Swayed

Posted on | October 13, 2005 | 2 Comments

One of the hardest things I find when working on a long project like my book is avoiding being swayed by the wind–that is, letting whatever is the urgent issue of the day somehow creep inside my thinking about a topic. Right now, for instance, everything I look at is coloured by the idea of work: probably because of the outrageous abuse of government privilege taking place here in Australia over industrial relations reforms, and John Howard’s strategic attempt to exhaust voter interest by the time the legislation actually comes to parliament. I’m also reading Andrew Ross’s recent books which look at the distribution of labor on a global level because I’m trying to write the book chapter on his work (I’ve started writing chapter headings to inspire myself. The one for Andrew is “Social Justice and Accountability: Andrew Ross, Intellectual Labour & The Future of Academic Activism.”) These issues are at the heart of my next project, so it’s hard to syphon my interest off into some neat ‘to do’ pile. Chatting to Kate Crawford yesterday we’ve decided to seize the moment and propose a panel at Crossroads on workplace culture and cultures of work under neoliberalism. I’m coming from the point of view of technology and gender, she’s coming from a generational perspective (read her fabulous piece here to get a feel). We’re looking for more participants, particularly people writing about international labor flows, migrant experiences and new class subjectivities. If you know of someone, or you’re interested, could you let us know soon as?

Category: Politics, Research

Comments

2 Responses to “Swayed”

  1. newilluminati
    October 31st, 2005 @ 9:07 pm

    Being distracted by such major concerns as are befalling us all here in Oz (and, not coincidentally, around the world) is not surprising – it’s like being ‘distracted’ by a gunman coming for you!
    Meditation helps, and understanding the true motivations which lurk precipitously behind anger or fear.
    great blog.

  2. melgregg
    November 11th, 2005 @ 5:40 pm

    Thanks :)

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