Creative
Universities
TEACHING ACTIVITY
Creating a
Personal Diverse Economic Portfolio
Students analyze the diverse and social character of their own economic activities to realize themselves as interdependent and ethical economic subjects. This activity is inspired by the work of J.K. Gibson-Graham on diverse economies.
Activity Outline
I have not yet tried this activity in my own class.
1. Economic diaries
Students keep an economic diary over the course of a week, recording all of their economic transactions and exchanges. Students then classify these activities into capitalist, alternative and non-capitalist.
2. Economic Inventories
The diaries are then translated into an inventory, using a template adapted from the
3. Social and Ethical Questions
Students then reflect on two overarching questions: on what basis am I making economic decisions and what kind of social relationships am I entering or creating through my economic activities?
4. Get Creative
Finally, students create visual representation of their portfolios in the form of an iceberg or other creative, potentially multimedia, formats, in order to imagine and express themselves as diverse economic subjects.
Reading Suggestions
Section from the Creative Universities Book
Pages 98-100
These are readings on which students can draw for this activity.
Gibson-Graham, J. K., & Dombroski, K. (2020). The Handbook of Diverse Economies. Edward
Elgar Publishing.
Gibson-Graham, J. K., Cameron, J., & Healy, S. (2013). Take back the economy: An ethical
guide for transforming our communities. U of Minnesota Press.
Gibson-Graham, J. K. (2006). A postcapitalist politics. U of Minnesota Press.
Roelvink, G., Martin, K. S., & Gibson-Graham, J. K. (Eds.). (2015). Making other worlds
possible: Performing diverse economies. U of Minnesota Press.
