Society, Space, and Money: Lessons from Financial Geography and Atlas of Finance

Where does finance come from? How can maps uncover hidden patterns of finance? Why does the hierarchy of financial centres and power change so slowly? These questions are at the core of the IRS lecture, which explores the role of money in society and space. It will introduce and explain a new socio-environmental definition of finance, and financial geography as a growing interdisciplinary field.

Darius Wójcik will draw on examples from his “Atlas of Finance”, the first ever published book-size collection of maps and visuals dedicated to the topic of finance and a unique illustrated exploration of the development of finance. The atlas combines data from every part of the world and covers five thousand years of history.

Dariusz Wójcik is Professor of Financial Geography at National University of Singapore and Honorary Research Associate at University of Oxford. He is one of the world’s leading figures in his field. His Atlas of Finance: Mapping the Global Story of Money won international prizes and has been translated into over a dozen languages, including German. He has close ties to the IRS as a former member of its Scientific Advisory Board.