Institute for Leadership & Sustainability
Nook Lane
Fusehill Street Carlisle CA1 2HH
Ambleside
LA22 9BL
Profile:
Money and Society MOOC - every six months
A free online course at Masters-level will enable you to understand the past, present and future role of money in society. A few hours a week for four weeks of presentations, assignments and interaction. Enrol here. Are you concerned with the banking system? Bemused or fascinated by bitcoin? Starting a local currency? Whereas most courses on money are intended for people with an economics background or banking future, this course is for people who are interested in understanding money from a social innovation perspective – it prepares the ground for answering how to create a better future by reshaping money and currency. The course is therefore highly interdisciplinary, drawing upon anthropology, sociology, history and heterodox economics. It is designed by Professor Jem Bendell PhD (IFLAS) and Matthew Slater BD (Community Forge), with additional tutoring by alumni of the course (some of whom have gone on to launch their own ICOs). Typically 50 to 100 people complete the full 4 lessons: Lesson One: An introduction to money: functions, forms, and fallacies Lesson Two: The history of money and its discontents Lesson Three: The problems with mainstream monetary systems Lesson Four: Alternatives Each lesson begins on a Sunday, consisting of a audio-narrated slides of less than two hours (which you can listen to when you want within the following days), followed by two hours of personal reading and one hour to prepare a written assignment of around 500 words, which must be submitted by the following week. Participants can view and comment on each other’s assignments in the forum, and can interact as they wish, with tutors commenting on assignments in the forum. Lessons Two and Four are followed by one hour webinars with the tutors, which occur on Saturday mornings at 10am (UK time). You need access to a decent broadband connection but do not need any special software to engage in the course. Participants cannot start the MOOC late. Sign up at http://mooc1.communityforge.net At the end of this MOOC you will be able to:- Critically assess views on the form and function of money and currency by drawing from monetary theories
- Explain theories on how social, economic and environmental problems arise from mainstream monetary systems
- Explain alternative forms of money and currency and the theories on how they can support better social, economic and environmental outcomes.