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This session is interested in how knowledge is created, modified, translated and transformed; and, the impact that this has upon business practices and consumer behaviour. How does an initial idea become ‘conventional wisdom’? At what point does knowledge become ethical in practice? How widespread does the uptake of an idea have to be for knowledge to become hegemonic? Whose interests are served by this mainstreaming? And, to what extent does mainstreaming create progressive, radical or conformist forms of knowledge? These theoretical questions will be located via research into ‘ethical economies’ and the way in which sites of production and consumption, as well as the actors within (and possibly controlling) these sites, help to produce and reproduce ‘ethical knowledge’.
Ethical economies first developed in the 1990’s and are now high on the geographical research agenda (McGregor, 2006; Nicholls and Opal, 2005), with particular emphasis on the concept of knowledge as a prerequisite to ethical action (Barnett et al, 2005; Guthman, 2004; Renting et al, 2003). At present, however, we know very little about this ‘ethical knowledge’: how it is formed; how it flows; who or what it encounters; and how it becomes translated or transformed into ethical practices. By ‘AcKnowledging’ ethical economies, the session will address both a general theoretical and specific empirical research gap in Economic Geography.
In terms of specific topics, ethical economies involve: 1) social and environmental movements (such as ‘Fairtrade’, ‘Organic’ and ‘Local’); 2) management practices (such as supply chain auditing and corporate social responsibility); and 3) regulatory regimes (statutory and voluntary). These may be specific to a country or transnational in nature. In addition, there are also other knowledges that may not have been discussed within the discourse of ethical economies, such as family values, health and cultural traditions.
If you wish to submit a paper for this session, please send abstracts to Sarah Marie Hall ([log in to unmask]) or post them to the address below. Abstracts must be received by 27th January 2009.
Many thanks,
Sarah Marie Hall