Kristin Asdal

Image of Kristin Asdal
Norwegian version of this page
Phone +47 22841614
Username
Visiting address Moltke Moes vei 31 Eilert Sundts hus 10. etg. 0851 Oslo
Postal address Postboks 1108 Blindern 0317 Oslo

Academic interests

Kristin is professor of STS and her research focuses on the sociology of knowledge across economics and natural science and on how scientific expertise is partaking in democracy. Her key competence is on the politics of the environment, broadly conceived, and she has executed a series of comprehensive empirical studies on the politics, economy and history of the environment and the bioeconomy. She also investigates democratic procedures as versions of knowledge practices.

Kristin is currently heading the project ValueThreads (2020-2027) where she and her team investigate the new economic practices that are emerging in efforts to shift the economy towards the green and sustainable. She is interested in how values are created, what values mean in different sectors of society and by different actors and through different techniques. Among the cases in the project are finance and green investments, the ocean economy and economic practices in forestry. Phd-candidates Stine Engen and Marie Stilling work together with Kristin on this project at TIK. In the winter and spring term of 2022 Kristin is visiting professor at CSI-Mines ParisTech where Kristin will be working with project partner Liliana Doganova and post doc. Nassima Abdelghafour.

ValueThreads is a continuation of Kristin’s earlier ERC-grant project, The Good Economy: Biocapitalization and the Little tools of valuation (2016-2020). In this project, Kristin worked with The Good Economy concept to address how to study values in the economy, and ‘little tools of valuation’ to address the many mundane techniques that together make up larger economies. Relations between ‘the good’ and the economy was investigated further by the research team as a whole (published in Biosocieties 2021). In a comprehensive empirical study, Kristin and Tone Huse have carefully ‘followed’ the Atlantic cod into the bodies of politics, field-sites of science and economic arrangements and markets. They use this case to investigate the ocean economy, how nature is turned economic, and to develop analytical approaches that can provide us with the capacity to analyze economic practices without losing sight of the lively nature that works upon, resists, and modifies the economy. A monograph, co-authored with Tone Huse, will be out with MIT in 2023.

Kristin has always taken a keen interest in and published widely on method-issues, and has, in recent years, developed practice-oriented document analysis, inspired by her interdisciplinary background in the humanities and history and many years of STS research and engagement. This year (2022) she published with Hilde Reinertsen a method book with SAGE on practice-oriented document analysis where documents are analyzed as sites, tools, work, texts, issues, and movements and built into a comprehensive method. An earlier Norwegian version of the book was published in 2020.

A study on experimental economics co-authored with Beatrice Cointe where they draw on interviews and document-analysis as an ethnographic method to tease out the making of the lab and the production of objectivity, will be out this year (2022) with Social Studies of Science. Kristin’s research on laboratory knowledge practices continues with the Life Science project COMPARE and ResBod. Together with Tone Druglitrø and Tommas Måløy she is researching working practices in the life sciences, and how scientists across medicine and biology experiment to understand immunology with the Atlantic cod as a non-model organism.

Kristin’s thesis (2004) was on how nature is taken into democratic and bureaucratic practices and analyzed the ‘technologies of politics’ involved in ordering nature into governable objects. She developed this into a broad analysis of Norwegian politics of nature (2011). With Bård Hobæk, she has continued working on this topic through a comprehensive study of whaling. They investigate the different formats of democratic practice through researching how an issue such as whaling enter and is handled in and by parliamentary procedure. They hope to have their book finished by 2023. So far, precursors of their ongoing work om parliaments and democratic practices can be found in Science as Culture (2016) and Social Studies of Science (2020). 

Positions held

Kristin is heading the research group Science, Technology and Culture at TIK and is also part of TIK’s leader-group. She is associate editor of Distinktion: Journal of Social Theory. She was vice-chair of the Board of Directors at CICERO (2016-2019) and is member of the board of the Science Studies Colloquium Series at the University of Oslo. She also headed the research group “Nature and the Natural” as part of the management group of the cross-faculty initiative KULTRANS.

Courses taught

TIK/ESST Master and the specialization course TIK4011 Science and Technology in Politics and Society, the Ph.D. course TIK9011 Science and Technology Studies. She also teaches valuation-studies, document-analysis and politics of nature and the environment. 

Tags: Science and Technology Studies, Actor-Network Theory, Climate change, Expertise, Environment and Energy, Science and innovation policy, Science and policy, Politics of nature

Publications

  • Druglitrø, Tone & Asdal, Kristin (2024). Experimenting with care and cod: On document-practices, versions of care and fish as the new experimental animal. Social Studies of Science. ISSN 0306-3127. doi: 10.1177/03063127231223904. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin (2023). The Nature and Politics of Documents: The Anthropocene as a Document Site. In Münster, Ursula; Eriksen, Thomas Hylland & Schroer, Sara Asu (Ed.), Responding to the Anthropocene: Perspectives from Twelve Academic Disciplines. Scandinavian Academic Press. ISSN 978-82-304-0362-4. p. 245–266. Full text in Research Archive
  • Hoag, Colin; Heyman, Josiah; Asdal, Kristin; Reinertsen, Hilde & Hull, Matthew (2023). Government Analytics. Using Anthropological Methods, The Government Analytics Handbook: Leveraging Data to Strengthen Public Administration. World Bank. ISSN 978-1-4648-1981-0. p. 645–655. doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-1957-5. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin (2023). From scarce resources to ‘the good economy’: a new ‘version of economization’ replacing Weber’s rational ascetism as the capitalist spirit? Journal of Cultural Economy. ISSN 1753-0350. doi: 10.1080/17530350.2023.2167853. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin & Cointe, Béatrice (2022). Writing good economics: How texts ‘on the move’ perform the lab and discipline of experimental economics. Social Studies of Science. ISSN 0306-3127. doi: 10.1177/03063127221079600.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Cointe, Béatrice; Hobæk, Bård; Reinertsen, Hilde; Huse, Tone & Morsman, Silje Rebecca [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). 'The good economy': a conceptual and empirical move for investigating how economies and versions of the good are entangled. BioSocieties. ISSN 1745-8552. doi: 10.1057/s41292-021-00245-5. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin & Cointe, Béatrice (2021). Experiments in co-modification: a relational take on the becoming of commodities and the making of market value. Journal of Cultural Economy. ISSN 1753-0350. 14(3), p. 280–292. doi: 10.1080/17530350.2020.1846592.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2020). Foucaults metode og nyliberalismen. Eller skal vi heller snakke om den grenseløse og intense innovasjonsøkonomien? Agora. ISSN 0800-7136. 37(03-04).
  • Asdal, Kristin & Hobæk, Bård (2020). The modified issue: Turning around parliaments, politics as usual and how to extend issue-politics with a little help from Max Weber. Social Studies of Science. ISSN 0306-3127. 50(2), p. 252–270. doi: 10.1177/0306312720902847. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin (2019). Is ANT equally good in dealing with local, national and global natures? In Blok, Anders; Farias, Ignacio & Roberts, Celia (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Actor-Network Theory. Routledge. ISSN 9781138084728. p. 337–344. doi: 10.4324/9781315111667-37.
  • Reinertsen, Hilde & Asdal, Kristin (2019). Calculating the blue economy: producing trust in numbers with business tools and reflexive objectivity. Journal of Cultural Economy. ISSN 1753-0350. 12(6), p. 552–570. doi: 10.1080/17530350.2019.1639066. Full text in Research Archive
  • Mangset, Marte & Asdal, Kristin (2019). Bureaucratic power in note-writing: authoritative expertise within the state. British Journal of Sociology. ISSN 0007-1315. 70(2), p. 569–588. doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.12356. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin (2018). Å gjøre oppdrettstorsk spiselig. Innovasjonsprosa som verdsettingsverktøy. . In Bjørkdahl, Kristian (Eds.), Rapporten: Sjanger og styringsverktøy. Pax Forlag. ISSN 978-82-530-4052-3. p. 230–275.
  • Reinertsen, Hilde & Asdal, Kristin (2018). Ikke lenger uberegnelig og uregjerlig? Visjoner om et kalkulerbart, produktivt og bærekraftig hav i politiske tekster. Arr - Idéhistorisk tidsskrift. ISSN 0802-7005. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin (2018). "Interested Methods" and "Versions of Pragmatism". Science, Technology and Human Values. ISSN 0162-2439. 43(4), p. 748–755. doi: 10.1177/0162243918773446. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin & Jordheim, Helge (2018). Texts on the Move: Textuality and Historicity Revisited. History and Theory. ISSN 0018-2656. 57(1), p. 56–74. doi: 10.1111/hith.12046.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Druglitrø, Tone & Hinchliffe, Steve (2017). Introduction. The more than human condition: Sentient creatures and versions of biopolitics. In Asdal, Kristin; Druglitrø, Tone & Hinchliffe, Steve (Ed.), Humans, Animals and Biopolitics: The More Than Human Condition. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-4724-4868-2. doi: 10.4324/9781315587639-1.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Druglitrø, Tone (2017). Modifying the biopolitical collective. The law as a moral technology. In Asdal, Kristin; Druglitrø, Tone & Hinchliffe, Steve (Ed.), Humans, Animals and Biopolitics: The More Than Human Condition. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-4724-4868-2. doi: 10.4324/9781315587639-4.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Hobæk, Bård (2016). Assembling the Whale: Parliaments in the Politics of Nature. Science as Culture. ISSN 0950-5431. 25(1), p. 96–116. doi: 10.1080/09505431.2015.1093744.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2015). What is the issue? The transformative capacity of documents. Distinktion: Journal of Social Theory. ISSN 1600-910X. 16(1), p. 74–90. doi: 10.1080/1600910X.2015.1022194.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2015). Enacting values from the sea: On innovation devices, value practices, and the co-modifications of markets and bodies in aquaculture. In Dussauge, Isabelle; Helgesson, Claes-Fredrik & Lee, Francis (Ed.), Value Practices in the Life Sciences & Medicine. Oxford University Press. ISSN 978-0-19-968958-3. p. 168–185. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199689583.003.0009.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Druglitrø, Tone (2014). Veterinærene. En profesjons arbeid på grensen: For jurisdiksjon og velferd. In Slagstad, Rune & Messel, Jan (Ed.), Profesjonshistorier. Pax Forlag. ISSN 978-82-530-3752-3. p. 700–734.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2014). Politisk autoritet versus vitenskapelig kompetanse: Å ominnrede stortingssalen, rettslokalet og laboratorierommet. In Flaatten, Sverre & Heivoll, Geir (Ed.), Straff, lov, historie: historiske perspektiver på straffeloven av 1902. Akademisk Forlag. ISSN 978-82-8152-043-1. p. 153–184.
  • Ween, Gro Birgit & Asdal, Kristin (2014). Writing Nature. Introduction to Special Issue. Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies. ISSN 1894-4647. 2(1), p. 4–10. doi: 10.5324/njsts.v2i1.2130.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Marres, Noortje (2014). Performing environmental change: The politics of social science Methods. Introduction. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. ISSN 0308-518X. 46(9), p. 2055–2064. doi: 10.1068/a140292e.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2014). From climate issue to oil issue: Offices of public administration, versions of economics and the ordinary technologies of politics. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. ISSN 0308-518X. 46(9), p. 2110–2124. doi: 10.1068/a140048p.
  • Law, John; Afdal, Geir; Asdal, Kristin; Lin, Wen-yuan; Moser, Ingunn Brita & Singleton, Vicky (2014). Modes of Syncretism:Notes on Noncoherence. Common Knowledge. ISSN 0961-754X. 20(1), p. 172–192. doi: 10.1215/0961754X-2374817.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2014). Contesting the Animal Model: Axel Holst and the Controversy over Scurvy and Beriberi. Social history of medicine. ISSN 0951-631X. 27(3), p. 577–593. doi: 10.1093/shm/hku007.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2014). Versions of milk and versions of care: The emergence of mother´s milk as an interested object and medicine as a form of dispassionate care. Science in Context. ISSN 0269-8897. 27(2), p. 307–331. doi: 10.1017/S0269889714000088.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Gradmann, Christoph (2014). Science, technology, medicine - and the state: The science-state nexus in Scandinavia 1850-1980. Science in Context. ISSN 0269-8897. 27(3), p. 177–186. doi: 10.1017/S0269889714000039.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2013). Å verdsette fremtiden: Fra klimasak til oljesak. Fortid. ISSN 1504-1913. 10(4).
  • Hebrok, Marie & Asdal, Kristin (2013). Fra gull til gråsten. Avhending av møbler. In Strandbakken, Pål & Heidenstrøm, Nina (Ed.), Hinsides symbolverdi. Materialiteten i forbruket. Novus Forlag. ISSN 978-82-7099-737-4. p. 183–206.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Moser, Ingunn Brita (2012). Experiments in Context and Contexting. Science, Technology and Human Values. ISSN 0162-2439. 37(4), p. 291–306. doi: 10.1177/0162243912449749.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2012). Dyrs smerte og menneskers straff: tekst og kontekst i straffeloven av 1902. Arr - Idéhistorisk tidsskrift. ISSN 0802-7005.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2012). Versjoner av melk. In Bondevik, Hilde & Lie, Anne Kveim (Ed.), Rødt og hvitt. Om blod og melk i fortid og nåtid. Unipub forlag. ISSN 9788274775190. p. 187–200.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2012). Contexts in Action - And the Future of the Past in STS. Science, Technology and Human Values. ISSN 0162-2439. 37(4), p. 379–403. doi: 10.1177/0162243912438271.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2011). The office: The weakness of numbers and the production of non-authority. Accounting, Organizations and Society. ISSN 0361-3682. 36(1), p. 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.aos.2011.01.001.

View all works in Cristin

  • Asdal, Kristin & Huse, Tone (2023). Nature-Made Economy: Cod, capital and the great economization of the ocean. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262545525. 280 p. Full text in Research Archive
  • Asdal, Kristin & Reinertsen, Hilde (2022). Doing document analysis: A practice-oriented method. Sage Publications. ISBN 9781529759792. 256 p.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Reinertsen, Hilde (2020). Hvordan gjøre dokumentanalyse: En praksisorientert metode. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202543631. 276 p.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Druglitrø, Tone & Hinchliffe, Steve (2017). Humans, Animals and Biopolitics: The More Than Human Condition. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4724-4868-2. 224 p.
  • Ytreberg, Espen; Jordheim, Helge; Rem, Tore; Hvattum, Mari; Brekke, Torkel & Asdal, Kristin [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2014). Hva skal vi med humaniora? Rapport om de humanistiske fagenes situasjon i Norge. Fritt Ord. ISBN 978-82-996554-3-9. 171 p.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2011). Politikkens natur. Naturens politikk. Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 9788215016993. 304 p.

View all works in Cristin

  • Huse, Tone & Asdal, Kristin (2023). Natur og økonomi i havets brytningstid.
  • Huse, Tone & Asdal, Kristin (2023). Natur og økonomi: evige motsatser? .
  • Huse, Tone & Asdal, Kristin (2023). Presentation, TIK Lounge and Launch Seminar, Nature-Made Economy.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2023). Å arve verden. Vinduet. ISSN 0042-6288.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2023). Et forsvar for kvalitetsvurderinger og fagfellevurderinger. Khrono.no. ISSN 1894-8995.
  • Morsman, Silje Rebecca & Asdal, Kristin (2023). Challenge experiments and choreographies of cod immunology.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2022). Tellekanter kan være bra, særlig for damer. Khrono.no. ISSN 1894-8995.
  • Stilling, Marie; Asdal, Kristin & Druglitrø, Tone (2022). Forskningsdagene: Hvalrossen Freya. Fornuft og følelser.
  • Engen, Stine & Asdal, Kristin (2022). Good money for the good economy? The financialization of the environment and the politicization of finance.
  • Engen, Stine & Asdal, Kristin (2022). A new market for finance: how finance is becoming the new environmental actor .
  • Asdal, Kristin & Lahn, Bård Lappegård (2021). Oil matters: Tools of governing and tools of valuation in turning oil into a risky asset .
  • Molland, Hedda Susanne; Jørgensen, Dolly; Asdal, Kristin & Bjærke, Marit Ruge (2021). Panelsamtale: Hva er miljøhumaniora?
  • Asdal, Kristin & Reinertsen, Hilde (2021). Hvordan gjøre dokumentanalyse? En praksis-orientert metode.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Reinertsen, Hilde (2021). Including documents in the repertoire of practices: A method.
  • Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd; Johansen, Finn-Eirik; Qiao, Shuo Wang; Asdal, Kristin; Druglitrø, Tone & Morsman, Silje Rebecca (2021). Torsken skrotet deler av immunforsvaret. Hva kan vi lære av det? Aftenposten Viten. ISSN 2464-3033.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2021). Det går et gjenferd gjennom nyliberalismekritikken. Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Reinertsen, Hilde & Brenna, Anders (2020). Podcast: Den blå økonomien. [Radio]. Norgeshistorie.no.
  • Nickelsen, Trine; Asdal, Kristin & Reinertsen, Hilde (2020). Dokumentene former livene våre - og hele samfunnet. [Business/trade/industry journal]. Forskningsmagasinet Apollon.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Reinertsen, Hilde (2020). Following viruses - following documents. Teknovatøren. 19, p. 26–29.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Lahn, Bård Lappegård (2020). Valuing the oil economy: On climate targets and ‘tools of valuation’.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2019). Thomas Brandt, Mats Ingulstad, Eirinn Larsen, Marte Mangset & Vera Schwach Avhengig av forskning. De norske forskningsrådenes historie Oslo: Fagbokforlaget 2018. 688 sider. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. ISSN 0040-716X. 60(4), p. 424–429. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2019-04-09.
  • Reinertsen, Hilde & Asdal, Kristin (2018). Humaniora til havs. Politiske dokumenter som kunnskapshistoriske tilnærminger til humanistisk miljøforskning.
  • Druglitrø, Tone & Asdal, Kristin (2018). Accounts that may move: Material-semiotics and the more-than-human condition.
  • Reinertsen, Hilde; Asdal, Kristin & Hobæk, Bård (2017). The little tools of large-scale visions: Seeing like a firm. Conference presentation.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Hobæk, Bård & Reinertsen, Hilde (2016). Hvem former havsatsingen? Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Hobæk, Bård & Reinertsen, Hilde (2016). Ble Helgesen akterutseilt? Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372.
  • Reinertsen, Hilde; Asdal, Kristin & Hobæk, Bård (2016). The Little Tools of Large Scale Visions: Seeing Like a Firm.
  • Asdal, Kristin & Marres, Noortje (2014). Guest editorial. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. ISSN 0308-518X. 46(9), p. 2055–2064. doi: 10.1068/a140292e.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Brekke, Torkel; Hvattum, Mari; Jordheim, Helge; Rem, Tore & Sandmo, Erling Sverdrup [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2014). Hva skal vi med humanioradebatten? Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847. p. 24–25.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Brekke, Torkel; Hvattum, Mari; Jordheim, Helge; Rem, Tore & Sandmo, Erling Sverdrup [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2014). Krise nå igjen? Morgenbladet. ISSN 0805-3847. p. 22–23.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Brekke, Torkel; Hvattum, Mari; Jordheim, Helge; Rem, Tore & Sandmo, Erling Sverdrup [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2014). Humanioras muligheter. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116. p. 4–5.
  • Asdal, Kristin; Brekke, Torkel; Hvattum, Mari; Jordheim, Helge; Rem, Tore & Sandmo, Erling Sverdrup [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2014). Hva skal vi med nytte? Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2014). For mye etikk av det gode. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372. p. 48–49.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2013). Det er i laboratoriet det skjer. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2013). Models as contested objects.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2013). Straffeloven av 1902: Juridisk ekspertise versus politisk autoritet.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2013). Political Animals: Re-setting parliament, the lab and the courtroom.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2012). Klimasakens forvaltning. Dagens næringsliv. ISSN 0803-9372. p. 3–3.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2011). En fri høyremann. [Newspaper]. Klassekampen.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2011). Politikkens natur - naturens politikk. En studie av politikkens teknologier.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2011). Innovasjoner/transformasjoner: Å studere endring.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Laboratoriehistorie(r) og vitenskapelige revolusjoner.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Vitenskapspolitikk og levende dyr.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Introduksjon til aktør-nettverk-teori.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Å skape verdi.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Producing an animal model: Axel Holst and the history of scurvy and beriberi.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Å studere vitenskap som kultur – ny kulturhistorie?
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Producing an animal model: Axel Holst and the history of scurvy and beriberi.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Clearing the way for carbon markets.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). "Back to nature!": The non-pasteurization of Norway.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Ord som virker. Om metaforer og forholdet mellom vitenskap og politikk.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Nature and Capital: Accounting for Nature.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Demokratiets muligheter og begrensninger.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Tekst og kontekst.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). The role of technology in Norwegian environment- and climate policy.
  • Asdal, Kristin (2010). Forvaltningens natur - naturens forvaltning.

View all works in Cristin

Published Sep. 23, 2010 3:36 PM - Last modified Apr. 25, 2023 7:31 PM