OT21 Preview

With the launch of our latest issue, the Occupied Times is moving to a new website, which can be found at www.theoccupiedtimes.org. All of our content, from the first ever issue until now, can be found on the new site – so please take a moment to update your bookmarks and links to us.

The twenty-first edition of the OT comes out this Monday 6th May. Our primary focus is WORK: What counts as work? How can we redefine it? What is useful production and what is not? How does labour intersect with gender oppression, debt and other struggles? Why do we do it? Why should we do it?

All of these questions (and more) are pondered and probed by an issue packed full of articles, interviews and essays that reach into the heart of the work we do under capitalism, how it has evolved, how it hasn’t and how we might begin to transform it. Mark Fisher’s contribution, Suffering With A Smile, explores the deep seated desires of those who make us work to witness our suffering, while demanding we appear to revel in the process.

The University of Sussex has been a hotbed of political activity, as management attempts to outsource over 200 campus jobs in the face of widespread resistance from students and staff. We have two pieces covering the campaign; Thames Valley Plan C provide a report of the #Mar25 day of action and Izzy Koksal provides an analysis of work through the eyes of those who’ve been involved in the campaign.

For our regular interview series, Preoccupying, this month we spoke to Professor Michael Hardt. The interview covers different areas of Hardt’s (and his collaborator Professor Antonio Negri’s) body of work including subjectivity, social movements, class analysis and immaterial labour.

Our new regular infographic feature continues and sticks with the theme of the issue, offering practical advice to those of us who find ourselves unemployed. In collaboration with Boycott Workfare, our how-to infographic gives a step-by-step guide explaining how to avoid being placed on one of the government’s workfare schemes. Downloadable high resolution versions and more in-depth advice will also be found on our website.

Copies of OT21 will be distributed at events and within communities throughout the next two months. You can also find us on the shelves of various outlets across the capital, including Housmans, Black Gull Books, Ray’s Jazz Cafe, Banner Repeater, 56a,Freedom Bookshop and the London Review Bookshop. The full list of stockists can be found on the OT Stockists Map on our website.

We’re very keen for more people to get involved with the production of the OT. If the idea of countless hours of unglamorous labour building alternative media is something that appeals to you, you might be interested in getting involved with the OT editorial team. Please do email us at occupiedtimes@gmail.com if interested.

If getting involved isn’t possible for you, would you consider throwing some pennies our way to keep us in print? Every penny the OT receives goes towards future production costs. You can donate here.

Follow the OT on Twitter at @OccupiedTimes, Facebook at The Occupied Times, or visit our website at TheOccupiedTimes.org