If you would like to attend, please let David Hesmondhalgh D.J.Hesmondhalgh@leeds.ac.uk or
Birgit Eriksson aekbe@cc.au.dk know by November 12.

Capitalism, Culture and Quality of Life in the Digital Era
A workshop featuring Professor David Hesmondhalgh (University of Leeds)

This is a workshop where Visiting Professor David Hesmondhalgh (University of Leeds) will discuss his plans for a book he is working on, called Capitalism, Culture and Quality of Life in the Digital Era, which is contracted to Oxford University Press for publication in 2023.

The workshop is an opportunity not only to discuss the ideas underpinning the book, but also to discuss the potential development of a book of this kind (i.e. a work of theoretical synthesis), from conception to execution.

This book has two main aims. The first is to critically assess the state of culture (especially mediated culture) in contemporary societies, in terms of culture’s current failure to contribute positively to quality of life, but in a nuanced way that recognises the abundance and vitality of some aspects of culture. The second is to analyse which problems concerning contemporary culture might be thought of as deriving from the capitalist aspects of modern societies, and to clarify the causal processes involved, in order to encourage reflection on how these problems might be mitigated via political reform, action and transformation. The account will seek to avoid reductionism and dogmatism by recognising the protean nature of capitalist culture and avoiding a tendency to blame everything on capital. Capitalism is an extremely important aspect of modern societies, but not everything about modern societies is capitalist.

A summary of the book (app 8,000 words) will be provided a week in advance of the seminar to those who wish to attend. David Hesmondhalgh will give a short presentation (10 minutes or so) introducing the project. People are still welcome to attend if you haven’t read the summary.  There will be a wine reception following the event.

David Hesmondhalgh is Professor of Media, Music and Culture at the University of Leeds. He is the author of The Cultural Industries (4^th edition, 2019); Culture, Economy and Politics: The Case of New Labour (2015, co-written with Kate Oakley, David Lee and Melissa Nisbett); Why Music Matters (2013); Creative Labour: Media Work in Three Cultural Industries (2011, co-written with Sarah Baker) and a major book-length report for the UK government’s Intellectual Property Office on Music Creators’ Earnings in the Digital Era (2021, co-written with Richard Osborne, Hyojung Sun and Kenny Barr). In December 2021, he begins a five-year research project, funded by a European Research Council Advanced Research Grant, on Music Culture in the Digital Era.