| Traditionally economists have studied market economies while anthropologists have studied the economic
behaviour of people living in societies without them. The division between formalists and substantivists,
however, or what the anthropologist Keith Hart describes as the “golden age” of economic anthropology has
become irrelevant since much of the non-western world is also developing. In this module, we review the history
of economic anthropology and the recent work of anthropologists studying how people are coping with economic
transformations in both developing and developed societies. Students taking this module will gain a nuanced
understanding of areas overlooked by economists such as the informal economy and an appreciation of
foundational economic anthropological concepts such as rational choice theory, moral economy, and exchange
theory. |
Administrative assistant: DILMAHOMED BOCUS Bibi Swaleha
Telephone: 4037400
Email: s.dilmahomed@uom.ac.mu |
