Institut de recherches sociologiques (IRS)

Laboratoire Culture Capitalisme et Sociétés (LACCUS)

Introduction: Artistic Work as a “Laboratory” of Labour Market Deregulation?

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Flexibility in highly skilled jobs combines the characteristics of the secondary and the professional labor market, which oblige to revise the separation between salaried work and self-employment. Two cases are studied: the employment system of artists and technical workers in the performing arts and the work of independent contractors mediated by umbrella firms. An analysis of the French labor market shows how “flexicurity” may work, but also how its books may get unbalanced, as employers learn to make strategic use of unemployment insurance.</abstract>

pierre-michel.menger@college-de-france.fr

Contingent High-Skilled Work and Flexible Labor Markets. Creative Workers and Independent Contractors Cycling Between Employment and Unemployment

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The rise of atypical forms of employment invites us to scrutinize unemployment benefit provision. Unlike the modern world of employment, based on “standard employment contract,” wage-earners in the performing arts advocate for the highly flexible regime of “intermittent” employment. Through the study of the effects of a deregulated market on careers, status and meaning of work, shared by atypical wage-earners, our aim is to understand the informal role of this compensation policy for their self-conception.</abstract>

Unemployment Benefit at Work. The Appropriation of a Public Policy by Intermittent Workers in the Performing Arts in France

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Ordinary musicians are a relatively hard to find population. Based on the results of the research project Musicians’ LIVES carried out between 2012 and 2015, this article presents the working situation of performing musicians in French speaking Switzerland. We compare the social characteristics of the musicians with the active population. We then analyse musicians’ relationship to work and examine the composition of their income. Three main ways of being a musician in Western Switzerland are presented: the “craftsman,” the “teacher” and the “artist.”</abstract>

Being a Music Performer in French Speaking Switzerland: Relationships to Work and Employment

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Based on a qualitative study on heterosexual female breadwinner couples, this article investigates milieu-specific coping strategies vis-à-vis conditions of precariousness and insecure employment. Against the background of the decline of the male breadwinner model, the study especially focuses on the transformations of masculinity. The article develops the thesis that an “artistic” self-image functions as a specific coping mechanism in the individualized milieu of the educated urban upper middle class.</abstract>

The Artist as a Contemporary Pattern of Masculinity. Milieu-specific Strategies of Coping with Precariousness

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Geographical mobility has become a norm of contemporary art. This article examines the spatial dynamics of artists as they face the challenges presented by peripheral territory in visual arts, putting their mobility and flexibility to the test. Whether staying anchored in a geographical area or moving abroad depends on the dominant scheme within the world of art. The globalization of contemporary art promotes the formation and recognition of “hypermobile” artists, but it can also lead to local strategies of withdrawal.</abstract>

From the Periphery to the International Scene. Artistic Trajectories in the Trial of Mobility

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article draws on a long-term ethnographical survey. It aims to discuss the social conditions of possibility in the artistic calling of contemporary dancers from working class backgrounds. In this regard, it shades light on the resources – notably cultural – underlying atypical trajectories of mobility – all the more fragile for being reversible. As will be seen, the acquisition of legitimate cultural capital contributes to change aesthetic tastes without excluding discrepancy, most evident during the creative process.</abstract>

“You’re Not a Real Contemporary Dancer.” Discrepancy and Appropriation of the Artists’ Status by Dancers from a Working Class Background

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article considers the normative conceptions and images that contemporary German fiction authors associate with their own work. On the basis of twenty narrative interviews, the article examines the extent to which the different self-reflections of authors manifest themselves in subjective interpretations and literary practices, which in turn reflect the economic and social structure of the literary field. This study aims at an empirical reconstruction of typical notions of authorship.</abstract>

Being an Author: Literary Identities of Work in the Contemporary German Literary Field

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">It has become a commonplace to consider the ideal of an artistic work attitude as being the very driving force behind today’s “aesthetic capitalism.” The present contribution questions this notion and shows that the exemplary model of the artist merely represents one component of a much larger “regime of potentiality.” Thus, the article propounds the analysis of “potentialism” as an approach that might help to grasp the reproductive logics of late capitalism without reducing them to a “creativity dispositive.”</abstract>

Monitoring through Potentiality. Essay on the Artist Taken as an Exemplary Model

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 49 (2023): Issue 3 (November 2023)

Volume 49 (2023): Issue 2 (July 2023)

Volume 49 (2023): Issue 1 (March 2023)

Volume 48 (2022): Issue 3 (November 2022)

Volume 48 (2022): Issue 2 (July 2022)

Volume 48 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

Volume 47 (2021): Issue 3 (November 2021)

Volume 47 (2021): Issue 2 (July 2021)

Volume 47 (2021): Issue 1 (March 2021)

Volume 46 (2020): Issue 3 (November 2020)

Volume 46 (2020): Issue 2 (July 2020)

Volume 46 (2020): Issue 1 (March 2020)

Volume 45 (2019): Issue 3 (November 2019)

Volume 45 (2019): Issue 2 (July 2019)

Volume 45 (2019): Issue 1 (March 2019)

Volume 44 (2018): Issue 3 (November 2018)

Volume 44 (2018): Issue 2 (July 2018)

Volume 44 (2018): Issue 1 (March 2018)

Volume 43 (2017): Issue 3 (November 2017)

Volume 43 (2017): Issue 2 (July 2017)

Volume 43 (2017): Issue 1 (March 2017)

Volume 42 (2016): Issue 3 (November 2016)

Volume 42 (2016): Issue 2 (July 2016)

Volume 42 (2016): Issue 1 (March 2016)

Swiss Journal of Sociology

The Swiss Journal of Sociology is a generalist journal with the aim to advance academic discussions and scientific knowledge in sociology. It was established in 1975 on the initiative of the Swiss Sociological Association. It is published three times a year by the Swiss Sociological Association, with the support of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences.  The journal is the leading platform for sociological debates in Switzerland and on Swiss society and its developments. It publishes work on the theory, methods, practice, and history of sociology. Although a central aim of the journal is to reflect the state of the discipline in Switzerland, articles will be accepted irrespective of the author's nationality or whether the submitted work focuses on this country.  The journal is understood as a representative medium of Swiss sociology and therefore encourages contributions from all research areas and from a plurality of theoretical schools and methodological approaches. It neither favors nor excludes any research orientation but particularly aims to promote communication between different perspectives. It publishes innovative and methodologically rigorous articles contributing to the progress of the state of research in sociology. In order to fulfil this aim, all submissions will be refereed anonymously by at least two reviewers. The journal uses a double-blind peer review process.  The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges. Rejection rate:   65%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 