Money plays a fundamental role in the economy - From day-to-day activities, to business decisions, to shaping government policy, and, to a large extent, to shaping what options are possible for us in our lives. The goal of this course is for students to gain a more fundamental understanding of the role of money in the economy, including the role it plays in shaping social relationships and hierarchies, and in mediating the relationship between society and nature. The aim is to understand: What is money? How does it work? How does it affect us?

The first question is aided by a historical review of the development and different forms of money, and the relationship between money and the state in these contexts. The forms money takes from primitive ‘social’ currencies to bank loans and digital fiat currency will be traced. This builds the groundwork for the present-day analysis that follows. Understanding ‘How it works’ requires an understanding of the modern institutional structure of money, dominated by the state, the banking system and the financial system. Focus will include the role of central banks, financialization, and the role of debt. Public banking and alternative forms of money will also be considered. Finally, the role of money is critical to understand and address in the context of a climate transition. This includes, among other things, the connection between finance and energy transition, and money in the context of a Green New Deal. 

This course will pull on literature from sociology, anthropology and political studies in addition to economics.

Language of instruction: English.

After taking this course, students are able to:

• Understand both the economy and society as embedded in biophysical systems.
• Understand the institutional context of socio-ecological systems, particularly the monetary system.
• Critically analyze and act to address challenges on the intersection between social, ecological and economic systems. 
• Challenges include inequality, environmental pollution and exploitation, growth dependency, and facilitating a climate transition. 
• Perceive necessities, and conceive options for change towards social prosperity and environmental sustainability. 

The seminar promotes students to:

• Analyze and critically reflect on the framing of social and ecological challenges and policies. 
• Select and apply theoretical concepts in the context of ecological economics. 
• Critically reflect on current debates taking place in media and political discourse. 
• Engage in open discussion, conceive their own opinion based on academic research and give substantial-constructive feedback.
• Conduct team projects effectively, to listen attentively and to present their ideas in convincing ways.

Feedback from both the course instructor and peers helps students to understand shortcomings and to improve.

• Please make sure you arrive/login on time. 
• You may miss one of the eight sessions. 
• For exceptional reasons it is possible to miss another session. In that case please contact the lecturer.

• Input by lecturer.
• Discussions and critical reflection of academic, news and magazine articles in leading international and social reviews and media.  
• Variety of group exercises including different styles of discussions, collective reflection exercise, panel discussions, group presentations and role games.
• Use of videos, film clips, lecture casts and podcasts.
• Engagement in digital media and reflection on online debates taking place, for instance, on blogs and twitter.

Weekly literature questions: 15%

The required readings for each week will include 2 questions that should be answered. This can be in paragraph or bullet point format, and should be no more than 1 page in total. The intention is to clarify main take-aways and points of confusion, and to synthesize concepts in the readings. Submission on @Learn of no more than 1 page, due by noon on Monday before each class.

Class participation: 20%

Participate in small group and plenary discussions. Raise feedback or questions to student presentations.

Topical group presentation: 30%

This will be a group presentation that will take place in class to compliment the topic for that week. Topics will be fixed for each week, and students will choose which topic/week they would like to present. The presentation should summarize the salient points of the required presentation literature, and could also incorporate additional relevant literature (though this is not required). Students should critically assess the literature, in addition to presenting the most relevant information within it. More information will be provided in class. In-class presentation, 20 mins in length.

Monetary contestation project: 35%

This is a group project that will focus on proposing an alternative currency or alteration to the existing monetary system (eg. IMF debt forgiveness, carbon currency, local currency, ECB regulations, etc.). Groups of 2-4 people. There will be an in-class presentation at the end of the semester and a paper, 4-6 pages, submitted as a group. Additional information will be provided in class.