The Transcendental Empiricism of Georges Bataille: The Incommensurable Object

Abstract

The frequently assumed premise that Georges Bataille engaged solely in a primarily subject‐centred critique is not here disputed; rather, our contention is that in spite of this, we may look beyond and push Bataille to his own limits to ground a kind of object‐centred critique. If this textual experiment is successful, we come to see a nascent version of transcendental empiricism at work in Bataille’s work, effectively functioning as an unacknowledged precursor to the more sophisticated and explicit version of transcendental empiricism that Gilles Deleuze engages. Our aim is to focus on Bataille’s Inner Experience as a pivotal moment wherein his critique of transcendence could go either way, and to determine whether a ‘Bataillean transcendental empiricism’ would result in different outcomes than Deleuze’s version.     

The Academic Profession in a Rentier State: The Professoriate In Saudi Arabia

This paper describes the academic profession in Saudi Arabia, a state dependent upon oil exports, and explores how different social groups are accommodated within the higher education system. The discussion examines the relationship between political power and academic labour, and seeks to explain how local policies and practices are negotiating the converging effects of globalization on higher education.     

The Government's Choice of Bureaucratic Organisation: An Application to Italian State Museums

Italian state museums are characterised by a rigid bureaucratic structure and are almost completely financed by government transfers. In this paper we develop a simplified two-stage model in an attempt to explain how the government's preferences for differentiated museum functions may affect museum organisation. The model shows that the government prefers that complementary functions (e.g., conservation and scientific research) be produced by a single museum, whereas it prefers that substitutable functions (e.g., conservation and access by the general public) be produced by two museums. We use this prediction for an empirical analysis of the organisational structure of Italian state museums. On the basis of the unique ISTAT census of the Italian museum system, we test with two separate probit models the probability of observing in a state museum the concentration of either scientific activities of conservation and research or promotion activities for education and the general public. Higher classes of centralisation for the state museums are also considered by means of an ordered probit model. The results seem to suggest that the Italian state museum structure, as surveyed in the early 1990s, fully reflected the traditional policy model viewing museums as institutions devoted to conservation, scientific research and education. JEL-Classification: D73, Z11     

Changes in Academy/Industry/State Relations in Canada: The Creation and Development of the Networks of Centres of Excellence

The Networks of Centres of Excellence programme is perhaps Canada's most dramatic science policy innovation since theFirst World War. This article traces its development, using documentary analysis and interviews with the policy actors responsible for conceiving and implementing the programme.Established in 1989, the networks were explicitly designed to change the norms of science. The intention was to instil an approach to long-term fundamental research that considered possibilities of use from the start. Of equal importance was the idea that management was essential to produce knowledgein a network structure.     

The multiple worlds of equity analysts: valuation,volume, and volatility

This paper contributes to the increasing research on how experts within financial institutions co-produce and organize financial markets, and in particular how equity analysts enact stock markets characterized by high volume and volatility. The 20 equity analysts studied give qualitatively different accounts of what, from an outsider's perspective, appear to be very similar work. The analysts understand investment objects, equity markets, and what constitutes good analytical work in qualitatively different ways. This heterogeneity, or multiplicity, could be one source of the, unexplained by orthodox financial theory, ‘excess’ volatility and ‘excess’ trading volume on financial markets. Therefore, the paper complements accounts within heterodox finance theory and sociology-based studies of financial market activities.     

Identity,Communication, Inclusion: The Roma and (New) Europe

Abstract

Based on the theoretical concepts of imagined communities (Anderson, 2006), public sphere (Habermas, 1962/1991), and muted groups (Kramarae, 1981), this essay looks at issues of identity and identity formation of the largest European minority—the Roma, or Gypsies. The essay argues that, similarly to the European identity project, the Roma are actively building a transnational identity without abandoning national identities. Although this model can be a valuable blueprint for increasingly globalizing societies, it is neglected as a possibility because of Roma's marginal social status. Further exploration of self-organized Roma identity-construction is advised.     

Sisyphus at Work: The Leibniz Edition,The Kaiserreich and Divided Germany

Despite several attempts, the prolific writings of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz have not yet been brought together in a single edition. Efforts have been hampered by the sheer volume and diversity of the Leibniz estate, and also by changing political circumstances. This paper traces the history of the Leibniz edition as a long-term project of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie and its predecessors.