Social Anthropology Seminar - Monday, 20th February 2017 - Dr Erik Bähre – University of Leiden
| Dates: | 20 February 2017 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 18:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| Speaker: | Dr Erik Bähre |
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Social Anthropology Seminar
Monday, 20th February 2017
Dr Erik Bähre – University of Leiden
Precarious Categories: Race and Risk in South Africa's Insurance Market
One of the central features of actuarial knowledge and its application is the establishment of categories. Categories are needed to price risks, to manage costs, and they offer a language for the identification of new products for new markets. In South Africa, racial categories and classifications are heavily saturated with concerns about inequality. It features in the establishment of racial quota and other policies that has to make South Africa's financial sector more inclusive, especially for the poor. These categories are also relevant for market segmentation and risk analysis. In this talk, Erik Bähre examines the sensitivity and precariousness of racial categories. He explores how these classifications are contested and avoided at certain moment, and when they feature prominently. These categories appear to be fundamental to the positionality of the insurance sector in South African society, especially so vis-à-vis the state and African clients living in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa. The study is based on interviews with actuaries and other professionals involved in the insurance sector, an online survey among actuaries, fieldwork and a neighbourhood survey in the townships of Cape Town, and the analysis of public debates and policy documents.
G.030/.031
Ground Floor, Arthur Lewis Building
4:15 – 6:00pm
(Tea and coffee available outside the room from 4:00pm)
ALL WELCOME!
Speaker
Dr Erik Bähre
Role: Speaker
Organisation: University of Leiden
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
G.030 / 031
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester
