The scientification of the bureau. Science, technology and ideology at the office in belgium, the Netherlands and France (1918-1968).

In this research project, the scientification of office labor between 1918 and 1968 will be focused upon. Although the social formation of a specific workforce at the office (the employee) has been studied in depth, the remarkable scientification of office labor itself still needs to be fully grasped. In this research project, processes of rationalization that are sometimes believed to be confined to industrial contexts, will be studied within the office too, as a matter of applied scientification. In order to investigate this scientification, I will study rationalisation policies within three banking/insurance companies of crucial importance in Belgium, the Netherlands and France: the Algemene Spaar- en Lijfrentekas, Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging and Crédit Lyonnais. At the same time, I will study the scientific debate, the specific education and the union activism that accompanied this rationalisation. Specific attention will be dedicated to matters of theoretical genesis, contextual circulation, technological embedding and ideological implications of this scientification.

Keywords:Histroy of science and technology, Contemporary history

Disciplines:History, Other engineering and technology, History and foundations