Denmark

This course develops an integrated framework of household finance for private and public use. It covers how to maximize intertemporal utility given an individual's life-cycle income; how to become rich if one wants to pay the price for it; how to save, borrow, and purchase property (and if one should do it at all); et cetera. In terms of public policy, the course provides a holistic view of wealth and income inequality, how poverty restricts sound financial decision making, and how policies can improve social outcomes by reducing (or increasing) income inequality. Topics include developing a sound integrated framework for individuals to manage their finances with a long-term horizon in mind (based on the permanent income hypothesis); analyzing the impact of credit restrictions and hyperbolic discounting in household financial management in poor and middle-income countries; investigating the role of public policy in improving household financial decisions; and explaining the determinants of wealth and income inequality and how economic policies can improve social outcomes. 

This course provides a broad-based introduction to the core themes and ideas of the anthropology of the Middle East, and by extension of the Anthropology of Islam. It begins by exploring the reasons behind the relatively late emergence of the Middle East as an area of study, before moving on to consider such topics as Orientalism, gender, rural versus urban anthropology, the role of religion (traditional and modern), and the forging of a regional subjectivity (as witnessed in the ongoing uprisings throughout the Middle East, the so-called “Arab Spring”). The course stands alone as a regional module, as well as offers an overview of the issues for continued study of the Middle East.