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Immaterial and affective labour: Explored

One of the important points of departure for us as the editors of this special issue was the hypothesis that, whilst the concepts of immaterial and affective labour – as theorised primarily by Maurizio Lazzarato, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri – succeed, to a certain extent, in describing real and existing tendencies, their analyses have taken particular forms of this labour as the de facto ‘advanced’ forms of all the others. This has been the case to the extent that their particular (and singular) characteristics become imposed upon the rest.

América Latina / Latin America

The aim of this special issue is to inform readers across the globe about the organization of the ongoing struggles and resistances and the tensions lived and experienced by so many Latin Americans. By doing this, this special issue intends to move away from over-generalizations about Latin America into unexplored areas in which the emergence of these movements reflects the continuing struggles for liberation. We also aim to consider the political context and the always present threat of internal repression and external intervention.

The commons and their im/possibilities

This open issue addresses the question of the (im)possibilities of the commons within contemporary capitalism. It considers the commons within a variety of manifestations, including the Open Software movement, Open Education movement, housing, academia, the arts and art education. The contributions of this issue discuss specific concerns and tensions around capitalist exploitation and commodification of practices of political and creative organizing that go beyond commodification and logics of strategic exchange.

O cursèd spite

Welcome to the second issue of ephemera. We must admit that there is already something that feels a bit tired, a bit old about this issue. Its not quite the shiny new thing that it was last time – our first, virgin issue. And we’re late too. This issue should have been online on the first of May, not just because of the global significance of that day in terms of pro­test, resistance and revolutionary ac­tivity, but be­cause that was the dead­line. But we’ve broken rank. We weren’t quite organized enough. So we’re late, and we’re not that new anymore. Sorry.

Castles made of sand

How does one begin? How does one begin something like this - this introduction, this journal – but also how does one begin in general? Should we start from scratch? Set out a profile, dig the foundations, lay them in concrete and steel? Starting with the cornerstone, lay bricks on top of a stable foundation then layer by layer build our construction, our edifice, our monument – an abode where weary travellers on the road to critical enlightenment can lay their heads to rest?

The atmosphere business

The contributions collected in this special issue of ephemera question the underlying ideologies and assumptions of carbon markets, and bring to light many of the contradictions and antagonisms that are currently at the heart of ‘climate capitalism’. They offer a critical assessment of the political economy of carbon trading, and a detailed understanding of how these newly created markets are designed, how they (don’t) work, the various actors that are involved, and how these actors function together to create and contest the ‘atmosphere business’.

Work, play and boredom

This special issue focuses on the interconnections between work, play and boredom in contemporary organizations. The contributions seek to shed light on the way in which play is becoming increasingly incorporated within the world of work and open on to the question of how we might problematize this phenomenon. Boredom emerges as a prominent theme that provides a critical - if ambiguous - counterpoint to the management of fun and frivolity within modern-day corporations.

The effect of affect

This open issue features articles by Sofia Laine, Alexander Styhre, Oliver Mallett and Robert Wapshott, and Sam Dallyn.  Each article highlights in its own way how an attentiveness to affect helps us to deepen our understanding of the ways in which organization and the political intertwine. This can be seen in relation to the micro-practices of organizations; to the compelling ideologies that inscribe our workplace lives; and to the methods adopted by organization studies scholars.

Professions at the margins

The contributions in this special issue of ephemera examine the relation between professions and the margins. While the professions have become well-established at the centre of public life over the last one hundred and fifty years, they also bear an intrinsic relation to the periphery - social, cultural and economic.

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