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Book Launch

25 April 2024

Concept Note

The Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, will be hosting a book launch for the edited volume ‘Non-fungible Tokens: Multidisciplinary Perspectives’ (Routledge, 2024) on. The editor of the volume, Dr Usman W. Chohan, serves as Advisor to President CASS on Economic Affairs and National Development, and this is his 7th successfully completed book project in the past six years. The book serves as an additional milestone in the larger programme of Dr Chohan’s examination of the potential of the digital economy.

Spanning the work of 14 authors from 10 countries (Figure 1) from 8 academic disciplines (Table 1), the edited volume serves as the definitive multidisciplinary account of Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) and shall have a lasting impact on the study of blockchain technology, an important and oft-overlooked element of the digital economy. Despite their comparatively short history, a substantial research interest had emerged over the past four years on NFTs, with Dr Chohan’s work being among the most cited on the subject in the world.

CASS is proud to celebrate the successful completion of this book project and to share key findings from the book. As the book’s editor, Dr Chohan will be discussing the main theme behind the book, its conceptualisation, overview and findings, while other contributors to the volume will be sharing their commentaries to enrich the launch event as well.

Table 1: Outline of the Book

 Chapter TitleAuthorDiscipline (Subtopic)
Introduction
1Non-fungible tokens: blockchains, scarcity, and valueUsman W. ChohanIntroductory Chapter
  Part 1: Essentials of NFTs
2NFTs and their core technologiesNarmeen BawanyComputer Science
3A Thematic History of NFTsUsman W. ChohanHistory
4Discoveries from the NFT MarketHong Bao & David RoubaudEconomics
  Part 2: The Value of NFTs
5NFT Communities as Societies of ProducersAlesha SeradaSociology
6Are NFTs sustainable? An ESG PerspectiveRoberto MoroviscontiAccounting
7A Look Beyond Static NFTsNyane Mofokeng & Thapeli MatimaComputer Science
8Do Smart Contracts Dream of Bored Apes?: On The Uniqueness of the NFT SubculturePaul Dylan-EnnisSociology
  Part 3: The Disvalue of NFTs
9The Leisures of Blockchains: Exploratory AnalysisUsman W. ChohanCriminology
10 The Fetishizing Language Behind the NFT Craze: A Semiotic-cum-semantic CritiqueCarlos Yebra LopezLinguistics
11Racial Capitalism, Platform Capitalism, and NFTsTrevor ZauchaMedia Studies 
12NFTs and the Spectacle of AccumulationScott Timcke & Andrew RensPolitical Economy
Conclusion
13Some Precepts of the Digital EconomyUsman W. ChohanConcluding Chapter

Figure 1: National Diversity of Contributing Authors

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