Kirsten Forkert

Austere creativity and volunteer-run public services: The case of Lewisham's libraries

Abstract:The article explores a particular concept of creativity which is being mobilised within Austerity Britain. This mobilisation involves capitalising on the resourcefulness and ingenuity of citizens in their ability to adapt and ‘problem-solve’ in the face of cuts to the welfare state; it lacks any oppositional or explicitly political aspects. Such a conception of creativity is also linked to imperatives to restore a perceived loss of community and authentic experience, and to the nostalgic belief that austerity provides an opportunity to do so by bringing us ‘back to basics’. ‘Austere creativity’ becomes prevalent in the absence of alternatives and large-scale social movements challenging austerity. This article explores these issues through the case of a campaign to save five libraries in Lewisham, London in 2010-11, and in the reaction of campaigners to the decision by the council to turn them over to charities and social enterprises, with volunteers replacing qualified librarians. It is based on interviews with key activists, ethnographic observations from the author’s role as an activist in the campaign, grey literature and a promotional video on the outsourcing of public services.

Class and panic in British immigration

In Policing the Crisis, Stuart Hall et al. (1978) explored the calculus of work and the trope around portraying certain categories of people as taking advantage of the majority, without evidence. The concept of work became abstracted so that it was longer about employment, but about conformity with certain norms. The moralising discourse of work as a moral duty, also as connected to citizenship, underpins debates on immigration. Politicians and reporters, or ‘moral entrepreneurs’, vacillate between labelling immigrants as the lumpenproletariat, paupers and servants, and delegitimise the chance for immigrant groups to achieve class identity. The attempted removal of class identity is a dangerous defence of unfreedoms.

The promises of creative industry higher education: an analysis of university prospectuses in Malaysia

In the context of economic growth policies that stress the importance of a ‘creative economy’, and the expansion of private universities, there has been an enormous growth in the number of creative industry degrees offered by Malaysian HEIs. This paper provides a critical discourse analysis of the promotional materials used by two private institutions, Multimedia University and Limkokwing University, to persuade students that these degrees will offer them a desirable future as employable ‘industry savvy and tech savvy’ creative graduates. We explore the structures of feeling that promotional material seeks to engender in potential students as it promises them future success in a globalised, high-tech world.