Critical Reflection Papers:  These  reflection papers are a chance for students to demonstrate that they both comprehend the readings and that they can compare the readings and analyze the common themes across the readings and other course content.  These essays are not research papers however, students can draw upon sources or empirical evidence from beyond the course readings. These essays are not mere summaries of the readings; the purpose is to develop a critical analysis of the material and an original and critical ‘take’ or argument on the week’s content to  broader themes discussed and studied in the course. The papers must be a minimum of between 1200-1500 words in length (not including the bibliography).
SOCIAL ECONOMY AND FINANCE
SOSC 3041
Instructor: Patrick Clark
January 30th, 2024
WHAT IS CREDIT? WHAT IS MONEY?
Money and the “Myth of Barter”
“…our standard account of monetary history is precisely backwards. We did not begin with barter, discover money, and then eventually develop credit systems.
It happened precisely the other way around. What we now call virtual money came first. Coins came much later, and their use spread only unevenly, never completely replacing credit systems. Barter, in turn, appears to be largely a kind of accidental by-product of the use of coinage or paper money: historically, it has mainly been what people who are used to cash
transactions do when for one reason or another they
have no access to currency.” (Graeber, 2011, p. 40)
David GraeberWhat is Debt?
“…in real communities and marketplaces,
almost anywhere one is much more likely
to discover everyone in debt to everyone
else in a dozen different ways, and that
most transactions take place without the
use of currency. (Graeber, 2011, p. 22)
“…the value of a unit of currency is not
the measure of the value of an object, but
the measure of one’s trust in other
human beings.” (Graeber, 2011, p. 47)
Rotating Savings and Credit Associations
(ROSCA)
? “…rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) are grass-root collectives
that evolve within communities to counteract social and financial exclusion.”
(Hossein, 2016, p. 311)
? “African traditions of collectives reveal that Black people have long had
money pools that focused on helping people thrive in commerce, including
during the hard times of slavery and colonization. This research argues that
throughout the Caribbean indigenous banking systems—with localized names
such as susu, partner, meeting-turn, box-hand and sol—are long-standing
ancient traditions that historically and currently are taking a bold stand
against exclusionary financial systems.” (Hossein, 2016, p. 309)
? The Business of Susu, GHOneTV,