Transcript Slide 1

The construction of
entrepreneurial agency on farms
UHEL Autumn 2010
Kari Mikko Vesala
Academy research fellow
Website:
http://blogs.helsinki.fi/theconstructionofentrepreneur
ialagencyonfarms/
The construction of entrepreneurial agency on farms
• The course meets on Mondays from 10 a.m. untill 2 p.m. from
November 1st until November 29th, 2010, at Main building,
hall 21.
• ECTS credits: 5
• Study units sp 19, sp 54e,sp 55b or sp 61 or REMS courses.
• Active participation (20 h), regular readings (several articles),
and an essay (based on the lecturs and readings). The
introductory articles (Shaver: The social psychology of
entrepreneurial behaviour, 2003; Vesala: The social
embeddedness of personal control. A social psychological
perspective to rural entrepreneurship, 2004) should be read
for the first lecture. The articles are available for copying in
the course folder to be found at Unioninkatu 37, second floor,
shelf opposite room 2041. Absence policy: Extra work will be
required in case of absence from more than one lecture.
Contents & Timetable
• 1. Introduction to the course (1.11.2010)
• 2. Social psychology of entrepreneurship
1.11.2010)
• 3. Entrepreneurship in context I: Discourses of
entrepreneurship (8.11.2010)
• 4. Revisiting social psychology of
entrepreneurship: on the construction of agency
(15.11.2010)
• 5. Entrepreneursp in context II: Entrepreneurship
and farms (22.11.2010 & 29.11.2010;
visiting lecturers involved)
Aims of the course
• The course examines the cultural process of constructing agents in
modern society by considering entrepreneurship discourses as evolving,
but controversial, frames for experience, action and policy in working life.
• Social psychology of entrepreneurship and a relational conception of
agency are introduced as analytical perspectives.
• Special attention will be paid to the ongoing change in the farm context,
where the traditional model of state protected production on family farms
has been seriously challenged by the trend towards more market
regulated and competitive business, promoted particularly by neo-liberal
politics.
• The course will introduce recent research on the changing patterns of
farm business practices and the issues of self-identity, values and skills of
farmers, and provide insights on how these issues can be related to the
construction of entrepreneurial agency.
Regular readings
• Shaver (2003) The social psychology of entrepreneurial behaviour
• Vesala (2004) The social embeddedness of personal control. A social
psychological perspective to rural entrepreneurship.
• Radu, Miruna and Redien-Collot, Renaud (2008) The Social Representation
of Entrepreneurs in the French Press: Desirable and Feasible Models?
International Small Business Journal 26 (3); 259-298
• Perren, L., & Jennings, P. L. (2005). Goverment discourses on
entrepreneurship: Issues of legitimization, subjugation, and power.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(2), 173-184.
• Dudley, A. (2003): The Entrepreneurial self. Identity and morality in a
Midwestern Farming community. In J. Adams (ed.) Fighting for the Farm.
Rural America Transformed. Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Vesala H.T. & Vesala, K.M. Entrepreneurs and producers: Identities of
Finnish farmers in 2001 and 2006. Journal of Rural Studies 26, 21-30.
Instructions for the essay
• Return to [email protected], Deadline ?
• 7-10 pages, line spacing 1.5
• Cover page: title of the essay, subtitle: an
essay for the CEAF-course/UHEL Spring 2010;
name of the author + student number
• Include list of references; see below; reference
to the lectures: (lecturer)/CEAF/(date)
Instructions for the essay
• Define the topic and content according to your own
interests, but try to cover (at least some of) the
essential topics and points of the course.
• Utilize both the lectures and the regular readings
• In addition to summarizings lectures and readings,
your own analytical comments and discussions are
welcome
• Try to include how you understand:
*Agency/self/identity/control beliefs/values
*Entrepreneurship discourses/farm context
Essay titles?
• Personal control as an aspect of the ideal
representation of entrepreneurial agency and
as a description of farmers´ cognitions and
situation
•
• Self-presentation concept and the
constructionist approach to entrepreneurship
•
• Entrepreneurship and political discourses