Introductory description

"Money talks...", so they say. But what is money? Does it "make the world go round"? In this module we ask these questions and find out that things aren't as straightforward as they might appear: it turns out that there are a lot of different ways of understanding what money actually is, each of which has large implications for how we think about politics and the world around us. From high finance and global monetary relations all the way to hip hop iconography and student debt, money does indeed talk, and this module finds out about what it's saying. This module is an invitation to think about what money is and how it is governed (and to whose benefit).

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Week 1 Introduction: Money and Power
Week 2 Money Creation and Central Banks
Week 3 Hierarchies of Money
Week 4 Value and Money
Week 5 Social Meanings of Money
Week 6 Reading Week
Week 7 The Morality of Money
Week 8 Debt and Money
Week 9 Inflation
Week 10 Cultures of Money and Finance

Week 11 Financial Globalisation
Week 12 The IMF
Week 13 The Development Crisis
Week 14 Monetary Unions and Financial Crises
Week 15 Money and Security
Week 16 Reading Week
Week 17 Local Currencies and Community Resistance
Week 18 Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technologies
Week 19 The Cashless Society
Week 20 The Future of Money

Week 21 Student-led Reading
Week 22 Revision Materials

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the theoretical and conceptual debates surrounding the role of money in political economy
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to the role of money in political economy
• Demonstrate an ability to apply the theoretical positions on money to a variety of issue areas in political economy
• Construct and substantiate a comprehensive and sophisticated argument on a variety of topics covered in the module

Indicative reading list

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

The module provides students with opportunities to acquire or develop the following key skills:

• an appreciation of the political economy of money, through an exploration of the social, political, cultural, and economic aspects of money
• a thorough knowledge of the key theoretical approaches to money and their political implications
• the ability to apply theoretical approaches studied to a number of important contemporary and historical case studies associated with the political economy of money

Transferable skills

The module provides students with opportunities to acquire or develop the following key skills:

• the ability to apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects
• the transferable/key/generic skills necessary for employment related to Politics and International Studies: lateral thinking; problem solving; detailed critical analysis and interpretation of a variety of primary and secondary sources; the ability to digest, retain and apply complex information and ideas; an understanding of language; skills in research, independent study, group discussion, and in oral and written presentation; the ability to consider unfamiliar ideas and ways of thinking
• the skills necessary for the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility: e.g. the ability to assess their own capacity for and progress in learning; the ability to organize their work and manage their time successfully; the ability to meet deadlines; the ability to reflect critically on the extent and limitations of how and what they have learned, discovered and understood
• the ability to deploy decision-making skills in complex and unpredictable situations
• ability to synthesis ideas drawn from different disciplinary areas in order to understand and/or resolve real world problems
• the ability to recognize and be sensitive to diversity
• skills in the communication of information, ideas, problems and solutions in a variety of ways to a variety of audiences
• the ability to undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature.