The Politics of Knowledge Production: The Embeddedness of Knowledge Producers within Institutions of Power

• In Event: 118 - Section on Economic Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 13. Law and Expertise

Abstract

Knowledge is the product and constituting force of power and as such operates within the units that comprise society. Knowledge producers work within institutions which themselves function within society. These institutions mobilize the information created by knowledge producers to support and execute practices which change the world. It will be the project of this paper to consider the functions knowledge producers fulfill in the globalized world as well as the autonomy they have within their field of operation. We will explore both the potential and limitations of focusing on the knowledge producer as a strategic point of entry for understanding globalization and its power dynamics. We will furthermore examine the different sites in which knowledge producers operate, considering what power they have to change and influence current world affairs from within existing institutions of power. We will then evaluate whether knowledge producers in this site can truly challenge neoliberal power, or whether they merely continue its form with different institutions. By considering the knowledge producer within institutions of power within the work of Polanyi, Harvey, Babb, Ho, and Escobar, we will develop a theoretical understanding of the knowledge producer, focusing on the issues each author’s conception poses and using each proceeding characterization to critique our understanding and build upon it. With the role of the knowledge producer fully fleshed out, we will evaluate the ways in which they both contribute to and resist the processes of neoliberalism and development, outlining a new political praxis and prescription for knowledge producers.

Author

• Jeffrey L Sternberg, Northeastern University