A Sociology of Algorithms: High-Frequency Trading, Boundary Work and Market Configurations

Guest speaker: Donald MACKENZIE, University of Edinburgh

Discussant: Marc LENGLET, European Business School Paris

 

Donald MacKenzie is Professor in sociology at the University of Edinburgh, known for his seminal contribution to the field of science and technology studies. His research deals first with the social construction of scientific knowledge and of technology (Statistics in Britain, 1865–1930: The Social Construction of Scientific Knowledge, 1981; Inventing Accuracy: A Historical Sociology of Nuclear Missile Guidance, 1990; The Social Shaping of Technology, 1999). Since the early 2000, Donald Mackenzie has become a major author in the field of social studies of finance, where he studied how theoretical finance shapes and transforms financial reality (An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets, 2006). His most recent work is devoted to the role of models in the financial crisis and to high frequency trading. Donald MacKenzie received numerous awards for his research, including the Chancellor’s Award from HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, for his contributions to the field of Science and Technology Studies and the 1993 Robert K. Merton Award of the American Sociological Association.

Marc Lenglet is a Lecturer at the European Business School Paris (Management, Strategy and Systems Department). With interests in phenomenology and anthropology, his research focuses on the compliance function and the dissemination of norms within financial practices. Before joining the academia, he worked as an Equities Compliance Officer in a European brokerage house. He is now studying algorithmic trading and published several papers recently on this topic, including “Conflicting codes and codings: how algorithmic trading is reshaping financial regulation” in Theory, Culture & Society (2011). 

Please make sure to register before 27th February with Marina Abelskaïa-Graziani at marina.abelskaiagraziani@sciences-po.fr