American Fiction 37.2 (2010): 273-296.
- Roose, Kevin. Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-crash Recruits. Hachette Digital, Inc., 2014.
Assumed Knowledge
Recommended introductory course ANTH1002
Majors
Minors
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2016 | $2718 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2016 | $3876 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
