Unwaged posts in UK Universities: Controversies and campaigns

The article examines unwaged posts at UK universities, using recent examples of advertised posts. While unpaid work is common in the UK higher education system, unwaged posts are not. The posts under scrutiny in this article differed from traditional honorary titles as their target was early career academics, unlikely to have a paid position elsewhere, rather than established scholars. The article contextualises the appearance of these posts in a climate of increasing marketisation of Higher Education, entrenching managerialism in Higher Education institutions and casualisation of academic work. We discuss the resistance that ensued to the advertisement of such posts. We argue that the current controversy surrounding unpaid internships in the creative industries created a receptive environment for resisting these unwaged posts in academia. It is in this context that we analyse the campaigns that were fought against the advertisement of the posts, mostly through social media and the University and Colleges Union (UCU). We explore the tactics used and discuss the advantages and limitations of the use of social media, as well as the role of trade unions in the campaigns against these posts and we reflect on what future campaigns can learn from these experiences. We do so by thematically analysing social media, activist communications, blogs and media articles, as well as personal communications with key players in the campaigns. We conclude that the utilisation of social media is useful for sparking interest, creating momentum and allow activists to capitalise on public outrage and respond swiftly. However, social media as a key campaign strategy can be of limited use in the long term

Artistic lives : a two city study

This project, based on a study of artists in London and Berlin, is an exploration of the social conditions of cultural production. I am exploring cultural production as an activity which does not fit conventional definitions of work, as it is self-directed, frequently unpaid and takes place outside of paid employment. It is precisely its irregular character which makes cultural production vulnerable to barriers to free time, such as the expensive rent and chronic overwork prevalent in London. I explore the social conditions of cultural production as an intersection of several factors: material conditions (particularly housing and the cost of living) which can shape the time and space artists have for their work, and their ability to survive on part-time and freelance employment; the politics of the cultural field, which shape the expectations artists have for their work and lives; cultural and social policies, which also impact on artists' ability to support themselves; and subjective issues such as artists' sense of themselves and their work, their sense of place and their relationship to other artists. This project explores how these factors intersect and inter-relate, in the way that social conditions can affect who can be an artist, who can sustain an artistic career, and the ways in which one can be an artist. In particular, I focus on the relationship between housing and professional identities, and how this functions differently in London and Berlin. In order to explore these intersections, the project brings together policy analysis, interviews, biographical narrative descriptions, photographs and descriptions of my travels through neighbourhoods in both cities. It is an interdisciplinary project which draws on analyses and methodologies from the fields of art, visual culture and sociology.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Artistic lives : a two city study

This project, based on a study of artists in London and Berlin, is an exploration of the social conditions of cultural production. I am exploring cultural production as an activity which does not fit conventional definitions of work, as it is self-directed, frequently unpaid and takes place outside of paid employment. It is precisely its irregular character which makes cultural production vulnerable to barriers to free time, such as the expensive rent and chronic overwork prevalent in London. I explore the social conditions of cultural production as an intersection of several factors: material conditions (particularly housing and the cost of living) which can shape the time and space artists have for their work, and their ability to survive on part-time and freelance employment; the politics of the cultural field, which shape the expectations artists have for their work and lives; cultural and social policies, which also impact on artists' ability to support themselves; and subjective issues such as artists' sense of themselves and their work, their sense of place and their relationship to other artists. This project explores how these factors intersect and inter-relate, in the way that social conditions can affect who can be an artist, who can sustain an artistic career, and the ways in which one can be an artist. In particular, I focus on the relationship between housing and professional identities, and how this functions differently in London and Berlin. In order to explore these intersections, the project brings together policy analysis, interviews, biographical narrative descriptions, photographs and descriptions of my travels through neighbourhoods in both cities. It is an interdisciplinary project which draws on analyses and methodologies from the fields of art, visual culture and sociology.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Artistic Lives: A Two City Study

This project, based on a study of artists in London and Berlin, is an exploration of the social conditions of cultural production. I am exploring cultural production as an activity which does not fit conventional definitions of work, as it is self-directed, frequently unpaid and takes place outside of paid employment. It is precisely its irregular character which makes cultural production vulnerable to barriers to free time, such as the expensive rent and chronic overwork prevalent in London. I explore the social conditions of cultural production as an intersection of several factors: material conditions (particularly housing and the cost of living) which can shape the time and space artists have for their work, and their ability to survive on part-time and freelance employment; the politics of the cultural field, which shape the expectations artists have for their work and lives; cultural and social policies, which also impact on artists' ability to support themselves; and subjective issues such as artists' sense of themselves and their work, their sense of place and their relationship to other artists. This project explores how these factors intersect and inter-relate, in the way that social conditions can affect who can be an artist, who can sustain an artistic career, and the ways in which one can be an artist. In particular, I focus on the relationship between housing and professional identities, and how this functions differently in London and Berlin. In order to explore these intersections, the project brings together policy analysis, interviews, biographical narrative descriptions, photographs and descriptions of my travels through neighbourhoods in both cities. It is an interdisciplinary project which draws on analyses and methodologies from the fields of art, visual culture and sociology

Go home? the politics of immigration controversies

"The 2013 Go Home vans marked a turning point in government-sponsored communication designed to demonstrate control and toughness on immigration. In this study, the authors explore the effects of this toughness: on policy, public debate, pro-migrant and anti-racist activism, and on the everyday lives of people in Britain. Bringing together an authorial team of eight respected social researchers, alongside the voices of community organisations, policy makers, migrants and citizens, and with an afterword by journalist Kiri Kankhwende, this is an important intervention in one of the most heated social issues of our time.

Conflict, Memory, Displacement

Conflict, Memory, Displacement explores our understanding of global conflict as it relates to the European refugee crisis, focusing on the UK and Italy. We examined how this understanding is constructed through media representations, official and popular discourses, and institutional and citizen-led initiatives. We explored how this understanding in turn shapes institutional and popular responses to population movement. The project also explores how asylum seekers can offer a collective analysis of the institutional processes of ‘becoming migrant’, at the hands of the state and members of society. This collection of materials, including slides, images, and video, form an 'online exhibition', which arose from the research project, 'Performing memory & memorialising conflict at a distance: innovative approaches to understanding the views of displaced people & receiving communities', a project funded by The Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS), through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The material in the exhibition (UK) arises from: analysis of UK media; a survey of 130 people; 25 individual interviews; and arts workshops in Birmingham and Nottingham. Research team: Kirsten Forkert (School of Media, Birmingham City University); Gargi Bhattacharyya (Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging, University of East London); Federico Oliveri (Sciences for Peace Interdisciplinary Centre, University of Pisa); Janna Graham (Goldsmiths, University of London) Partners: Birmingham Asylum and Refugee Association (Birmingham, UK); The Women’s Cultural Exchange (Nottingham, UK); Implicated Theatre (London, UK); and Cantieri Meticci (Bologna, Italy)CC BY-NC-ND except cartoon used with permission of Ulysse Gry

Go home? The politics of immigration controversies

In July 2013, the UK government arranged for a van to drive through parts of London carrying the message 'In the UK illegally? GO HOME or face arrest.' This book tells the story of what happened next. The vans were short-lived, but they were part of an ongoing trend in government-sponsored communication designed to demonstrate toughness on immigration. The authors set out to explore the effects of such performances: on policy, on public debate, on pro-migrant and anti-racist activism, and on the everyday lives of people in Britain. This book presents their findings, and provides insights into the practice of conducting research on such a charged and sensitive topic

Revisiting Edward Said’s Representations of the Intellectual: A Roundtable for Perspectives on Academic Activism

In this roundtable discussion, we revisit Edward Said’s Representations of the Intellectual (1993) as a departure for examining how and where academic activism can take place. This is situated both within and apart from existing public struggles, including #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) and other current movements. Academic activism will be explored as an intellectual project that may at times problematise notions of the public, the intellectual, and the activist. We will examine how academic activism contributes to activist projects, while also interrogating how “public” representational claims are made. This includes important questions: who is responsible for publics that are not yet constituted as such? What voices are not yet heard, seen, or understood? And what is the role of academic activists in relation to these? This in turn raises ethical questions of how to represent and be accountable to the disadvantaged and/or subaltern. In addressing these issues, the roundtable will explore activism both inside and outside the classroom, offering various figurations of academic activism. The discussion will draw on the participants’ experiences of university teaching and popular education within local contexts, as members of staff at Birmingham City University in the UK