Performance
An economic sociology conference

14 January 2009, Goldsmiths, 9am-7pm

What does it mean to judge behaviour, economic or otherwise, in terms of performance? In economic spheres we talk of businesses performing and national or regional economies performing. In governmental spheres we construct performance evaluation metrics for public services. Elsewhere, individuals are expected to perform artistically in cultural spheres, physically in sporting spheres. An individual is asked to improve their performance at work or in school; we now even speak of 'sexual performance'.

Where could this go next? Do states perform? Who are the audiences which judge these various performances, and with what authority? How should we understand the concepts of 'performance anxiety' or 'performance enhancement' in their relationship to the economy? Where does economic performance overlap with artistic performance?

Featuring leading cultural economists and economic sociologists, this conference addresses the intersection between cultural and economic approaches to evaluative criteria, to consider how and why this artistic metaphor pervades the worlds of business, politics, science and individual identities.

This conference is being held in conjunction with the Goldsmiths Winter Workshop in Economic Sociology, at which David Stark, Peter Miller, Scott Lash and Daniel Beunza are facilitating discussions with 24 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers from around the world.

Speakers:
- Laurent Thevenot, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
- Michael Power, LSE
- Nigel Thrift, Warwick
- David Stark, Columbia
- Koray Caliskan, Boðazçi
- Martha Poon, Columbia
- Jean-Pascal Gond, Nottingham
- William Davies, Goldsmiths

This is a free event (accommodation and food will not be provided).

Advance registration is required, since there are only a limited number of places available. To register, please email your name and university affiliation to performanceconference@gold.ac.uk.

Download conference agenda [pdf]