Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation is taught in a variety of disciplines including particularly international relations, political economy and political science more broadly. The book contains a wealth of ideas and concepts, which help illuminate various themes and issues in contemporary political social, and economic life. Yet, the core of the book is historical, making it potentially difficult for students, who may be unfamiliar with the substantive subject matter. Furthermore, much of Polanyi’s core thesis is related specifically to British history, which can be a barrier for non-British students. We argue that the use of the film Oliver Twist as a teaching tool can provide an innovative and powerful way to overcome these problems by offering a way to explore the most important themes emerging from Polanyi’s book, especially the distinction between embeddedness and disembeddedness and the relationship between habitation and improvement. We begin by presenting a case for foregrounding these aspects of Polanyi’s thought, moving on to interpret various scenes from the movie from a Polanyian perspective. Lastly, we provide some practical advice as to how the film might be used in the process of teaching.
