Mapping Precariousness Labour Insecurity And Uncertain Livelihoods

The condition of precariousness not only provides insights into a segment of the world of work or of a particular subject group, but is also a standpoint for an overview of the condition of the social on a global scale. Because precariousness is multidimensional and polysemantic, it traverses contemporary society and multiple contexts, from industrial to class, gender, family relations as well as political participation, citizenship and migration. This book maps the differences and similarities in the ways precariousness and insecurity in employment and beyond unfold and are subjectively experienced in regions and sectors that are confronted with different labour histories, legislations and economic priorities. Establishing a constructive dialogue amongst different global regions and across disciplines, the chapters explore the shift from precariousness to precariat and collective subjects as it is being articulated in the current global crisis. This edited collection aims to continue a process of mapping experiences by means of ethnographies, fieldwork, interviews, content analysis, where the precarious define their condition and explain how they try to withdraw from, cope with or embrace it. This is valuable reading for students and academics interested in geography, sociology, economics and labour studies.

Precarity is a key theme in political discourse, in media and academic discussions of employment, and within the labour movement. Often, the prevailing idea is of an endless march of precarity, rendering work ever more contingent and workers ever more disposable. However, this detailed study of the UK labour force challenges the picture of rising precarity and widespread use of temporary employment, suggesting instead that employment tenure and the extent of temporary work have proved stubbornly stable over the past four decades. Choonara offers a new approach to labour markets, drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of Marxist political economy to interrogate research data from the UK. This book examines why, despite the deteriorating conditions in work, employment relations have remained stable, and offers insight into the extent of subjective insecurity among workers. Insecurity, Precarious Work and Labour Markets will be of use to students and scholars across the sociology of work, labour economics, industrial relations and political economy.

The volume examines the discourse-based critique of coloniality. It brings together an extensive interdisciplinary dialogue that reveals what different research fields – such as sociology of language, social psychology, history and political science, among others – have to say about discourse criticism and de/coloniality. In doing so, it also invites a critique of critical thinking, acknowledging the relevance of dissonant voices that arise from this debate. The essays in this volume discuss possibilities to decolonize discursive studies without losing sight of its contradictions. The book delves into how one can, as an intellectual who enjoys the privileges of coloniality in academic environments of the Global North, deal with the limitations and paradox of a radical critique through discourse. It discusses how ideas, entrenched in privilege, can be extracted, shared and applied while ensuring the radicality of their local contextualization. These ideas then must not only make sense within themselves but also resonate with other contexts, readings and peoples, in the South, without repeating the mistakes of hermetic scholarly lexicons. A key reading on decoloniality, critical thinking, methodologies, ideas, ideologies, language and critical discourse analysis, this volume will be of immense interest to scholar and researchers of language and literature, political science, the social sciences and Global South Studies.

This book presents research on pathways into creative work. The promise of ‘doing what you love’ continues to attract new entrants to the cultural and creative industries. Is that promise betrayed by the realities of pathways into creative work, or does a creative identification offer new personal and professional possibilities in the precarious contexts of contemporary work and employment? Two decades into the 21st century, aspiring creative workers undertake training and higher education courses in increasing numbers. Some attempt to convert personal enthusiasms and amateur activities into income-earning careers. To manage the uncertainties of self-employment, workers may utilise skills developed in other occupations, even developing timely new forms of collective organisation. The collection explores the experience of creative career entrants in numerous national contexts, including Australia, Belgium, China, Ireland, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, Russia, the US and the UK. Chapters investigate the transitions of new workers and the obstacles they encounter on creative pathways. Chapters 1, 12 and 15 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

The recent vast upsurge in social science scholarship on job precarity has generally little to say about earlier forms of this phenomenon. Eloisa Betti’s monograph convincingly demonstrates on the example of Italy that even in the post-war phase of Keynesian stability and welfare state, precarious labor was an underlying feature of economic development. She examines how in this short period exceptional politics of labor stability prevailed. The volume then presents the processes whereby labor precarity regained momentum— under the name of flexibility— in the post-Fordist phase from the early 1980s, taking on new forms in the Craxi and Berlusconi eras. Multiple actors are addressed in the analysis. The book gives voice to intellectuals, scholars, politicians and trade unionists as they have framed the concept and debates on precarious work from the 1950s onwards. Views of labor law experts, politicians and public servants are investigated in regard to labor regulations. Positions of the very precarians are explored, ranging from rural women, industrial homeworkers and blue-collar workers to physicians, university researchers and trainees, unveiling the emergence of anti-precarity social movements. The continuous role of women’s associations and feminist groups in opposing labor precarity since the 1950s is prominently exposed.

This book thoroughly examines the socio-economic and labor market paths of young NEETs, particularly migrants and women, in the disadvantaged regions of Mediterranean Southern Europe—specifically, the island, coastal, and peripheral areas of Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and Spain. It embraces a holistic approach, delving into multiple dimensions of the phenomenon. Rooted in multi-methodological research, it seamlessly integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a comprehensive understanding. Geographically, it spans four Southern European countries, meticulously exploring vulnerable social groups like migrant and women NEETs, which have been understudied. Furthermore, the book illuminates the influence of space and spatial patterns on the NEET phenomenon, effectively connecting precariousness and social exclusion with geography and spatial inequalities across different scales. The book appeals to a diverse audience, spanning human geography, sociology, and migration studies. It extends its relevance to social scientists exploring poverty, social exclusion, precariousness, and socio-spatial injustices. Additionally, it offers valuable insights for postgraduate students in these fields and serves as a complementary resource in social science methodology and theory courses at both graduate and postgraduate levels.

“A powerful exposé of Parisian haute couture” – Book of the Week, Times Higher Education Fashion is one of the most powerful industries in the world, accounting for 6% of global consumption and growing steadily. Since the 1980s and the birth of the neoliberal economy, it has emerged as the glittering face of capitalism, bringing together prestige, power and beauty and occupying a central place in media and consumer fantasies. Yet the fashion industry, which claims to offer highly desirable job opportunities, relies significantly on job instability, not just in outsourced garment production but at the very heart of its creative production of luxury. Based on an in-depth investigation involving stylists, models, designers, hairdressers, make-up artists, photographers and interns, anthropologist Giulia Mensitieri goes behind fashion's glamorous facade to explore the lived realities of working in the industry. This challenging book lays bare the working conditions of 'the most beautiful job in the world,' showing that exploitation isn't confined to sweatshops abroad or sexual harassment of models, but exists at the very heart of the powerful symbolic and economic centre of fashion.

This volume brings together renowned scholars and early career-researchers in mapping the ways in which European cinema —whether arthouse or mainstream, fictional or documentary, working with traditional or new media— engages with phenomena of precarity, poverty, and social exclusion. It compares how the filmic traditions of different countries reflect the socioeconomic conditions associated with precarity, and illuminates similarities in the iconography of precarious lives across cultures. While some of the contributions deal with the representations of marginalized minorities, others focus on work-related precarity or the depictions of downward mobility. Among other topics, the volume looks at how films grapple with gender inequality, intersectional struggle, discriminatory housing policies, and the specific problems of precarious youth. With its comparative approach to filmic representations of European precarity, this volume makes a major contribution to scholarship on precarity and the representation of social class in contemporary visual culture.