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Fabian Muniesa

Fabian Muniesa

Research Director

Center · CSI

Discipline(s)
Cultural Studies, Information and Communication Sciences, Management, Philosophy, Digital Humanities, Social Anthropology, Sociology
Topic(s)
Acceptability, AI Impact, Evolution of Work and Professions, Governance, Innovation and Design, Market, Public Policy, Regulation

Keywords

Awards & distinctions

  • 2011 ERC Grant

Team

CSI

Biography

Fabian Muniesa is a researcher whose work lies at the intersection of the social studies of science and technology (STS), economic sociology, and critical anthropology. His research explores the cultural, political, and performative dimensions of economic and financial practices, focusing in particular on mechanisms of valuation, systems of calculation, and the material and symbolic infrastructures that structure markets. His approach, inspired by pragmatist and poststructuralist traditions, examines the social construction of economic categories—such as “value” or “performance”—by treating them as vernacular objects rather than neutral analytical concepts. Muniesa has also contributed to the study of public policy innovations, such as social impact bonds, by highlighting issues of feasibility and the dynamics of translation among actors. His recent work examines technological imaginaries, territorial experiments (such as Singapore’s Smart Nation program), and the tensions between economic rationalities and institutional logics.

Publication(s)

Teaching

Politics, Capitalism, Uncertainty

Course Director

The course is designed as a program in the humanities and social sciences focused on the issues of the “risk society” and “reflexive modernity”: the challenges of a society in which innovation, viewed from a variety of perspectives, is a source not only of order but also of disorder, uncertainty, and crisis. In this context, it examines the issues of public action and political power, as well as economic value creation and market-driven innovation. It provides an introduction to a number of concepts and paradigms in the humanities and social sciences, and develops an approach to applying them to empirical case studies. The required work consists of: - Presentations and discussions of readings in sociology, anthropology, and philosophy (theoretical texts and case studies). - A written analysis based on work completed or planned as part of the Cycle IC elective internship (the “Public Affairs and Innovation” elective, or another elective). The topics covered are grouped into three sections: - “Risk Society and Reflexive Modernity”: the issue of risk viewed through the lens of the sociology of modernity; questions of uncertainty and temporality in philosophical criticism; discussion of financial and environmental crises as paradigmatic examples. - “Public Action and Political Power”: the issue of political decision-making in the context of economic transformation, an examination of public action reform, questions of sovereignty, and the debate over neoliberalism. - “Economic Valorization and Market-Based Innovation”: issues of financialization and commodification from sociological and anthropological perspectives; controversies surrounding the organization of innovation; platform capitalism. Your instructor: Professor Fabian Muniesa (Center for the Sociology of Innovation) fabian.muniesa@minesparis.psl.eu https://www.csi.minesparis.psl.eu/equipe/chercheurs/fabian-muniesa/

PhD supervision

  • 2024 Survey on the gender of economic forecasts: uses, identities, models, metaphors LIÈVREMONT Laurine
  • 2021 From Monaco to Monastir, an investigation into the transnational connections of Tunisia's marine protected areas. FOUTREL Clément
  • 2019 The feasibility first: Tests and feasibility tactics in the implementation of social impact bonds PELLIZZARI Mathilde
  • 2018 No laws, no centers: governing through transactions with blockchains GASULL Clément
  • 2014 Plis et replis de l'État plateforme. Enquête sur la modernisation des services publics en France ALAUZEN Marie
  • 2010 Formuler les valeurs du nucléaire : communautés, équations, budgets, et débats autour des déchets nucléaires SARAÇ-LESAVRE Başak
  • 2009 Le conseil en management à l'épreuve de sa mise en valeur : une étude empirique BOURGOIN Alaric
  • 2009 Géopolitique du carbone : l'action internationale pour le climat aux prises avec la déforestation tropicale EHRENSTEIN Véra