At this international symposium, a range of scholars will explore the ways that ignorance and ambiguity are strategically deployed within organisational life.

From the subprime crisis, to the war on terror; from the politics of climate change to the rise of ‘evidence’ based medicine, this workshop will examine whether it is ignorance, and not knowledge, that serves as the main bulwark of economic, political and financial strength. In the context of global crises, whether financial, military or pandemic, is the ‘unknown’ increasingly being exploited as a strategic tool for personal and organisational survival?

This symposium is a joint collaboration between the Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (OxCEI) and the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society (InSIS).

Speakers:
Jacqueline Best, University of Ottawa
Christian Borch, Copenhagen Business School
Carol Heimer, Northwestern University
Brian Rappert, Exeter University
Steve Rayner, InSIS, Saïd Business School
Marc Ventresca, InSIS, Saïd Business School

Chairs:
Sue Dopson, Saïd Business School
Jerry Ravetz, InSIS, Saïd Business School
Steve Woolgar, InSIS, Saïd Business School

Closing remarks will be offered by Noortje Marres, InSIS, Saïd Business School, and Brian Balmer, University College London.