Hart, Keith (1943- )
Born in Manchester, Keith Hart (1943–) studied classics and social anthropology at Cambridge University. His research focuses on economic anthropology, Africa, money in all its forms and the digital revolution. He developed the concept of the informal economy in the field of development studies. He carried out fieldwork in Ghana in 1965–1968. In the 1970s, he advised on development policy in the Cayman Islands, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong and West Africa. After immersion in the street economy, his experience of participant observation as a high-level adviser of governments and international organizations was crucial for his evolution as an anthropologist. He has taught at a dozen universities (Manchester, Yale, Chicago, Michigan, West Indies, London School of Economics, Pretoria, etc.), including Cambridge University between 1984 and 1998, where he directed the Centre for African Studies for six years. In 1993, with Anna Grimshaw, he created the collection Prickly Pear Pamphlets, which had a dozen issues. He has written and edited several books including: Money in a Human Economy (2017); Economy For and Against Democracy (2015); The Memory Bank: Money in an Unequal World (2000), The Political Economy of West African Agriculture (1982), Market and Society: The Great Transformation Today (2009) and Economic Anthropology (2011) with Chris Hann and The Human Economy: A Citizen’s Guide (2010) with J-L. Laville & A. D. Cattani). Keith Hart is also a writer and professional gambler.
Keywords: Africa | Caribbean | Economic anthropology | Development Policy | Human economy | Money | Digital revolution
Secondary sources
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“Self in the World – Connecting Life’s Extremes”
Keith Hart, 2021
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“Interview with Keith Hart, Preeminent Economic Anthropologist of our Times”
Keith Hart, 2022
Primary sources
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“Informal Income Opportunities and Urban Employment in Ghana”
Keith Hart, 1973
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“Heads or Tails ? Two Sides of the Coin”
Keith Hart, 1986
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Anthropology and the Crisis of the Intellectuals
Anna Grimshaw & Keith Hart, 1996
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“Foreword”, in Roy Rappaport, Ritual and Religion
Keith Hart, 1999
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“Money as a Form of Religious Life”
Keith Hart, 2011
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“Human Economy as a Religious Project”
Keith Hart, 2020
Audio-video