The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality: Book Launch

Join the FRINGE Centre for this launch, which marks the first publication in the FRINGE Series.

Alena Ledeneva invites you on a voyage of discovery, to explore society’s open secrets, unwritten rules and know-how practices. Broadly defined as ‘ways of getting things done’, these invisible yet powerful informal practices tend to escape articulation in official discourse. They include emotion-driven exchanges of gifts or favours and tributes for services, interest-driven know-how (from informal welfare to informal employment and entrepreneurship), identity-driven practices of solidarity, and power-driven forms of co-optation and control.

The paradox, or not, of the invisibility of these informal practices is their ubiquity. Expertly practised by insiders but often hidden from outsiders, informal practices are, as this book shows, deeply rooted all over the world, yet underestimated in policy. Entries from the five continents presented in this volume are samples of the truly global and ever-growing collection, made possible by a remarkable collaboration of over 200 scholars across disciplines and area studies.

Read more about the Encyclopaedia here:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i

Agenda:

Part 1: Book contributors workshop
- 2:30pm: Welcome from Dr Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, Deputy-Director of the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies and Dr Peter Zusi, Director of FRINGE Centre and Co-editor of the UCL Press FRINGE series
- 2.30pm: Workshop (open to authors and invited guests): Introduction and brainstorming in small groups

Part 2: Public roundtable
- 4.00pm: Round-table format (open to all): Introduction to The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality from UCL Press, FRINGE, IAS; 3 minute reports from each small group, followed by Q&A
- 5.30pm Drinks reception: Introduction from Lara Speicher, UCL Press Publishing Manager

Title: The Global Encyclopedia of Informality: Book Launch
Dates: Thursday, 22 March 2018
Time: 16:00 - 17:30 (GMT)
Location: Common Ground UCL Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), South Wing, Wilkins Building, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT.
More details:
FREE Event, registration required: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-global-encyclopedia-of-informality-tickets-43935376895
Join the debate on Twitter: @FringeCentre; @GEofInformality
FRINGE Centre, UCL’s Centre for the Study of Social and Cultural Complexity: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/fringe-centre