Kobe De Keere
Biographic Data
| ID | 339315 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kobe De Keere |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kobe |
| FAMILY NAME | De Keere |
| SIGNATURE | DE KEERE K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Amsterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1164-7227 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 68 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Cultural and Human Capital Signals in Hiring—A Factorial Survey Experiment Across Contexts
When evaluating candidates, hiring agents may draw on signals of human as well as cultural capital. While these processes have been considered separately, an open question is how the two types of signals interact. As signals of social class, cultural capital signals relate to human capital as they evoke stereotypes about competence, polish, and discipline, and can indicate different patterns of social mobility in combination with human capital si…
Justifying employee gatekeeping: A video-elicitation and comparative study on resolving the moral unease of hiring
Hiring is an act of evaluation that comes with much organizational and social responsibility, making it a morally sensitive situation. The way employee gatekeepers come to terms with their selections presents itself as an exemplary case to study the moral dimension of organizational life. Relying on a pragmatist perspective and an economies of worth framework, this article uncovers how employers experience moral uncertainty and justify their choi…
Entering finance: Justifying Career Choices in a Stigmatized Industry
The value of crypto? Sociotechnical imaginaries on cryptocurrency in YouTube content
In less than two decades, cryptocurrency has transformed from being an object of interest for an obscure online community to becoming a digital asset of global appeal. By acknowledging the importance of fictional expectations in the creation of economic value, this study addresses the question: How is the value of crypto imagined? Through quantitative and qualitative coding of 1921 YouTube video transcripts, combined with Exploratory Factor Analy…
Legitimizing Beauty in Hiring: An Analysis of Cultural Repertoires in Defense of Appearances as Selection Criteria
This article builds upon the body of literature confirming that aesthetics matter for finding work by investigating how gatekeepers reflect on the relevance of appearances in their evaluations of job candidates. Starting from the notion that in hiring the relevance of appearance conflicts with ideals of meritocracy and fairness, we seek to understand how gatekeepers solve this dispute and how they morally legitimize the importance of aesthetics. …
A crypto way out: Cryptocurrency, techno-economic imaginaries, and crisis in Russia
Russia is a global forerunner in cryptocurrency adoption. This paper explores how cryptocurrency, as a techno-economic actant, informs the way Russians strategize their lives and imagine alternative futures. Based on in-depth interviews with Russian cryptocurrency owners and advocates (N = 21), we show how this new digital asset is tied to specific techno-economic imaginaries, allowing Russians to envision shortcuts out of prolonged crises. By mo…
Evaluating Self-Presentation: Gatekeeping Recognition Work in Hiring
This study investigates how employee gatekeepers decode cultural signals applicants send out during job selection procedures. By focusing on declarative and non-declarative cultural signals such as leisure activities and presentation style, this article examines how recruiters and hiring managers do their gatekeeping recognition work. This is done by in-depth interviewing of 40 HR managers and recruiters, from the cultural and corporate sector in…
Defusing moral panic: Legitimizing binge-watching as manageable, high-quality, middle-class hedonism
The rise of video-on-demand streaming services has facilitated more intensive television watching. When novel consumption behaviors emerge, cultural intermediaries may be mobilized to make sense of it and potentially legitimize it. This often takes place by raising moral panic, as it draws attention to new cultural practices and asks tastemakers to take a stance. The current study takes “binge-watching” as a discursive anchor point to investigate…
Finding the moral space: Rethinking morality, social class and worldviews
Prophets in the pay of state: The institutionalization of the middle-class habitus in schooling between 1880 and 2010
Although it is well established that contemporary school-based pedagogy continues to be primarily oriented towards a middle-class habitus, little research has documented how crucial elements of such habitus, like an expressive self-conception and emotional management, became integrated in the educational institute and its philosophy. Therefore, this article reconstructs how the current middle-class habitus was institutionalized and what type of p…
Aesthetic labour, class and taste: Mobility aspirations of middle-class women working in luxury-retail
Previous research has shown how the embodied performances expected from service workers make cultural class background important for entry into these forms of jobs. However, class judgement continues to impact the worker post-entry and on-the-job. We explore this through a qualitative study of 18 middle-class women working in luxury-retail stores in Amsterdam, asking how they acquire the taste of their store for aesthetic labour. This is a case w…
Disentangling Individualism: Toward a Heuristic Tool for Cultural Analyses of Evaluations of Self and Society
Individualism belongs to the core of Western evaluative logic. This paper aims to determine what exactly now constitutes individualism as an often used cultural discourse and, more importantly, how its content varies depending on different semantic constellations. A systematic classification of different possible individualistic types of evaluation is proposed, which can eventually serve as a heuristic tool for further cultural analysis. The pape…
Political distinction: Searching for a structural similarity between class and politics in Flanders (Belgium)
The aim of this paper is to investigate the logic behind lay people's ideological position taking and how this is determined by class position. I therefore examine to what extent there exists a similarity between the configuration of the political field and the structure of the space of social classes. The paper includes a brief description of the two most salient political alignments today, namely the old economic alignment and the new cultural …
What is it worth? An empirical investigation into attitudes towards education amongst youngsters following secondary education in Flanders
This paper argues that whereas the social relevance of attitudes towards education is commonly confined to their direct impact on educational aspirations or attainment, attitudes may also impact on educational success in a way similar to cultural capital. Survey data were used to assess the support for three different attitudes with respect to the perceived value of attending school among youngsters (n = 853) following secondary education in Flan…
From a self-made to an already-made man: A historical content analysis of professional advice literature
Several scholars argue that self-expression has become a salient feature in the conception of the self at the expense of a more utilitarian perception of the individual. This article argues that this transition agrees with an evolution in how the relation between work and the self was perceived during the 20th century. A historical content analysis of advice literature on professional success shows how capitalism adapted itself to the aesthetic c…
Republicanism in Mediated Society. A Comparative Analysis on Public and Private Evaluation Guided by the Theory of Symbolic Society
Social control and institutional trust: Reconsidering the effect of modernity on social malaise
This paper uses data from the European Social Survey regarding 18 European countries to test the relationship between modernization and malaise. Trust in government institutes (TGI) is used as a proxy measure of malaise. The explanatory power of three theories explaining trust is compared to that of the theory of symbolic society. This theory sees detraditionalization as a shift in the mode of social control. From a situation in which the conduct…
Narrating linguistic conflict: A storytelling analysis of the language conflict in Belgium
Few studies have addressed the question how the two main linguistic groups in Belgium (French and Flemish speakers) code each other. The research reported in this article is based on a storytelling forum of 56 persons that gathered five times. The storytelling sessions yielded 91 different stories about living in a bilingual society. These were analysed by two independent analysts, using the actantial scheme of Greimas. Five common scenarios were…
Institutionalizing the New Self
This paper maps the unequal development of detraditionalization in rich societies. It views detraditionalization as a shift in the mode of social control from reliance on scarcity, belief and ideology, self evident tradition and obedience, to self-control. Self-control is based upon belief in an autonomously choosing subject (individualism) and a set of institutional conditions able to guide the choices of the individuals (such as education, mass…
From a self-made to an already-made man: A historical content analysis of professional advice literature
Several scholars argue that self-expression has become a salient feature in the conception of the self at the expense of a more utilitarian perception of the individual. This article argues that this transition agrees with an evolution in how the relation between work and the self was perceived during the 20th century. A historical content analysis of advice literature on professional success shows how capitalism adapted itself to the aesthetic c…
Political distinction: Searching for a structural similarity between class and politics in Flanders (Belgium)
The aim of this paper is to investigate the logic behind lay people's ideological position taking and how this is determined by class position. I therefore examine to what extent there exists a similarity between the configuration of the political field and the structure of the space of social classes. The paper includes a brief description of the two most salient political alignments today, namely the old economic alignment and the new cultural …
Finding the moral space: Rethinking morality, social class and worldviews
Aesthetic labour, class and taste: Mobility aspirations of middle-class women working in luxury-retail
Previous research has shown how the embodied performances expected from service workers make cultural class background important for entry into these forms of jobs. However, class judgement continues to impact the worker post-entry and on-the-job. We explore this through a qualitative study of 18 middle-class women working in luxury-retail stores in Amsterdam, asking how they acquire the taste of their store for aesthetic labour. This is a case w…
Institutionalizing the New Self
This paper maps the unequal development of detraditionalization in rich societies. It views detraditionalization as a shift in the mode of social control from reliance on scarcity, belief and ideology, self evident tradition and obedience, to self-control. Self-control is based upon belief in an autonomously choosing subject (individualism) and a set of institutional conditions able to guide the choices of the individuals (such as education, mass…
Social control and institutional trust: Reconsidering the effect of modernity on social malaise
This paper uses data from the European Social Survey regarding 18 European countries to test the relationship between modernization and malaise. Trust in government institutes (TGI) is used as a proxy measure of malaise. The explanatory power of three theories explaining trust is compared to that of the theory of symbolic society. This theory sees detraditionalization as a shift in the mode of social control. From a situation in which the conduct…
What is it worth? An empirical investigation into attitudes towards education amongst youngsters following secondary education in Flanders
This paper argues that whereas the social relevance of attitudes towards education is commonly confined to their direct impact on educational aspirations or attainment, attitudes may also impact on educational success in a way similar to cultural capital. Survey data were used to assess the support for three different attitudes with respect to the perceived value of attending school among youngsters (n = 853) following secondary education in Flan…
Defusing moral panic: Legitimizing binge-watching as manageable, high-quality, middle-class hedonism
The rise of video-on-demand streaming services has facilitated more intensive television watching. When novel consumption behaviors emerge, cultural intermediaries may be mobilized to make sense of it and potentially legitimize it. This often takes place by raising moral panic, as it draws attention to new cultural practices and asks tastemakers to take a stance. The current study takes “binge-watching” as a discursive anchor point to investigate…
A crypto way out: Cryptocurrency, techno-economic imaginaries, and crisis in Russia
Russia is a global forerunner in cryptocurrency adoption. This paper explores how cryptocurrency, as a techno-economic actant, informs the way Russians strategize their lives and imagine alternative futures. Based on in-depth interviews with Russian cryptocurrency owners and advocates (N = 21), we show how this new digital asset is tied to specific techno-economic imaginaries, allowing Russians to envision shortcuts out of prolonged crises. By mo…
Republicanism in Mediated Society. A Comparative Analysis on Public and Private Evaluation Guided by the Theory of Symbolic Society
The value of crypto? Sociotechnical imaginaries on cryptocurrency in YouTube content
In less than two decades, cryptocurrency has transformed from being an object of interest for an obscure online community to becoming a digital asset of global appeal. By acknowledging the importance of fictional expectations in the creation of economic value, this study addresses the question: How is the value of crypto imagined? Through quantitative and qualitative coding of 1921 YouTube video transcripts, combined with Exploratory Factor Analy…
Prophets in the pay of state: The institutionalization of the middle-class habitus in schooling between 1880 and 2010
Although it is well established that contemporary school-based pedagogy continues to be primarily oriented towards a middle-class habitus, little research has documented how crucial elements of such habitus, like an expressive self-conception and emotional management, became integrated in the educational institute and its philosophy. Therefore, this article reconstructs how the current middle-class habitus was institutionalized and what type of p…
Institutionalizing the New Self
This paper maps the unequal development of detraditionalization in rich societies. It views detraditionalization as a shift in the mode of social control from reliance on scarcity, belief and ideology, self evident tradition and obedience, to self-control. Self-control is based upon belief in an autonomously choosing subject (individualism) and a set of institutional conditions able to guide the choices of the individuals (such as education, mass…
Narrating linguistic conflict: A storytelling analysis of the language conflict in Belgium
Few studies have addressed the question how the two main linguistic groups in Belgium (French and Flemish speakers) code each other. The research reported in this article is based on a storytelling forum of 56 persons that gathered five times. The storytelling sessions yielded 91 different stories about living in a bilingual society. These were analysed by two independent analysts, using the actantial scheme of Greimas. Five common scenarios were…
Social control and institutional trust: Reconsidering the effect of modernity on social malaise
This paper uses data from the European Social Survey regarding 18 European countries to test the relationship between modernization and malaise. Trust in government institutes (TGI) is used as a proxy measure of malaise. The explanatory power of three theories explaining trust is compared to that of the theory of symbolic society. This theory sees detraditionalization as a shift in the mode of social control. From a situation in which the conduct…
Republicanism in Mediated Society. A Comparative Analysis on Public and Private Evaluation Guided by the Theory of Symbolic Society
From a self-made to an already-made man: A historical content analysis of professional advice literature
Several scholars argue that self-expression has become a salient feature in the conception of the self at the expense of a more utilitarian perception of the individual. This article argues that this transition agrees with an evolution in how the relation between work and the self was perceived during the 20th century. A historical content analysis of advice literature on professional success shows how capitalism adapted itself to the aesthetic c…
What is it worth? An empirical investigation into attitudes towards education amongst youngsters following secondary education in Flanders
This paper argues that whereas the social relevance of attitudes towards education is commonly confined to their direct impact on educational aspirations or attainment, attitudes may also impact on educational success in a way similar to cultural capital. Survey data were used to assess the support for three different attitudes with respect to the perceived value of attending school among youngsters (n = 853) following secondary education in Flan…
Political distinction: Searching for a structural similarity between class and politics in Flanders (Belgium)
The aim of this paper is to investigate the logic behind lay people's ideological position taking and how this is determined by class position. I therefore examine to what extent there exists a similarity between the configuration of the political field and the structure of the space of social classes. The paper includes a brief description of the two most salient political alignments today, namely the old economic alignment and the new cultural …
Disentangling Individualism: Toward a Heuristic Tool for Cultural Analyses of Evaluations of Self and Society
Individualism belongs to the core of Western evaluative logic. This paper aims to determine what exactly now constitutes individualism as an often used cultural discourse and, more importantly, how its content varies depending on different semantic constellations. A systematic classification of different possible individualistic types of evaluation is proposed, which can eventually serve as a heuristic tool for further cultural analysis. The pape…
Prophets in the pay of state: The institutionalization of the middle-class habitus in schooling between 1880 and 2010
Although it is well established that contemporary school-based pedagogy continues to be primarily oriented towards a middle-class habitus, little research has documented how crucial elements of such habitus, like an expressive self-conception and emotional management, became integrated in the educational institute and its philosophy. Therefore, this article reconstructs how the current middle-class habitus was institutionalized and what type of p…
Aesthetic labour, class and taste: Mobility aspirations of middle-class women working in luxury-retail
Previous research has shown how the embodied performances expected from service workers make cultural class background important for entry into these forms of jobs. However, class judgement continues to impact the worker post-entry and on-the-job. We explore this through a qualitative study of 18 middle-class women working in luxury-retail stores in Amsterdam, asking how they acquire the taste of their store for aesthetic labour. This is a case w…
Finding the moral space: Rethinking morality, social class and worldviews
Defusing moral panic: Legitimizing binge-watching as manageable, high-quality, middle-class hedonism
The rise of video-on-demand streaming services has facilitated more intensive television watching. When novel consumption behaviors emerge, cultural intermediaries may be mobilized to make sense of it and potentially legitimize it. This often takes place by raising moral panic, as it draws attention to new cultural practices and asks tastemakers to take a stance. The current study takes “binge-watching” as a discursive anchor point to investigate…
Evaluating Self-Presentation: Gatekeeping Recognition Work in Hiring
This study investigates how employee gatekeepers decode cultural signals applicants send out during job selection procedures. By focusing on declarative and non-declarative cultural signals such as leisure activities and presentation style, this article examines how recruiters and hiring managers do their gatekeeping recognition work. This is done by in-depth interviewing of 40 HR managers and recruiters, from the cultural and corporate sector in…
Justifying employee gatekeeping: A video-elicitation and comparative study on resolving the moral unease of hiring
Hiring is an act of evaluation that comes with much organizational and social responsibility, making it a morally sensitive situation. The way employee gatekeepers come to terms with their selections presents itself as an exemplary case to study the moral dimension of organizational life. Relying on a pragmatist perspective and an economies of worth framework, this article uncovers how employers experience moral uncertainty and justify their choi…
Entering finance: Justifying Career Choices in a Stigmatized Industry
The value of crypto? Sociotechnical imaginaries on cryptocurrency in YouTube content
In less than two decades, cryptocurrency has transformed from being an object of interest for an obscure online community to becoming a digital asset of global appeal. By acknowledging the importance of fictional expectations in the creation of economic value, this study addresses the question: How is the value of crypto imagined? Through quantitative and qualitative coding of 1921 YouTube video transcripts, combined with Exploratory Factor Analy…
Legitimizing Beauty in Hiring: An Analysis of Cultural Repertoires in Defense of Appearances as Selection Criteria
This article builds upon the body of literature confirming that aesthetics matter for finding work by investigating how gatekeepers reflect on the relevance of appearances in their evaluations of job candidates. Starting from the notion that in hiring the relevance of appearance conflicts with ideals of meritocracy and fairness, we seek to understand how gatekeepers solve this dispute and how they morally legitimize the importance of aesthetics. …
A crypto way out: Cryptocurrency, techno-economic imaginaries, and crisis in Russia
Russia is a global forerunner in cryptocurrency adoption. This paper explores how cryptocurrency, as a techno-economic actant, informs the way Russians strategize their lives and imagine alternative futures. Based on in-depth interviews with Russian cryptocurrency owners and advocates (N = 21), we show how this new digital asset is tied to specific techno-economic imaginaries, allowing Russians to envision shortcuts out of prolonged crises. By mo…
Cultural and Human Capital Signals in Hiring—A Factorial Survey Experiment Across Contexts
When evaluating candidates, hiring agents may draw on signals of human as well as cultural capital. While these processes have been considered separately, an open question is how the two types of signals interact. As signals of social class, cultural capital signals relate to human capital as they evoke stereotypes about competence, polish, and discipline, and can indicate different patterns of social mobility in combination with human capital si…
Sociology (18 works) · Political science (12 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Law (9 works) · Economics (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Social and Cultural Dynamics (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Social science (6 works)