01/07/16

Work and Play: An Interdisciplinary Conference

Twenty-first century culture is reaching a crisis. Everywhere people are working, but seemingly nowhere are they getting paid. The workers generating cultural productions – “creatives” – have never been more ideologically valued, while the products of their creation – “content” – have arguably never been valued less. Traditional distinctions between work and play may no longer carry meaning, but what new patterns of production and consumption have arisen in their place? This conference aims to bring together researchers from media, music and sound, video games, film and TV, animation, sociology, history, literature, politics, art and aesthetics, to interrogate what it really means to work and play in the contemporary moment.

The day will consist of six panels broken into three sessions, with a keynote speaker delivering an address in the afternoon. The themes for these panels are TV, Education, Work, Communicative Labour, Games and Aesthetics. It is recommended that you read through the pack beforehand, wherein you will find abstracts for the papers, and make your decisions in advance so as not to miss out. It is going to be a jam-packed day full of insights on this critical current theme and we hope that you, like us, are looking forward to the provoking discussions which will no doubt arise.

Please address any queries prior to the event to the organizers at workandplayconference@futureworks.co.uk, and on the day call Futureworks reception on 0161 214 4600.

WHEN Wednesday, July 6, 2016 from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM (BST)

WHERE Futureworks Media School – Riverside New Bailey Street, Manchester, M3 5FS (SEE MAP)

Students can also submit their work to the Work and Play contest to win a few Zerobooks and a £50 voucher! A nice incentive if we ever did see one.

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