BU Research Blog

Socio-Ecological Transition Seminars – a short summary of what we discussed in semester 1, with all related recordings. The calendar for semester two will be shared soon 🙂

12 October 2022 – Philip Balsiger, University of Neuchâtel, presented his work “The dynamics of ‘Moralized Markets’: a field perspective, Socio-Economic Review, Volume 19, Issue 1, January 2021”

Philip’s key proposition is that morality has increasingly become a way through which value is created in contemporary capitalism, and he discussed the processes through which this happens and their implications.

The recording is available here.

9 November 2022 – Fátima Portilho, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, presented her work “Politicizing Consumption in Latin America‘” published in The Oxford Handbook of Political Consumerism.

Fatima showed how political consumerism takes a different trajectory in Latin America when compared with the northern hemisphere. She discussed specificities and the limitations and opportunities for the expansion of political consumerism throughout the continent, with a focus on Brazil.

The recording is available here.

14 December 2022 – Markus Wissen, Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR) presented his recent book “The Imperial Mode of Living. Everyday Life and the Ecological Crisis of Capitalism”, co-authored with Ulrich Brand (2021).

Markus outlined the concept of Imperial Mode of Living, highlighting that Western mode of production and living is based on asymmetrical social relations along class, gender and race; relies heavily on the unlimited appropriation of resources; and is a main driver of the ecological crisis and economic and political instability.

The recording is available here.

SETS is a joint initiative between the Research Group on Collective Action, Change, and Transition at the University of Trento, the Centre for Sustainable and Socially Responsible Consumption at Bournemouth University, and the Environmental Sociology Section at the University of Orebro. The seminars are open to a diverse audience, including academics, students, practitioners, social movements, and the non-specialist public.