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Nisancioglu, Kerem and Pal, Maïa (2016) 'Counter-Conduct in the University Factory: Locating the Occupy Sussex Campaign.' Global Society, 30 (2). pp. 279-300.

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Abstract

Deploying the Foucauldian concepts of “conduct” and “counter-conduct”, this article provides an analysis of “Occupy Sussex”—a two-month-long student occupation launched in opposition to the outsourcing of service staff at the University of Sussex. Situated in the context of a post-Fordist political economy, we argue that the British university constitutes an especial site of conduct formation—a University Factory—wherein individuals are sorted and socialised as immaterial labourers. We argue that Occupy Sussex was a reaction to such conduct formation. As such, counter-conduct is deployed as a concept that can effectively map the tactics and strategies undertaken by Occupy Sussex against the university management. Moreover, counter-conduct is used in order to trace prefigurative attempts to redefine the university within the space of the occupation—away from the University Factory, towards collective self-management, alternative understandings of the “university experience” and an emergent notion of “community”. Finally, the use of counter-conduct serves to highlight the dangers of appropriation and co-optation; how university management attempted to co-opt and thus defuse the counter-conduct of Occupy Sussex.

Item Type: Journal Article
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > Department of Politics & International Studies
Legacy Departments > Faculty of Law and Social Sciences > Department of Politics and International Studies
ISSN: 13600826
Copyright Statement: © 2016 University of Kent. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Global Society on 17 Mar 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13600826.2016.1144565
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.1080/13600826.2016.1144565
Date Deposited: 18 May 2017 08:19
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/24172

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