Seminar in the series Social Theory and Contemporary Challenges

The fourth seminar in the series Social Theory and Contemporary Challenges
organised by the Department of Theoretical Sociology, IFiS PAN
in cooperation with the Digital Sociology Section of PTS,
will be held online:
on 11 June 2026 at 3 pm CET / 2pm GMT,
The lecture entitled
The Recursive Self
will be delivered by

Prof. David Beer of the University of York

Abstract:
This talk will propose and develop the central concept of the recursive self. It will situate the self within emerging data structures and algorithmic analytics, and will argue that selves and selfhood are now formed within the repeated ongoing feedback loops of this infrastructure and its analytic forms of ordering. The talk will explore how the self can be understood within this wider context and how repeated feedback loops form into coils that shape the formation of selves. It will begin by focusing on how the individual is subject to recursive data processes. It will then situate the recursive self within broader looping processes, including data reuse. Taking that as its background, the talk will explore particular aspects of the recursive self, using examples to illustrate those features. Finally, drawing on Derrida, it will look at how these recursive processes have ongoing ‘remainder effects’ beyond the loops.

David Beer is Professor of Sociology at the University of York, UK, and the data cluster lead for the Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life. David is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Theory, Culture & Society; Cultural Sociology and Information, Communication & Society. His books include The Tensions of Algorithmic Thinking, The Data Gaze and Metric Power. His most recent journal article ‘What ought AI do?’ has recently been published in the Journal of Classical Sociology.

The seminar will be held in English.
Join via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/97077863090?pwd=WTKBw14j3Vo5iYbbIgueo313aoys5Q.1
Meeting ID: 970 7786 3090
Passcode: 831556

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