FSN Conference 2024

The settlement between finance and society continues to come under strain from multiple directions: climate change, geopolitical rivalries, powerful new
technologies, resurgent nationalism, cost of living crises. Whilst there is widespread acknowledgment that governments and corporations will have to adjust their strategies in fundamental ways to meet these challenges, willingness to depart from ‘business as usual’ is in short supply. What will be the likely consequences of this dynamic stasis? How will the so-called polycrisis of the present impact the shape of financial society and its future course? Unpacking these points of connection and tension (and in particular, the confusing ways they mix old with new, innovation with reaction) demands new conceptual, methodological, and empirical approaches. It requires a different temporal frame capable of capturing the variable speeds of our economy, politics, and culture. A sensitivity to spatial scale is also needed to capture new modes of governance and control made possible by ongoing advances in computation.

This year’s conference invites contributions that aim to extend and deepen the field of finance and society studies. We welcome the submission of papers and panels, as well as less traditional formats. Contributions from beyond academia – from artists, activists, policymakers, or practitioners – have been integral to the success of previous conferences and are again warmly invited.