Copenhagen Business School: CBS Open Journals
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The Transformative Power of Love in John Williams's Stoner
Full text linkThis article examines the transformative power of love demonstrated by Stoner’s life in John Williams’s Stoner. Drawing on Jean-Luc Marion’s phenomenology of love, the essay contends that Stoner’s life, driven by love, is far from a failure. Stoner’s falling in love with literature can be seen as what Marion calls a “saturated phenomenon” in that it makes him transcend himself and have his being defined in relation to the alterity of the other. Stoner’s relationship with Katherine Driscoll is significant because it helps to resolve the separation of the mind and the senses caused by his love for literature. Through his relationship with Katherine, in which lust and learning become one process, Stoner recognizes love as an ongoing, continual process that involves the dynamic power of time. Realizing that he has given love to every moment of his life, he gives love even to his moment of death, which ironically becomes the most important moment of his celebration of life. Through his book, he seeks to continue to love loving beyond the moment of death and thereby defy death and non-being
Frictions of Industry Praxis: Ethical Engagement and the Limits of Consumer Empathy
Full text linkRecent decades have witnessed a growing reliance on ethnographic methods in consumer research to bring cross-functional teams “closer” to their consumers and promote empathy. However, involving clients in ethnographic fieldwork presents new challenges for ethnographic consultants whose ethical commitments and disciplinary training may differ from that of client teams. This article considers the challenges of involving clients in fieldwork, particularly when it involves marginalized populations and/or sensitive, even taboo, discussion topics. I explore the “friction of entrenched praxis” (Chesluk and Youngblood 2023) in industry ethnography, focusing on two of its norms: the prevailing discourse of consumer empathy and the involvement of clients in ethnographic fieldwork. Through reference to a project in which I participated as a qualitative market researcher, I raise critical questions for anthropologists working in industry to consider when evaluating the ethical dimensions of client involvement. To this end, I encourage setting non-negotiable boundaries to protect the participants.
Frihed som økologisk sensibilitet: mod et nyt begreb om forholdet mellem menneske og natur
No full textDenne artikel undersøger forholdet mellem menneske og natur i lyset af den økologiske krise og tesen om ’det antropocæne’. Artiklen argumenterer for, at eksisterende sociologiske frihedsbegreber ikke levner tilstrækkeligt plads til naturen som et meningsgivende og selvberoende værdifuldt Andet, og at derfor at kunne etablere en bæredygtig social orden, som svarer på klimakrisen, er brug for et nyt og naturinkluderende frihedsbegreb, som korresponderer med og legitimerer denne orden
Et kritisk blik på virtuelle laboratoriers indrejse i skolen
Full text linkDigitale læringsteknologier er i høj grad blevet del af skolens praksis. Det er derfor relevant at forhold sig til, hvordan og hvorfor disse teknologier har fundet vej til klasselokalet. Med aktørnetværksteorien (ANT) udfolder jeg historien om, hvordan en konkret læringsteknologi, virtuelle laboratorier, er blevet implementeret som en del af naturfagsundervisningen. Dette er et resultat af, at nogle aktører er lykkedes med at indrullere andre i deres handlingsprogram og promovere virtuelle laboratorier som løsningen på en revitalisering af naturfag. Det er også en historie om konkurrerende teknologiforståelser og agendaer, der udfordrer virtuelle laboratoriers rolle i skolen. Artiklen afsluttes med en diskussion af det kritiske potentiale i en aktørnetværksteoretisk teknologianalyse
Corporate Utopias: The Tech Elite’s Visions and the Global Crises of Democratic Problem-Solving
Full text linkIn this article, I argue that the utopian novels of the past have given way to corporate visions. Those who today challenge the dominant structures of power through radical reengineering of systems are tech CEOs and investors. The article examines Soylent Inc., SpaceX, and the Seasteading Institute and argues that their corporate visions, defined here as “corporate utopia,” align their authors with a motley group of utopian thinkers who view national governments as inadequate in solving problems for all of humanity. I argue that the capacity of these corporate utopias to capture the global imagination is indicative of a general dissatisfaction with national governments’ ability to tackle issues like climate change, poverty, and food security. This, I suggest, is currently leading to a concentration of global problem-solving in the hands of tech entrepreneurs and investors who are increasingly able to rally economic and political support across a broad ideological spectrum.
Transforming Dead Knowledge into Living Help: Balancing Hope, User-Ambivalence, and Expertise in Fire Safety Digitization
Full text linkMany industries worldwide are digitizing professionals’ expertise to boost productivity, enhance collaboration, and improve knowledge sharing. The current spread of increasingly capable AI technologies has accelerated this transformation further. But such changes are not without challenges. This research article explores the challenges of digitization in fire safety based on ethnographic fieldwork at the Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology (DBI). The case focuses on fire safety professionals who must relinquish expertise early in digitalization processes, and traces some of the tensions between the imperative of user involvement in digitalization vis-à-vis the need for expertise and caution in fire safety. I argue that digitization first “transforms” (Knox et al. 2007) and later “informates” (Zuboff 1988) expertise, posing the risk of destabilizing industry hierarchies and reshaping how fire safety professionals perceive expertise and responsibility. This anticipated disruption fosters a user-ambivalence among the professionals, ultimately leading to project stagnation and unrealized promises.