Anders Blok

Short presentation

My main research interests are in the fields of environmental sociology, sociology of knowledge and science, urban sociology, and pragmatic social theory. I am member and co-director of the research group on Knowledge, Organization and Politics, and main responsible for teaching the corresponding MA specialization course. I am also co-founder and head of the CEVES research center (Center for Science, Expertise and Society).

Current research

Title: Common ground in risk society?

- Sociological perspectives on global climate change, risk communities and trans-local solidarity

It is now commonly accepted that the world is facing a range of serious environmental challenges of global reach. Global warming in particular, projected to lead to future treats against nature and society, is already causing widespread concern, political conflicts, and changes in social norms. This challenges the natural as well as the social sciences. So far, however, the contributions of sociology to understanding the social dynamics of global climate change have been sparse.

This research project explores the idea that global climate changes may be analyzed in sociological terms of risk and solidarity. As such, they embody what German sociologist Ulrich Beck has dubbed 'risk society': the world finds itself confronted by the unwanted side-effects of industrial society. The research focuses on changes in social norms, practices and 'imagined communities' in the wake of climate change. Will climate change give rise to new risk- and solidarity-based communities between people living at great distances from each other, geographically as well as socially?

As a socio-political problematique, climate change may lead to widespread conflicts in the future. At the same time, however, it opens up horizons of new 'cosmopolitan' identities, as citizens of the world carrying responsibilies towards humans and environments. This project investigates the possibilities of emergence for new 'climate risk communities'. Empirically, it focuses on how cities and urban communities address global climatic concerns in the shared designs of everyday inhabitation. As such, the project seeks to further theories of 'world risk society' in the direction of socio-material transitions towards sustainability.

Primary fields of research

• Sociology of knowledge
• Environmental sociology
• Actor-network theory
• Science and technology studies (STS)
• Cosmopolitanism

Teaching

• Theory of science in sociology
• French pragmatic sociology
• Science and technology studies
• Sociology of environment and climate
• Urban and architectural sociology

CV

Born
28.05.1978

Education
PhD in Sociology, University of Copenhagen, 2010

Current positions
Associate Professor, Ph.D., Head of CEVES

Previous positions
2010 (May) – 2013 (Dec.): Assistant Professor / FSE post.doc grant holder, Department of Sociology, UCPH (temporary leave Sep. 2012 – Jun. 2013, Japanese language studies)

2007 (Mar.) - 2010 (14/4): PhD in sociology, UCPH (Dissertation title: ‘Divided socio-natures: essays on the co-construction of science, society, and the global environment’)

2009 (Jun.-Jul.): Visiting researcher, Department of Anthropology, Osaka University (Japan)

2008 (Sep.) – 2009 (Feb.): Visiting Fellow, Program on Science, Technology and Society, Harvard University (USA)