This seminar takes a multidimensional approach to the exploration of the circumstances which create tumult in the financial world and, by extension, society. It requires extensive reading, deep introspection, and critical thinking. It also fulfills the requirements of a “writing intensive course”.  This look at finance will show its significant and often pivotal role in human progress and is a backstory for much of the human saga. From this vantage point, we will explore innovations of finance, the foundations and construction of financial firms, instruments, and markets, and their role in, interaction with, and effect on society. At the end of the seminar, we expect students to have a strong evidence-based and theory-based understanding of financial scandals, upheavals, and crisis. They should also have acquired an appreciation for the embedded role of finance in our culture and its overall importance to and impact on our society.