About
Jessica Backsell is a Wallander postdoc scholar, her research has covered the intersection of political economy and sociology of science focusing on the role of knowledge, ignorance and practices of obfuscation in markets.
Currently her work lies in the intersection of culture and politics, analysing how the imperial tendencies of superpowers and democratic decline affects, but is also affected by, cultural policies and practices. She has lived in South-Korea for three years, where she during the autumn of 2024 acted as local advisor to the Swedish Institute, a public organisation promoting Sweden abroad. She has also contributed with essays on her areas of expertise targeting a wider audience, such as Response, Sans Magazine and EFN. During spring 2025 she published a book with Sternberg/MIT press called “Provoking the Freeport Magic”.
Expertise
Global Art Market; Freeports; Financialization of Art; Theories of Magic; End of History Narratives; Market Studies; Science and Technology Studies; Open Secrets; Agnotology