FINAL CONFERENCE - Impact Hau? Ethnographic critiques of sustainable finance

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: 

Gillian Tett 

(King’s College, University of Cambridge) 

Elizabeth Ferry

(Brandeis University)

1-4 May @Centro Residenziale Universitario 

In recent years sustainable finance has undergone a meteoric rise to become the dominant paradigm for addressing some of the world’s most pressing problems: global warming, ecological degradation, pandemic risk, poverty and inequality. Because of the amount of capital needed to address these multiple crises and a cultural tendency among global elites to attribute greater dynamism and efficiency to the private sector, forms of impact investing, under a variety of labels such as ‘social’ or ‘climate’ finance, have secured overwhelming political support in global north and south, in democratic and authoritarian states alike. According to the Global Impact Investing Network, this market had grown to USD 1.164 trillion by late 2022. 

This conference will focus on the social, cultural and political dimensions of sustainable finance. Navigating the complex landscape of the deployment of financial capital in the name of wider social and/or environmental good across different scales, it will compare the perspectives of the diverse ethical subjects that are involved, from institutional and philanthropic investors, through social entrepreneurs, to ‘target beneficiaries’. This allows us to consider the hopes and claims of a booming ethical finance industry against the evidence of the outcomes of their activities in the field, and against the background of longer-term histories of economic moralities. 

This conference will bring together anthropologists, geographers, sociologists, and scholars in related fields. We particularly encourage applications from early career researchers across the globe. In addition to conventional presentation panels and roundtables, we encourage innovative and alternative presentation modes, including performances, dialogues, first person narratives/autoethnographies, screenings and multimodal presentations. Poster sessions are also welcome. 

We seek contributions that address themes including, but not limited to: 

• Gender, race, and social justice in finance 
• Environmental justice and financialization 
• The financialization of everyday life in the name of social and environmental benefits 
• Decolonizing finance 
• Financialization, biodiversity and the more-than-human 

• The social life of sustainable financial instruments 
• Financial actors, motives, and mechanisms in the green transition 
• The morality and moralism of sustainable finance 
• Visions of sustainable futures in finance 
• Infrastructures, practices, and discourses on labelling and certification 
• Impact investing and ESG narratives 
• Indicators, metrics, and measurement of social and environmental impact 

Selected contributions to the conference will be published as part of a special journal issue. 

The deadline for submissions is Monday February 12th 2024. Submissions can be for individual papers or for panels and should include a title and brief abstract (c.150 words) with names and contact details of all participants. Panel proposals should also include abstracts for individual papers. Submissions should be sent to ImpactHau2024@gmail.com. Inquiries in advance of the submission deadline on whether a particular panel fits the conference theme are welcome. 

Food and accommodation will be covered by the Hau of Finance project for all presenters, and a free shuttle bus from Bologna airport to Bertinoro will also be provided. Additional funds will be available to cover travel costs for a limited number of early career researchers. Please indicate in your application if you are unable to cover your own travel expenses.