FCJ-189 Reimagining Work: Entanglements and Frictions around Future of Work Narratives

• Main Authors: Laura Forlano, Megan Halpern
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Open Humanities Press 2015-06-01
• Series: Fibreculture Journal
• Subjects: labor activism; activism; future of work
• Online Access: http://twentysix.fibreculturejournal.org/fcj-189-reimagining-work-entanglements-and-frictions-around-future-of-work-narratives/

This article explores entanglements and frictions between labour advocates and their relationship to technologies in future of work narratives in the United States. Drawing on literature from science and technology studies and media studies, we argue that there is an opportunity to move beyond discussions of technology as a ‘black box’ in order to deepen these entanglements and expose the frictions within these discourses. As a means of engaging with the ways in which the future of work is being imagined and opening up discussions around technology, we conducted a one-day participatory design workshop that uses a game in order to reveal the philosophies embedded in labour activism and technology.