APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016 Norwegian version

MRK 3534 Economic Anthropology

Responsible for the course
Steffen Johannessen, Gillian Warner-Søderholm

Department
Department of Communication and Culture

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
7,5

Language of instruction
Norwegian and english

Introduction

The course will offer anthropological and sociological perspectives for the understanding and analysis of culture within the context of international business. It will put focus on how social practices of trade, reciprocity, and consumption contribute to creating identity, meaning, social relations and traditions. Through the use of anthropological tools such as fieldwork, students will gain an insight into how values, norms and traditions in a society impact the way we communicate, trade and how we act as consumers.

Cultural and ethnic diversity have become part of people’s everyday experience in most countries. At the same time, communication between people all over the world is increasing and physical distance is becoming less important. A constantly changing business world, increasingly affected by growing global economies, is bringing about new social, cultural, economic, and political challenges. This demands a heightened sense of understanding anthropological issues of culture and what shapes identity in a global economy.

Geographically, the course will focus on qualitative research within Scandinavia and China. Through examples from these culturally diverse areas, the course will focus on topics such as power, nationalism, globalization, identity, and changing economic practices and understandings.

Learning outcome
Acquired knowledge
On completion of the course the students should:

• Be familiar with anthropological understandings of culture
• Be familiar with an anthropological understanding of identity
• Be familiar with anthropological theories of economic exchange
• Understand how we are affected by the region in which we live and how our cultural background influences our understanding of other groups and regions
• Understand central anthropological terms, such as cultural relativism and ethnocentrism.
• Be familiar with qualitative anthropological research methods
• Understand business behavior and politics in modern China

• Qualitative research methods and fieldwork
• Anthropology and ethics
• Cultural translation and context
• Globalization
• Trade and reciprocity
• Media and visual culture
• Tourism
• Identity, ethnicity and nationalism
• Consumption, shopping and meaning making
• Introduction to Scandinavian and Chinese cultures