This text explores the history and forms of working class racism in Britain since the beginning of the Industrial revolution up to the present. It examines the way the English working class was positioned as a both a ‘backbone of the nation’ and a ‘race apart’ in the dominant discourse and how this shaped the internal development of its culture and politics, … [Read more...] about Labouring Under Whiteness
Archives for October 2012
The Idea of the University and the Intellectual in the Age of the Knowledge Economy
The Idea of the University in the Age of the Knowledge Economy / The Idea of the Intellectual in the Age of the Knowledge Economy. The advent of a globalised knowledge economy has transformed the conditions of intellectual work over the past twenty five years. These two texts examine different aspects of the situation. The first looks at the impact on the university and … [Read more...] about The Idea of the University and the Intellectual in the Age of the Knowledge Economy
On Pseudonyms
This essay briefly surveys the history of the pseudonym, its changing contexts and uses, and draws on Kripke’s theory of baptismal naming to consider some of the implications for understanding the games people play with identity. The paradox of the literary pseudonym, that it takes on a new lease of life once it is revealed, is discussed, and also its function as a … [Read more...] about On Pseudonyms
Apprenticeship a la Mode
The work of Jean Lave has made use of the term ‘apprenticeship’ to characterises how people learn from each other within face to face communities of practice. At the same time the government has introduced a system of ‘modern apprenticeship’ to provide training in many white collar and service occupations, as well as in the traditional skilled manual trades. This text … [Read more...] about Apprenticeship a la Mode
Reading Room Only: Memoir of a Radical Bibliophile
Five Leaves Press Nottingham April 2013 Political activists are popularly supposed to be wild eyed visionaries or ranting dogmatists who spend their time manning real or imaginary barricades. Bibliophiles, in contrast, are expected to be quiet retiring academic types who send their whole lives in … [Read more...] about Reading Room Only: Memoir of a Radical Bibliophile