The first talk in the Language, Literature and Politics Research Group’s ‘The Critical Citizen?’ Seminar Series is this week on Thursday 6 April.
Becoming your own boss in the gig economy, a story of disappointment
Thursday 6 April 2023, 16:00 – 17:00 GMT
Online
Speakers: Tim Christaens
Labour platform companies like Uber and Deliveroo often attract workers with promises of workplace autonomy absent in most low-pay jobs. Instead of working for a boss, workers can allegedly work with platform companies to establish their own little business. Hereby, platform companies purportedly accommodates for workers' critiques of domination at work. Unfortunately, reality is often far removed from this initial promise. Domination has not disappeared, but has become automated via digital technology. In this presentation, I will discuss how the algorithmic domination of labour limits worker autonomy and which institutions the critical citizen could use to enhance autonomy. More details and register via Eventbrite.
We have a full series of interesting talks lined up over the next few months, so do please have a look at the schedule and sign up for any you may find of interest: