Inequalities and Quantification: Entangled Histories from Ghana, 1953-1966
The histories of inequality and quantification are structurally conjoined. The Gini coefficient, the Lorenz curve, or Branko Milanovic’s estimates (among others) have provided heuristic tools that make inequality visible, and promote its emergence and consolidation as a self-contained concept. But how, and under what conditions, do forms of quantification with different and seemingly disconnected goals contribute to the creation of conceptual repertoires and political cultures of inequality? The talk will explore this issue by analysing three case studies from colonial and early postcolonial Ghana: 1950s household budget surveys, the 1960 population census, and the Seven-Year Plan for National Reconstruction and Development (1964-1966). By interrogating the iconographies and calculative practices in which these forms of quantification were embedded, the talk has two main aims. Firstly, it attempts to rescue and make visible alternative genealogies of inequality in the history of quantification. Secondly, it aims to document the surprising – and often unintended - ways in which quantification shaped epistemic and political cultures in Ghana.
Gerardo Serra is a Presidential Fellow in Economic Cultures at the University of Manchester.
⬤ May 25th 2022, 14.00-15.30 (CET). For more information on the seminar and the speaker please click here.Â
Adom Getachew: Disclosing the Problem of Empire in W.E.B. Du Bois's International Thought
Adom Getachew, Assistant Professor of Political Science, The University of Chicago – 'Disclosing the Problem of Empire in W.E.B. Du Bois's International Thought' @ Symposium: 'Towards a Global Intellectual History of an Unequal World, 1945-Today'
⬤ Read more about 'Towards a Global Intellectual History of an Unequal World, 1945-Today'
Research diaries
We recommend:
⬤ Christian O. Christiansen: Interview for P1 Orientering on Davos summit and inequality [In Danish]
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⬤ The world leading global inequality economist Branko Milanovic: Branko Milanovic blog
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⬤ Christian O. Christiansen: Supertanker: Do They Know It's Christmas (in conversation with Per Bjerre, Oxfam Ibis) [Radio interview in Danish]
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⬤ Christian O. Christiansen: Supertanker: An unequal world (in conversation with politician Mogens Lykketoft) [Radio interview in Danish]
Writings
Inequalities and Quantification: Entangled Histories from Ghana, 1953-1966
Webinar with Gerardo Serra (University of Manchester)
The histories of inequality and quantification are structurally conjoined. The Gini coefficient, the Lorenz curve, or Branko Milanovic’s estimates (among others) have provided heuristic tools that make inequality visible, and promote its emergence and consolidation as a self-contained concept. But how, and under what conditions, do forms of quantification with different and seemingly disconnected goals contribute to the creation of conceptual repertoires and political cultures of inequality? The talk will explore this issue by analysing three case studies from colonial and early postcolonial Ghana: 1950s household budget surveys, the 1960 population census, and the Seven-Year Plan for National Reconstruction and Development (1964-1966). By interrogating the iconographies and calculative practices in which these forms of quantification were embedded, the talk has two main aims. Firstly, it attempts to rescue and make visible alternative genealogies of inequality in the history of quantification. Secondly, it aims to document the surprising – and often unintended - ways in which quantification shaped epistemic and political cultures in Ghana.
Gerardo Serra is a Presidential Fellow in Economic Cultures at the University of Manchester.
⬤ May 25th 2022, 14.00-15.30 (CET). For more information on the seminar and the speaker please click here.
Adom Getachew: Disclosing the Problem of Empire in W.E.B. Du Bois's International Thought
⬤ Read more about 'Towards a Global Intellectual History of an Unequal World, 1945-Today'
Research diaries
We recommend:
⬤ Christian O. Christiansen: Interview for P1 Orientering on Davos summit and inequality [In Danish]
Â
⬤ The world leading global inequality economist Branko Milanovic: Branko Milanovic blog
Â
⬤ Christian O. Christiansen: Supertanker: Do They Know It's Christmas (in conversation with Per Bjerre, Oxfam Ibis) [Radio interview in Danish]
Â
