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ANNOUNCEMENT: 
Summercourse THE VALUE OF CULTURE 
August 11 - August 20, 1997 
Amsterdam, the Netherlands 
Course Leaders: Deirdre McCloskey and Arjo Klamer 
 
Economics and Culture often seem to be at odds with each other. Economists 
don't care for culture and those who are into culture usually don't have the 
patience for economics. This schism, notwithstanding, culture has undeniably 
an economic dimension and it could be argued that economics has an important 
cultural dimension. 
 
In this course we explore the two-way interactions between culture and 
economics. We will do so by bringing into the discussion insights from art, 
anthropology, rhetoric, literature and philosophy. The central theme will be 
the value of culture. It involves not only an inquiry into the economic value 
of the arts, but also into the value of culture in general. We will discuss, 
among other topics, the social and economic significance of gift giving, 
identity, gender and creativity. The scene of Amsterdam will serve as the 
backdrop for our discussions. 
It will allow us to see how those who work in the cultural field try to get 
around the market, and what role the gift plays in the Dutch arts. 
 
We recommend this course to anyone working in the field of economics, 
cultural studies, sociology, anthropology. the arts, philosophy, and related 
fields. Application forms can be obtained from the addresses below. Further 
details and a provisional program are appended. 
 
Arjo Klamer 
Deirdre McCloskey 
 
 
Dates: 
Monday August 11 - Wednesday August 20, 1997 
Morning sessions will begin at 10 a.m. and finish at 12 a.m. 
Afternoon sessions will start at 2 p.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. 
There will be a couple of excursions 
 
Location 
Felix Meritis, Keizersgracht 324, Amsterdam 
 
Application 
Please return the completed application form as soon as possible and not 
later than June 1 to The Amsterdam-Maastricht Summer University, P.O. Box 
53066, 1007 RB Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (fax:31.20.624 9368) 
 
Course leaders/ lecturers: 
Deirdre McCloskey, John F. Murray Professor of Economics and Professor of 
History at the University of Iowa; In 1996  she held the Tinbergen Visiting 
Professorship at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam 
Arjo Klamer, Professor of the Economy and Art and Culture at the Erasmus 
University Rotterdam 
 
Scholarships 
A limited number of scholarships is available for economists from Central- 
and Eastern Europe who have a proven interest in the economics of the arts. A 
motivation letter, a curriculum vitae and a completed application form should 
be sent in to take part in a selection procedure. 
 
Registration 
Registration will take place on Sunday August 10 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. in 
Felix Meritis, Keizersgracht 324, Amsterdam. At 5 p.m. The Amsterdam- 
Maastricht Summer University will offer welcome drinks to the participants. 
 
Fee 
NLG 1275, including lunch and free access to the International Summer Stage, 
the cultural programme of The Amsterdam-Maastricht Summer University 
 
Language 
English 
 
PROGRAMME 
 
Monday August 11:  The Rhetoric of Economics 
Lecturers: Deirdre McCloskey, Arjo Klamer 
 
Economics as a science is rhetorical in the sense that economists employ 
metaphors, narratives and other rhetorical devices to make their point. The 
dominant practice in economics expresses modernist rhetoric. 
Recommended reading: 
Deirdre McCloskey, The Rhetoric of Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, 
1984. 
Deirdre McCloskey, The Vices of Economists -The Virtues of the Bourgeoisie, 
Amsterdam University Press/University of Michigan Press, 1996. 
Arjo Klamer, "The Conception of Modernism in Economics: Samuelson versus 
Keynes",  in: Sheila Dow and John Hillard (ed.), Keynes, Knowledge and 
Uncertainty, London, Edgar Elgar, 1995, pp. 318-333. 
Arjo Klamer and Thomas Leonard,  "So What's an Economic Metaphor," in : 
Natural Images in Economics, ed. by Phillip Mirowski, Cambridge University 
Press, 1994. 
 
Tuesday August 12: Rhetorics and the Economy 
Lecturers: Deirdre McCloskey, Arjo Klamer 
 
Not only economists but also consumers, entrepreneurs and other economic 
agents are practising rhetorics.  What will follow when we conceptualise 
markets as 
conversations rather than as mechanisms of supply and demand? 
Recommended reading: 
Arjo Klamer and Deirdre McCloskey: "One Quarter of GDP is Persuasion", 
American Economic Review, May 1995. 
Adam Smith: selections from The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of 
Nations. 
Clifford Geerz: selected articles 
 
In the afternoon there will be an excursion to the stock exchange in 
Amsterdam where we will test our findings of that morning. 
 
Wednesday August 13: The Value of Culture 
Lecturers: Deirdre McCloskey, Arjo Klamer 
 
By calling attention to the rhetorical practices in economics and the economy 
we revive old classical traditions in economic thinking.  A pivotal concept 
in these traditions is that of value.  What happens if economists were to 
take the concept of value seriously again?  One possible consequence may be 
a revaluation of the role of culture in the economy.  Hence the topic of 
today: the value of  culture. 
Recommended reading: 
Arjo Klamer (ed.), The Value of Culture, Amsterdam University Press 
/University of Michigan Press, 1996. 
 
Thursday August 14: Bourgeois Virtues 
Lecturers: Deirdre McCloskey, Arjo Klamer 
 
The value of culture shows up in the virtues that constrain and facilitate 
economic interactions.  Deirdre McCloskey will argue on behalf of the 
bourgeois 
virtues. 
Recommended reading: 
Deirdre McCloskey, in : A. Klamer (ed.), The Value of Culture, Amsterdam 
University Press/ University of Michigan Press, 1996. 
Philippa Foot, "Virtues and Vices and Other Essays" in: Moral Philosophy, 
University of California Press, 1978 
 
In the afternoon we will visit a cultural institution in Amsterdam to try out 
some of the concepts and theories discussed the previous day. 
 
Friday August 15: Gift and Identity 
Lecturers: Deirdre McCloskey, Arjo Klamer 
 
A topic that is neglected by economists but not by anthropologists is that of 
the gift.  We will explore the role of the gift in contemporary economics 
and the relationship between gift-giving and culture. The world of the arts 
will provide a special case. 
Recommended reading: 
Aafke Komter (ed.), The Gift, Amsterdam University Press, 1996 
 
Saturday August 16: The Value of Cultural Heritage 
Excursion (optional) 
 
Sunday August 17: free 
 
Monday August 18: Feminist Ethics 
Lecturer: Edith Kuiper, Universiteit van Amsterdam 
 
The value of care shows up in the institutions of care. Feminist philosophers 
and economists in particular have paid attention to these institutions. 
 
Tuesday August 19:  The Postmodern in Economics 
Lecturers:      Jack Amariglio, Merrimack College, US 
Judith Metha, University of East Anglia, UK 
 
Amariglio and Metha are postmodernist economists.  They endorse the 
rhetorical and cultural perspectives of Klamer and McCloskey but are 
critical of the ways in which they fill these perspectives. 
 
Wednesday August 20: Wrap up and Conclusions 
Lecturers: Deirdre McCloskey, Arjo Klamer, Edith Kuiper, Jack Amariglio, 
Judith Metha, 
 
 
Profile of the lecturers: 
Deirdre McCloskey has been Professor of Economics and History at the 
University of Iowa since 1980 and Visiting Professor at the Erasmus 
University Rotterdam since 1996. She has become well known for her work in 
economics and caused a stir in the world of economists by claiming that 
economics is rhetorical. Her most recent publication is The Vices of 
Economists -The Virtues of the Bourgeoisie. 
 
Arjo Klamer is Professor of Economics of Art and Culture at the Erasmus 
University Rotterdam. He has contributed to the rhetorical perspective on 
economics with his book Conversations with Economists. His most recent 
publication is The Value of Culture in which he focuses on the relation 
between economics and the arts. 
 
Jack Amariglio is Professor of Economics at Merrimack College, US. He is 
editor of the journal Rethinking Marxism. He has written extensively on 
postmodernism in economics,on Foucault and economics, and the neglect of the 
body in standard economic theory. He is currently working on a book with 
David Ruccio on postmodernism and economics. 
 
Judith Metha is Professor in Economics at the University of East Anglia, UK. 
She writes on postmodern economics and focuses particularly on the role of 
gender and that of cultural industries. 
 
Edith Kuiper has been teaching at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. She is 
working on a study on gender in the history of economic thought. 
 
 
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