von Schnurbein Georg, Rey-Garcia Marta, Neumayr Michaela
Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Department of Business, University of A Coruña, Campus de Elviña s/n, 15071 A Coruña, Spain.
Voluntas. 2021;32(2):185-193. doi: 10.1007/s11266-021-00343-9. Epub 2021 Mar 25.
This article is intended as the leading article in a special issue devoted to the achievements, limitations, opportunities and risks entailed in the research and practice of contemporary philanthropy. The article first characterizes philanthropy as a highly diverse and dynamic set of social practices that has only recently been subject to the systematic scrutiny of an emerging field of research, parallel to its rapid transformation and increased societal visibility. The main debates that emerged during the last two decades while researching the complexities of contemporary philanthropy are contextualized from the perspective of multiple disciplines; and the main foci for contentious conceptualizations and societal expectations explored. In this context, contributions of the special issues are summarized. Further avenues for pushing the boundaries of philanthropy research in ways inclusive of the dynamism, diversity, multi-disciplinarity and controversy that characterize the field, while at the same time providing meaningful answers to societal concerns about the potential and shortcomings of new philanthropic practices, are drawn.
本文旨在作为一期特刊的主导文章，该特刊致力于探讨当代慈善事业研究与实践中的成就、局限、机遇和风险。文章首先将慈善事业描述为一系列高度多样化且动态变化的社会实践，这些实践直到最近才受到一个新兴研究领域的系统审视，与此同时，慈善事业自身也在快速转型并在社会上获得了更高的关注度。过去二十年间，在研究当代慈善事业复杂性的过程中出现的主要争论，从多学科的视角进行了情境化分析；并探讨了有争议的概念化和社会期望的主要焦点。在此背景下，总结了该特刊的贡献。文章还提出了进一步拓展慈善事业研究边界的途径，这些途径既包含该领域所具有的活力、多样性、多学科性和争议性，同时又能为社会对新慈善实践的潜力和不足的关切提供有意义的答案。
