Karen Patel, "The Politics of Expertise in Cultural Labour: Arts, Work and Inequalities" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020)

Summary

How has social media changed inequality in the cultural industries? In The Politics of Expertise in Cultural Labour: Arts, Work and Inequalities (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020), Karen Patel, AHRC Leadership Fellow based at Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research, Birmingham City University, considers the idea of expertise in cultural labour, examining how it is understood and displayed by cultural workers.

The book draws on an extensive and deep engagement with key theories of work, expertise, and culture, as well as offering detailed empirical case studies of the everyday working lives of creative practitioners. Moreover, by analysing the impact and importance of social media, the book offers an important insight into how inequality functions even where technology seems to offer an end to cultural hierarchy. The book is essential reading across the humanities and social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in contemporary culture.

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Dave O'Brien

Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester.

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