Pragmatism and Economic Sociology

Workshop
February 8-9, 2011, at the MPIfG, Cologne

Topic and Goal of the Conference

In recent years, the works of American pragmatists and the French Économie des Conventions have been increasingly received as alternatives to rational choice and functionalist approaches for the analysis and explanation of economic phenomena. While partially related, these two streams of thought have influenced contemporary economic sociology rather separately and often unconnectedly from each other. The workshop goes back to the social theoretical basis found in both pragmatist thought and pragmatic sociology, the sociological wing of the convention school. It aims to explore the potential of a pragmatist approach, broadly conceived, and its methodological implication for analyzing key problems of economic sociology, such as market coordination, social formation and changes in preferences, sources and processes of economic innovation as well as institutional change.

Contact

Arne Dressler

Phone +49 221 2767-232