The Value of Money

Money is one of the central preoccupations of our lives. Though we use it every day, we don’t often ponder what it’s all about. Money is more than the decorated paper off a mint, the balance in a savings account, or even the power to acquire the things we want. At root, money is something simpler and stranger: it is a tool for assigning value. In this issue, we invite you to take a closer look at this staple of modern life and get to know Sarah Lawrence alumnae/i, students, and faculty as they earn, admire, collect, imagine, scrounge, redistribute, and multiply money in all its forms.

Cover illustration by Carl Wiens