This call for papers solicits contributions to a panel entitled 'Economic imaginaries and socio-ecological transformation', which will take place at DNC6 in Brussels from the 7th until the 10th of July. If you are interested in contributing to this panel, please submit your abstract directly through the online form while putting the name of our panel in the respective field. Contributions from a wide array of backgrounds are very welcome (e.g. Sociology, STS, Socioeconomics, Sustainability Studies)!
Deadline: 28th of February 2025.
Panel on DNC6 in Brussels
Economic imaginaries and socio-ecological transformation
Panel organizers: Stephan Pühringer (JKU Linz) & Lukas Bäuerle (JKU Linz & Universität Hamburg)
Under the conditions of technoscientific capitalism, imaginaries of sustainability are inextricably linked to and dependent upon ‘economic imaginaries’ (Jessop 2010). This is true not only of what is meant by ‘sustainability’, but also of the transformative pathways to more sustainable grounds. The specific characteristics of the relationship between economic and sustainable imaginaries are not fixed but rather subject to ongoing – and seemingly deepening – conflicts, as can be observed, for example, in the Green Growth vs. Degrowth debate.
In modern times, the academic discipline of economics has proven to be the most significant supplier of economic imaginaries. The emerging field of the Social Studies of Economics has developed a comprehensive understanding of the discipline’s general characteristics, including epistemic practices and rationales (Aistleitner, Kapeller, and Steinerberger 2019), its social structures (Lundberg and Stearns 2019), and its pivotal role in socio-political processes of economization (Maesse et al. 2021). Recently, the field has begun to assess the underlying imaginaries with which economics frames, shapes, limits and enables different projects for socio-ecological transformation (SET). One significant source of inspiration are attempts to stratify transformative policies and practices along conflicting economic paradigms (Wilgosh, Sorman, and Barcena 2022; Hausknost et al. 2017; Saitō 2024). On the one hand, the panel seeks to provide a space to explore case studies that unpack economic imaginaries from specific SET-related projects (e.g. in politics, academia, education, media, etc.). On the other, it aims at discussing to stratify and compare different transformative visions against the backdrop of underlying economic rationales. Alas, empirical as well as conceptual approaches are welcome to the session, as are contributions from all relevant disciplinary backgrounds (e.g. Sociology, STS, Socioeconomics, Sustainability Studies).
References
Aistleitner, Matthias, Jakob Kapeller, and Stefan Steinerberger. 2019. ‘Citation Patterns in Economics and Beyond’. Science in Context 32 (4): 361–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0269889720000022.
Hausknost, Daniel, Ernst Schriefl, Christian Lauk, and Gerald Kalt. 2017. ‘A Transition to Which Bioeconomy? An Exploration of Diverging Techno-Political Choices’. Sustainability 9 (4): 669. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040669.
Jessop, Bob. 2010. ‘Cultural Political Economy and Critical Policy Studies’. Critical Policy Studies 3 (3–4): 336–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171003619741.
Lundberg, Shelly, and Jenna Stearns. 2019. ‘Women in Economics: Stalled Progress’. Journal of Economic Perspectives 33 (1): 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.1.3.
Maesse, Jens, Stephan Pühringer, Thierry Rossier, and Pierre Benz, eds. 2021. Power and Influence of Economists: Contributions to the Social Studies of Economics. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367817084.
Saitō, Kōhei. 2024. Systemsturz: Der Sieg der Natur über den Kapitalismus. Translated by Gregor Wakounig. München: dtv.
Wilgosh, Becca, Alevgul H. Sorman, and Iñaki Barcena. 2022. ‘When Two Movements Collide: Learning from Labour and Environmental Struggles for Future Just Transitions’. Futures 137 (March):102903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2022.102903.