Cultural Work, Subjectivity and Communication Technologies: Crossing Existing Research Paradigms

Culture, Media and Creative Industries  – King’s College London

This workshop will bring together communications research with specific areas of expertise at the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries and Digital Humanities. In particular, the event will put into dialogue research on three areas: labour in the cultural and creative industries; subjectivity in and at work; and the interplay between work and communication technologies. Research on cultural work paints a fairly consistent picture of the working lives of ‘creatives’ which highlights the pleasures involved in creative fulfilment, but also draws attention to the high degree of casualisation, ‘self-exploitation’ and project-working in the cultural economy.  What has emerged more recently is the need for a more in-depth understanding of the affective processes and emotional investments that bind creatives to their work. Finally, it is becoming clear that the affordances of various digital and mobile technologies have become crucial in relations between affectivity, creativity and exploitation in cultural work. What are suitable theoretical frameworks to analyse the interplay between work and subjectivity? Which methods can we use to explore the affective make-up of work subjectivities? And how can we grasp the roles of technologies, particularly information technologies, in this cultural framework?

Evening of Friday, 21 June; 17.30, King’s College London

Keynote Panel: Cultural Work, subjectivity and technology
Gina Neff, Ursula Huws, Rosalind Gill, Melissa Gregg, Leslie Shade

Saturday, 22 June; 10.00 – 18.00, King’s College London

9.30 – 10.00
Welcome and Registration

10.00 – 11.30
Panel I: Gender and Creative Labour
Stephanie Taylor, Kate Oakley, Christina Scharff

11.30 – 11.45
Coffee Break

11.45 – 13.15
Panel II: The Politics of Creative Labour
Bridget Conor, David Hesmondhalgh, Mark Banks

1.15 – 2.30
Lunch

2.30 – 4.00
Panel III: Digital technology and the International Division of Labour
Toby Miller, Lisa McLaughlin, Christian Fuchs

4.00 – 4.15
Coffee Break

4.15 – 5.45
Closing Panel: Technology, Affect and Space
Tim Jordan, Andy Pratt , Helen Kennedy, Vili Lehdonvirta

Note: applications are now closed for this Training School.

This summer school offers PhD students and new researchers the chance to combine onsite visits with practical workshops and the chance to network with leading international experts in the field. It will take place in Razlog, near the Bulgarian mountain resort of Bansko.

The workshop will be student-centred, giving participants an opportunity to discuss and develop their own current projects, either as doctoral students or as post-docs/early career researchers with others in the field and develop the skills to work collaboratively in international research teams.
Grants are available to cover the cost of travel and accommodation if you are carrying out research on virtual work, creative industries or the new international division of labour in creative work. Deadline for applications: June 14th, 2013.

Programme
Pictures

The Management Committee elected Ursula Huws (UK) as the Chair of the Action and Christian Fuchs (Austria) as the Vice Chair. Jörg Flecker (Austria) was elected Leader of Working Group 1, Juliet Webster (Spain) Leader of Working Group 2, Eran Fisher (Israel) Leader of Working Group 3 and Pamela Meil (Germany) Leader of Working Group 4. Leopoldina Fortunati (Italy) was elected Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSM) co-ordinator and Vil Lehdonvirta (Finland) Leader of the Early-Stage Researchers Group. Rudi Schmiede (Germany) and Rosalind Gill (UK) were elected financial rapporteurs. It was agreed that the University of Hertfordshire would be the Grantholder for the Action.

Image: Andreas Obermeier (COST Science Officer, left) and Leo Guilfoyle (COST Administrative Officer, right) explaining the COST procedures at the Kick-off Meeting.