Current research interests

 political economy, thoughts
Aug 232015
 
Current research interests

if you want to collaborate, please make contact!  the future of work Neither the alterglobalzation movement nor the Left have a coherent vision of liberated work, other than less of it with bathroom breaks. I am interviewing artisan producers (people who produce autonomously something that can be produced industrially) to investigate their decision-making around: the experience and conditions of work; use of materials (sustainability and ethical issues); and transactions. I am interested in Marxist philosophical […read the rest]

Symbols and certification schemes

 food, political economy
Aug 052015
 
Symbols and certification schemes

I’m hanging out with my friend Aimée Schreck at the ETH World Food Systems Summer School, discussing symbols and certification schemes for packaged food. Her dissertation examined small-scale banana producers’ experience of the fair trade system. Together we decided some years ago that fair trade was best understood as a gateway drug and that really the consumers ought to be certified, not just the producers. There are several definitional dimensions, which are rarely synonymous: social movement […read the rest]

Creating New Food Systems ETH WFS 2015

 food, lectures, political economy, social movements
Aug 042015
 
Creating New Food Systems ETH WFS 2015

So the topic of this session is innovation and social change in the food system.  I’m going to start with some examples of innovation. There are too many to cover in such a short time, so I only choose some examples. Then I’ll share some conceptual tools for thinking about how to create powerful social change.  The capital letters indicate when to move forward in the prezi.   Innovations FMKT Farmers markets are certainly not an […read the rest]

New heroes … New masculinities …

 culture, food, political economy
Jun 232015
 
New heroes ... New masculinities ...

A few days ago I was sitting at Maso A Kobliha in Prague (at the recommendation of the excellent Taste of Prague Blog), savoring a plate of superlative house-smoked meat, three donuts, and tea. By way of entertaining my vegetarian and already sugar-shocked friend, I told him about the return of butchery, a new generation, typified in The Real Meat Society, mothership of Maso A Kobliha, sister of Sansho Restaurant. (If you aren’t familiar with the […read the rest]

“Many fights, and many kisses” lifetime tables by MBzwo

 artisan economics, local objects artisans
Apr 202015
 
"Many fights, and many kisses” lifetime tables by MBzwo

“We try to keep the distance between the customer and the workshop as short as possible…These are objects that I want to be used. And it should be used hard. That’s what they’re made for…Buying a table takes a long time. It takes months….Most of these people are buying the last table for their life…For me it would be a success if the grandchildren still like the table.

Zagreus art/dinner

 consumption, food, political economy
Feb 222015
 
Zagreus art/dinner

Dinner at Zagreus. Best €36 I’ve ever spent. Every bite was so delightful. Zagreus is an art gallery owned by a chef. Every exhibit inspires a meal, collaboratively co-designed with the artist. This time, the show was by a group of students in product design. The table, napkin, lighting, and servingware for each course were designed by different groups and Chef Ulrich Krauss invented fabulous flavors for each aesthetic experience. The serviceware was so compelling […read the rest]

Introduction to Street Protest, Blockupy Workshop in preparation for Frankfurt ECB 2015

 activism, political economy, social movements
Feb 202015
 
Introduction to Street Protest, Blockupy Workshop in preparation for Frankfurt ECB 2015

1. Why Street Protest
• a fundamental right and contribution to democracy is to express our dissent
• collective manifestation of dissent creates news, encourages others, threatens elites
• the way to win (reforms) is to raise the costs of the current way of doing things until it becomes in the interests of the elites to do it our way
• threat/promise to take over

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