CRESI Public Panel

21st century life is characterised by increased levels of anxiety and fear as societies grapple with stagnating growth, deteriorating living standards and increased inequality. On the one hand, laws against the capacity to fight for better working conditions are tightening as nations across the world introduce ever more draconian anti-worker legislation, curbing the right to protest. On the other hand, the will to demand fairer conditions is stronger than ever, as workers, unwaged groups, and professionals unite in novel ways through new alliances and unprecedented ecological, social, feminist and racial justice movements. What is the role of the ‘speculative’ imagination in conjuring hope for better different futures? What are the limits and the possibilities of worker rebellion at a time of cost of living crises and premonitions of an even more volatile future? Is there such a thing as ‘grassroots finance?’ What unites the thirst of today’s speculative markets for volatility, and our growing immersion into the worlds of TikTok subcultures, digital astrology, and mobile dating apps? What if, contrary to conventional wisdom, finance is inadvertently revitalising politics rather than “undoing the Demos”?

These questions and others are addressed by two acclaimed, recent books: Lost in Work (Horgan, Pluto Books) and Speculative Communities (Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, University of Chicago).

Amelia Horgan is a writer from London. She is currently undertaking doctoral research on work at the University of Essex’s School of Philosophy and Art History. She is the author of Lost in Work (Pluto Press, 2021).

Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou a sociologist and writer. He is Associate Professor of Sociology at University College London and an editor at the British Journal of Sociology. His current book project, Real Fake: An Intellectual History of Distortion, documents the historical role of market technologies in shaping our collective understandings of reality and truth.

Chair: Professor Linsey McGoey

This seminar is part of an open seminar series, hosted by the Centre for Research in Economic Sociology and Innovation Centre for Criminology. and Centre for Ideology and Discourse Analysis (CIDA).

• SC199 Career Development and Making a Difference

Essex students within the department can attend this event as part of eligibility criteria for module SC199. Once attended, you can complete a short reflection on what you learned by attending the event. This can be downloaded here (via Moodle) and then uploaded to FASER.