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13695-01 - Practical course: Wirtschaft (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Every spring sem. |
| Lecturers | Kaue Felipe Nogarotto Crima Bellini (k.crimabellini@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This practical course (Übung) examines how social sciences, particularly anthropology, have studied the links between economy, racialization, intimacy, history, and global politics. With a focus on how economic practices are deeply shaped, rejected, and influenced by social relations. Anthropologists have used objects like matsutake mushrooms to show how their mycelia link foragers, Japanese identity, corporate capitalism, ecological uncertainty, and migration. Or explored how sugar, a luxury item in the 17th century, offers insight into the transition from the colonial plantation economy to industrial capitalism and modern consumer culture. The course draws on both foundational and contemporary texts to provide students with a solid grounding. The goals are: a) to understand the basis of political economy in anthropology, b) to examine how inequalities take shape through consumption and labor, and c) to learn how value is created and circulated. |
| Learning objectives | Glossary: every week, an overview of concepts such as citizenship, class, commodity, consumption, ethnoeconomy, modes of production, and neoliberalism is provided. |
| Bibliography | Mintz, Sidney (1985): Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. Penguin Books Sahlins, Marshall (1972): The Original Affluent Society. Routledge Schneider, Jane (1978): “Peacocks and Penguins: The Political Economy of European Cloth and Colors.” American Ethnologist 5, no. 3. 413–47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/643750 Tsing, Anna (2015): The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins. Princeton University Press |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 17.02.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 24.02.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Fasnachtswoche |
| Tuesday 03.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 10.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 17.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 24.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 31.03.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 07.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 14.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 21.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 28.04.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 05.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 12.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 19.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Tuesday 26.05.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Ethnologie, grosser Seminarraum |
| Modules |
Modul: Grundlagen der Ethnologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Anthropology) Modul: Wirtschaft in Osteuropa (Bachelor's degree program: Eastern European Studies) Modul: Wirtschaft in Osteuropa (Bachelor's degree subject: Eastern European Cultures) Module: Fields: Environment and Development (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Students are divided into two alternating groups, one debates guiding questions and the other takes notes. The groups switch places, and new questions are posed. In the second half of the class, the week's framework and concept are presented, followed by clarifications and synthesis. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Ethnologie |