140059 VO+UE VM2 / VM5 - 'You are not a loan' (2017W)

The recent Global Financial and Economic Crisis in 2007 and the resurgence of radical protest since 2011 have reignited interest in studying debt, financialization, and the role of social movements for social change. From microcredits to US mortgages, from Greek public debt to dictatorial debt after the Arab Spring: debt continues to be a pivotal issue of political economy and contentious politics.

This class will provide an introduction to the study of both debt and social movements. center on the diffusion of protest by focusing on North Africa and Europe as two separate yet highly interrelated regions.

The class will introduce students to empirical research, explain different methodological approaches, and contain a lot of primary video and textual material.

Preliminary Structure:
1. Introduction, elaboration of course structure 2. Introduction to social movement theory 3. Transnational social movements 4. Why is debt a problem?
5. The morality of debt
6&7. Case study I: The history of the anti-debt movement 8&9. Case study II: Truth Commission on Greek Debt 10&11. Case study III: Campaign to audit debt after the Tunisian revolution 12. Conclusion: open questions and debates; assignments