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This course explores the markets as social and cultural phenomena. The main objective of the course is to identify and discuss the social and cultural forces essential for market operation. Throughout the course, students will become acquainted with topics in new (and 'new new') economic sociology, such as the performativity approach to markets, valuation studies, and broader cultural, historical, and moral aspects of markets. Using the conceptual apparatus gained through literature readings, students will be able to employ a sociological perspective to analyze traditional and innovative, formal and informal economic exchanges. Last update: Kolomoiets Maksym, Mgr., Ph.D. (29.01.2026)
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- To make students more well-versed in the topics of economic sociology; - To invite them to apply theoretical concepts to the given real-world phenomena in course of group discussions; - To develop students’ academic writing skills. Last update: Kolomoiets Maksym, Mgr., Ph.D. (29.08.2025)
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For the grading, students will have to complete the following requirements: (1) Class attendance. For completing the course, a maximum of two absences is allowed; a presence sheet will be maintained. (2) 5 written assignments that contain a short reading summary and a proposition of the example for a seminar slide (see below), submitted before the lecture. (4 points each) (3) 5 slides (one-slide presentations) with students’ examples of real-world market phenomena for the seminar discussion. (8 points each) (4) Final written exam. (40 points) Usage of AI: Generative AI should be considered an aid to the critical and creative skills applied in learning processes and production of the text, not a replacement for them. AI tools can be used to create a literature overview or suggest ideas for the assignment topic. However, you should cite in your sources only works consulted in their entirety and not based on the indication or summary generated by the AI. For the students’ text, the usage of non-intrusive tools such as spellcheckers (Grammarly) is welcome. However, students also bear full responsibility for the content of the submitted text. In case the assignment contains overly broad and vague statements with a lack of substance, which is indicative of AI-generated text, it will be evaluated accordingly, and raise a suspicion about violation of the CU code of ethics by presenting AI-generated work as their own work. Points:
Grading: A – excellent (91-100 p.) B – very good (81-90 p.) C – good (71-80 p.) D – satisfactory (61-70 p.) E – sufficient (51-60 p.) F – fail (<51 p.) Last update: Kolomoiets Maksym, Mgr., Ph.D. (15.09.2026)
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Further recommended literature: van Bavel, B. (2020). Open Societies before Market Economies: Historical Analysis. Socio-Economic Review, 18(3), 795-815. Swedberg, R. (1997). New Economic Sociology: What Has Been Accomplished, What Is Ahead? Acta Sociologica, 40(2), 161-182. Beckert, J. (2009). The Social Order of Markets. Theory and Society 38, 245–269. Humphreys, A. (2010). Megamarketing: The Creation of Markets as a Social Process. Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 1-19 Çalışkan, K., & Callon, M. (2010). “Economization, Part 2: A Research Programme for the Study of Markets.” Economy and Society 39 (1): 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085140903424519 Pinzur, D. & Duterme, T. (2025) Market devices and infrastructures: how they differ and why it matters, Journal of Cultural Economy, 18:2, 212-229, Evans, D. M. (2018). What is consumption, where has it been going, and does it still matter? The Sociological Review, 67(3), 499-517. Lamont, Michèle. (2012). Toward a comparative sociology of valuation and evaluation. Annual Review of Sociology 38, no. 1: 201-221. Karpik, L., & Scott, N. (2010). Valuing the Unique: The Economics of Singularities. Princeton University Press. Evans, M. S. (2009). Zelizer's Theory of Money and the Case of Local Currencies. Environment and Planning A. 41. 1026-1041. Zelizer, V. A. (2011). Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy. Princeton University Press. Last update: Kolomoiets Maksym, Mgr., Ph.D. (23.01.2026)
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The course starts with the introductory lecture. Afterwards, the course consists of the lecture-seminar pairs, where the lecture presents a specific problem related to market functioning, while the seminar discusses this problem based on real-world market examples provided by the students. Last update: Kolomoiets Maksym, Mgr., Ph.D. (23.01.2026)
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Week 1 (1 October): Introduction to the course. How do sociology and economics approach markets? Markets and values. Requirements for the course. Week 2 (8 October): Lecture: Emergence of the order on markets. New economic sociology. Standardized markets. Compulsory reading: Kollock, P. & Braziel, E. (2006). How not to build an online market: the sociology of market microstructure. Advances in Group Processes. Week 3 (15 October): Seminar on the social embedding of standardized markets. Week 4 (22 October): Lecture: Varieties of rationality and resource allocation systems. Performative approach to market constitution. Compulsory reading: Callon, M. (1998). “An Essay on Framing and Overflowing: Economic Externalities Revisited by Sociology.” In The Laws of the Markets, edited by M. Callon, 244–269. London: Blackwell. Week 5 (29 October): Seminar on the constitution of the market. Week 6 (5 November): Lecture: Consumption and consumer culture studies. Compulsory reading: McCracken, G. (1986). Culture and Consumption: A Theoretical Account of the Structure and Movement of the Cultural Meaning of Consumer Goods. Journal of Consumer Research, 13(1), 71-84. Week 7 (12 November): Seminar on consumption & consumer cultures. Week 8 (19 November): Lecture: Valuation of market goods. Status markets & markets for singularities Compulsory reading: Velthuis, O. (2003). Symbolic meanings of prices: constructing the value of contemporary art in Amsterdam and New York galleries. Theory and Society, 32 (2), 181-215. Week 9 (26 November): Seminar on valuation. Week 10 (3 December): Lecture: Earmarking of money in the intimate economies. Designer currencies. Virtual economies and digital currencies. Week 11 (10 December): Seminar on intimate and virtual currencies. Compulsory reading: Zelizer, V. (1998). The Proliferation of Social Currencies. The Sociological Review, 46(1_suppl), 58-68. Week 12 (17 December): Course conclusion and feedback for the course. Last update: Kolomoiets Maksym, Mgr., Ph.D. (13.09.2026)
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