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This course is a writing-intensive seminar that examines capitalism as a historical formation, a cultural order, and a system of social thought. It focuses on the emergence, development, and transformation of capitalist societies from the early modern period to the present. Through close reading of influential works by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Karl Polanyi, Fernand Braudel, E. P. Thompson, Immanuel Wallerstein, and others, the course explores how thinkers and historians have interpreted the rise of commercial society, the expansion of global markets, and the changing organization of labor, wealth, and power. Topics include empire and slavery, class formation, the growth of world economic systems, debates over markets and states, and the social meanings attached to work, risk, and economic life. Alongside these historical questions, the seminar considers how capitalism has shaped everyday practices, moral ideas, and cultural values. Students will engage major texts that have defined the study of capitalism while reflecting on the historical experiences and cultural forms associated with modern economic life.