University of Warsaw // National Science Centre

WE EXPLORE FAILURE REGIMES AND POLICY RESPONSES IN A CREOLIZED WORLD, WITH THE TOOLS OF IGNORANCE AND FUTURE STUDIES

CfP: SASE mini-conference / MC05: Failures and Dilemmas: Exploiting Disruptive Interventions in Neoliberalism, 27-29 June 2024, Limerick

Failures and dilemmas constitute major sources of disruption in the emotions, politics and technologies of neoliberalism. They can open spaces of radical change and learning, yet they can also generate new forms of privilege and exploitation born of crisis and recession. We seek to understand the expectations and contestations that emerge in contemporary forms of failure, as well as the dilemmas posed by political, economic and social interventions.

Deadlines: 19 January 2024 / SASE manuscript submission

Read more HERE.

Exploring failure inequalities and COVID-19

Driving upon exploratory research of COVID-19 in a few countries — with emphasis on Poland, Romania, India, Maroc and Nigeria — we show how failure inequalities are linked with epistemic gaps and practices of inferiorization in policy agenda setting. These lead in the long run to local-global productions of policy unresponsiveness, mistrust and search for alternatives. We open a dialogue between critical failure studies and creolization theory.

The short movie presents our research and road trip: “Failure Inequalities: Developing a Global Think Tank on Failing and the Pandemic” (2022-3)”. Video is prepared in the framework of Action II.2.1 “Tandems for Excellence: Visiting Researchers Programme”, IDUB University of Warsaw Failure Lab UW.

Creating a science-street art hub

Starting with April 2022, at our home institute, IPSiR UW (ul. Podchorążych 20, Warsaw), we create a universal space for social and policy creativity. This engages with raising awareness, prevention, street art and scientific communication.

We aim to reinvent the relationship between applied social sciences and society. To show how new forms of knowledge should benefit from art in its various manifestations. We organize various photo exhibitions within what informally emerged as a staircase gallery. Further transforming the university space with the help of Warsaw street artists. In the summer holiday of 2023, Andy Black completed an original painted project covering the three levels of the institute building with painted artwork about education, imaginary, and future communication [for more info click HERE].

Introducing F*** UP TALES IN SCIENCE

We not only research failure, but we also engage frontally with it. Our first experiment was the F*** Up Tales in Science in Hannover, 2022. Upon the model of F**** Up Nights, or more conventional events of sharing stories, or Fail Festivals, we invited participants to open up through stories of failure. To analyze organizational and institutional paths of reacting to scientific error and lack of conventional success. The F*** Up Tales in Science event was organized during the “Failure in Science: Context, Ignorance, and the Future of Failing” symposium, which was held as part of the broader Thematic Week “Failure Matters”, a funding initiative of the Volkswagen Foundation, December 12-14, 2022, at the conference center Herrenhausen Palace in Hannover. The F*** Up Tales event was moderated by prof. Xiaodong Lin, founding director of EPIC (http://epic.tc.columbia.edu/) at Teachers College, Columbia University in the City of New York.

The 1st anthology on failure in social sciences

Routledge International Handbook of Failure, 2023. Adriana Mica, Mikołaj Pawlak, Anna Horolets and Paweł Kubicki, eds., Routledge

This Handbook examines the study of failure in social sciences, its manifestations in the contemporary world, and the modalities of dealing with it – both in theory and in practice. It draws together a comprehensive approach to failing, and invisible forms of cancelling out and denial of future perspectives.

Intended for scholars who research processes of inequality and invisibility, this Handbook aims to formulate a critical manifesto and activism agenda for contemporary society.

Presenting an integrated view about failure the Handbook will be an essential reading for students in sociology, social theory, anthropology, international relations and development research, organization theory, public policy, management studies, queer theory, disability studies, sports and performance research.

Intended for scholars who research processes of inequality and invisibility, this Handbook aims to formulate a critical manifesto and activism agenda for contemporary society.

Building failure studies

In order to understand the power of reimagining failure in contemporary society we have to go beyond the traditional meaning of failure, which equals it with lack of success in attaining certain policy goals, securing implementation or bridging science and policy gaps. Today, policy failure increasingly speaks about ignorance and social injustice as well. We aim in our research to show how the capacity for change comes from acknowledging and challenging failure in society and policymaking. We also draw attention to how steering with failure is one of the most important and unexpected capacities of change in policymaking today.