I Am Worthy, I Want, and I Can: The Social Implications of Practicing Personal Development

Trifan, Elena

doi:10.1515/subbs-2016-0010

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…as part of a paradigm shift that has seen cognitive-behavioural approaches subjected to an increasing amount of critique in favour of New Age-inspired holistic approaches. As for the world of business, spiritually-infused personal development programs are becoming a passage obligé for the acquisition of career-enhancing 'soft skills' (communication, self-presentation, the ability and willingness to learn new things and grow as a person) (Gog & Simionca, 2016;Simionca, 2016;Szabo, 2016;Tobias, 2016;Trifan, 2016). These trends have become important among professionals in fields as varied as 'economists, lawyers, teachers, creative workers, service specialists, IT-personnel, engineers, experts, consultants, etc.'…”

Section: Creating Neoliberal Subjectivities: the New Age Explosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious change in Orthodox-majority Eastern Europe: from Nation-State to Global-Market

Gauthier

2021

Theor Soc

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This article mobilises an analytical framework developed by the author in a series of solo and joint publications according to which religion has shifted from a Nation-State to a Global-Market regime, which it applies to the case of Eastern European Orthodox majority countries, including Russia, in modern times. Bringing together a large amount of research in a synthetic objective, it first examines how religion in Eastern Europe was nationalised and statised from the end of the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It looks at the particularities of the communist experience, and shows how it is best understood as a form of radicalisation of National-Statist trends. It then shows how neoliberal reforms have integrated these countries in wider global flows. The remainder of the article looks at different trends from the perspective of marketisation: the coextensive rise of Orthodoxy affiliation and nationalism, the qualitative changes within Orthodoxy, as well as the parallel developments of New Age derived spirituality and Pentecostalism, the two ideal-typical religious forms in the Global-Market regime, and by linking them to specific experiences of globalisation and social determinants. The conclusion argues that the rise of nationalism and authoritarianism as well as the religious trends that are developing today are the consequences of neoliberal reforms, the penetration of consumerism as a dominant ethos, and thus generalised marketisation.

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Section: Creating Neoliberal Subjectivities: the New Age Explosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious change in Orthodox-majority Eastern Europe: from Nation-State to Global-Market

Gauthier

2021

Theor Soc

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Searching for Authenticity: Critical Analysis of Gender Roles and Radical Movements in Personal Development Practices in Contemporary Society

Trifan

2023

Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Sociologia

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Personal development has become an industry in neoliberal capitalism, used to help employees adapt to the constant pursuit of growth, such as increased productivity, creativity, time management and business development. As part of my doctoral research, I documented how this type of practice works and how it restructures individuals’ social lives and their perspectives on the world. Personal development, as shaped by neoliberalism, serves as a tool for personal empowerment and adaptation to the restructuring of the welfare state. It is also a means of promoting neoliberal values among people. However, during the containment measures during the pandemic, criticisms of this growth-based approach emerged, leading to a resurgence of ideas about personal care. Self-care developed particularly in marginalised communities, where it was defined as a form of resistance to capitalism through caring for oneself as a member of an oppressed community, with Audre Lorde (1988) defining the concept as having a power of resistance to capitalism. In this presentation, I will explore what happens to personal development, which is a key factor in the construction of capitalist ideology, if neoliberalism is coming to an end. I will also consider whether this is a good time to reclaim personal development and how it can be used to create tools for self-building beyond the intrinsic individualism of the process.

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Dezvoltare personală și feminism: O perspectivă sociologică asupra mișcărilor pentru drepturile femeilor în România neoliberală

Trifan

2020

transilvania

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The article aims to analyze the ways in which personal development is used as a tool to manage social justice issues, domestic violence cases and other forms of structural inequality. In most works in the social sciences, self-help discourse has been criticized for reiterating the individualizing neoliberal discourse that leads to growing social inequalities, along with blaming the most vulnerable for their own fate. However, personal development as a practice has been used by organizations working at community level to address personal issues caused by social inequalities. The analysis aims to present the intertwining of global ideological and political plans at the individual level through non-governmental organizations, their projects and personal development courses. The research consisted in the analysis of the activities and projects of the organizations that are part of the Network for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women (VIF) and the ethnography data of personal development practices in Romania from a previous research.

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I Am Worthy, I Want, and I Can: The Social Implications of Practicing Personal Development

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Religious change in Orthodox-majority Eastern Europe: from Nation-State to Global-Market

Religious change in Orthodox-majority Eastern Europe: from Nation-State to Global-Market

Searching for Authenticity: Critical Analysis of Gender Roles and Radical Movements in Personal Development Practices in Contemporary Society

Dezvoltare personală și feminism: O perspectivă sociologică asupra mișcărilor pentru drepturile femeilor în România neoliberală

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