This course asks how we can rethink the ”economy” — as a ”human” and/or ”community-centric” economy and not an economy of companies or states. We want to ask this question specifically in the context of a world facing seemingly endless crises – think multiple wars and conflicts; COVID 19; climate, financial, geo-political crises; etc. We ask what this multiplicity of crises shows us about the manifold issues of our existing economic system and explore possible alternatives, from small to large scale. We will start with a solid foundation on (previously) existing economic systems and then look into the many academic, activist, and historical approaches surrounding community and solidarity economies, degrowth, food sovereignty, anarchist commons, democratic confederalism, indigenous movements, and other non-capitalist visions of the world, as well as engage with the diversity of alternatives found throughout the anthropological record.
There will also be a companion Summer Field School (”Projektseminar”) in the region of Molise, Italy, which explores practical applications towards ”reimagining the economy”. Students are encouraged to take both classes as they are complementary.
- Lehrende/r: Sarah Ruth Sippel