HU Global Sociology of Elite Conflict Lecture Series
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18. Mai
Tech Elites in Germany
Lion Hubrich (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin)
18 Uhr.
Invalidenstr. 118, Raum 117.
Abstract:
A few powerful “big tech” firms from the US dominate more and more parts of the global digital economy. They monopolize digital markets, they control new innovation dynamics thanks to their financial clout, and they have become important infrastructure providers and gatekeepers for many economic sectors. The advance of the tech elites running these companies was long widely tolerated due to the amount of economic growth and innovation that they promised. Today, however, it is increasingly obvious that the American tech elites have amassed too much power and wealth over time – not least due to the alliance between Silicon Valley and the Trump administration.
Yet, while the role of tech elites in the US is currently much discussed, little is known about if and how such processes of power structure disruption diffuse to other societies. Who are the tech elites of Germany, and what can be expected from them? Are they merely copycats of their counterparts in the US, or can they confidently forge their own paths? In this presentation, Lion Hubrich approaches this question from a sociological perspective and based on a recent study on the social structure of the German digital elite. He will show that in terms of their social structure, Germany’s tech elites have more in common with economic elites from the 1990s than with the Silicon Valley.
Lion Hubrich is an associated researcher in the working group on the sociology of work, political economy and technological change at Humboldt University of Berlin. In his doctoral thesis, he analysed the German tech economy by interviewing some of the country’s most successful start-up entrepreneurs, surveying the CVs and networks of German tech elites, and examining the business strategies of German tech companies.
20. Mai
The ‘African’ University’s Innovative Self-renewal
Michael Okyerefo (Nelson Mandela University)
12 Uhr.
Invalidenstr. 118, Raum 117.
The ‘university’ as a concept and institution in Africa is perhaps the oldest in the world. It certainly predates the European university, which was imported into Africa only at the dawn of the 19th century as part of the colonial project. This European model of the university has, however, almost obliterated the African University that precedes colonialism. Consequently, the fact that Africa had universities prior to colonialism that served as colossal cradles of knowledge production is hardly known, let alone celebrated today in mainstream conversations on the academy. Revisiting the university as an African idea and reality can enhance the contemporary European model in operation on the continent. This study makes an important contribution to the debate on how the African University can facilitate an African emancipatory imagination by examining the character and values of the authentic, historic African University enterprise and what prospects the resulting discoveries have in strengthening the contemporary African University. The goal is to emphasise the fact that the university is not foreign to Africa and rediscover how it speaks to the African situation.
Professor Michael Okyerefo specializes in the Sociology of Culture and Religion, with a research focus on global sociology, migration, and African Social Thought. He has held prestigious fellowships at the University of Cambridge and the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Programme. A former Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa, he is currently a Visiting Professor at Nelson Mandela University and serves on the Executive Committee of the International Sociological Association.
26. Mai
Transnational Capital, Networks, and Evangelical Elite Formation in Ghana
Michael Augustus Akagbor (Humboldt University of Berlin) & Michael Okyerefo (Nelson Mandela University)
18 Uhr.
Invalidenstr. 118, Raum 117.
The Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Charismatic religious movements in Ghana have progressively pursued connections within the transnational religious circle to link their local churches to global religious networks, international institutions, and diaspora communities. This study treats Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Charismatics together, dubbed the evangelical movement, for the sake of convenience, in view of the commonality they share. The transactional connections that link local Ghanaian religious actors to diaspora networks enable the accumulation of social and symbolic capital, positioning evangelical actors as influential brokers within both national and international power structures. The paper argues that, through transnational networks, evangelical actors accumulate and convert multiple forms of capital, enabling them to emerge as local elites. Grounded in the Ghanaian context, the paper examines how these transnational connections are mobilized to confer legitimacy on the status of ‘an evangelical elite’ in Ghana.
Dr. Michael Augustus Akagbor is a sociologist with a PhD from the University of Ghana and an MA in Socio-Legal Studies from York University. He is currently a research fellow working on the Global Sociology of Elite Conflict Project at the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Humboldt University of Berlin.
Professor Michael Okyerefo specializes in the Sociology of Culture and Religion, with a research focus on global sociology, migration, and African Social Thought. He has held prestigious fellowships at the University of Cambridge and the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Programme. A former Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa, he is currently a Visiting Professor at Nelson Mandela University and serves on the Executive Committee of the International Sociological Association.
Past events:
28. April
Revisiting the Capitalist Spirit: Business Elites, Sociocultures, and Capitalism in Gujarat
Janina Myrczik (Medical School Berlin)
18 Uhr.
Invalidenstr. 118, Raum 117.
Abstract:
This presentation examines the emergence of the capitalist spirit among the business elite in the Indian state of Gujarat—a region with a long-standing tradition of commerce, a cradle of (colonial) industrialization in India in the early twentieth century, and later known for its early economic liberalization under Narendra Modi's tenure as Chief Minister beginning in 2001. Previous analyses of the entrepreneurial spirit have highlighted the asynchronicity of its values and their divergent interpretations across socio-economic groups. In this context, the values of the business elite have not been systematically studied.
Based on qualitative interviews with 17 leaders of the wealthiest companies in the state, this study explores how the capitalist spirit emerged and how it is interpreted differently across fractions of the business elite. The research emphasizes the hybridity of the capitalist spirit as embedded in the regional context. Furthermore, the findings show that there is no single, encompassing capitalist spirit; rather, interpretations vary according to sociocultures—persisting social structures developed in earlier historical periods. Finally, the study points to the coexistence of multiple varieties of (inter)national capitalism.
Janina Myrczik is a sociologist working as lecturer in qualitative methods at Medical School Berlin and researcher at Evangelische Hochschule Berlin. She is interested in the extreme right, qualitative methods, social movements, and social inequality.