Sociology of FIRE: Finance, Insurance, + Real Estate

This seminar explores the sociology of finance, insurance, and real estate (the “FIRE” sector). Topics covered include: the causes and consequences of the growth of finance, the morality of life insurance, gender discrimination, race and the role of the state in the mortgage market, the interplay between innovation and regulation, and the 2008 financial crisis. We will ask whether the benefits of modern finance are worth its costs, and whether finance merely reflects existing social and economic inequalities, or if there are mechanisms by which finance creates or reinforces those inequalities.