Moral Economies of Creative Labour

'...it is precisely that feature of cultural goods which enables them to enhance the effectiveness of the market, namely their thematization of the nature and conditions of human well-being, which also enables one to recognize the limitations of the market as a source of such well-being, and the need to sustain relationships and activities characterized by the absence both of market institutions and market meanings'

(Russell Keat, 2000).
Markets and associated economic behaviour ‘both depend on and influence moral/ethical sentiments, norms and behaviours and have ethical implications’

(Andrew Sayer, 2004).
Social life ‘requires serious commitments which are non-contractual in nature’

(John O’Neill, 1998).
Postmaterialist values represent ‘a value structure that goes beyond material accumulation to emphasise self-realisation, freedom, equality and respect for others’

(Arvidsson and Pietersen, 2009).
Post-capitalist politics can be seen in ‘myriad projects of alternative economic activism’

(J.K. Gibson-Graham, 2006).
'Neither the celebrants of creative labour nor the critical pessimists have been sufficiently clear about what constitutes good work and bad work, and this has inhibited debate and understanding about the meaning of contemporary creative labour'.

(David Hesmondhalgh and Sarah Baker, 2010).
'Since the 1950s, there has been a gradual but decisive orientation of labor institutions in the U.S. media industries to the external labor market and individual contract bargaining.... adaptation has had its costs, particularly a lack of cohesion among segments of the labor force and bargaining organizations. The ability to take positions requiring cross-occupational solidarity has become problematic, in part, because internationalization led to different labor market conditions for various segments of the workforce.'

(Susan Christopherson, 1996).

Moral Economies of Creative Labour

A two day conference on THURSDAY 7th and FRIDAY 8th July 2011, at the Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds. Organised by The Media Industries Research Centre, ICS, Leeds and Sociology/The Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change, The Open University.

Keynote lectures

Hard Jobs in Hollywood: How Concentration in Distribution Affects the Production Side of the Media Entertainment Industry by Susan Christopherson (author of Remaking Regional Economies (with Jennifer Clark) and numerous publications on creative economies);
Bringing ethics back in: cultural production as a practice by Russell Keat (author of the classic text Cultural Goods and the Limits of the Market);
Creative work: problems for moral economy by Andrew Sayer (author of, amongst other books, the forthcoming Why Things Matter to People: Social Science, Values and Ethical Life and co-editor of Culture and Economy after the Cultural Turn).

Plenary panel

Labour politics and the state of exception by Melissa Gregg (author of Cultural Studies’ Affective Voices and Work’s Intimacies);
Free creative labour and exploitation by David Hesmondhalgh (author of The Cultural Industriesand (with Sarah Baker) Creative Labour: Media Work in Three Cultural Industries);
Living on performance by Philip Schlesinger (Academic Director of the Centre for Cultural Policy Research at the University of Glasgow and author of numerous books and articles on the media industries);

To listen to the keynotes and plenary sessions, access the Conference Audio page