Title
The politics of skill and potential in an ‘emerging’ region : upskilling initiatives in Istanbul
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
European Journal of Cultural Studies
Publication Date
1-4-2017
Volume
Advance online publication
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd.
Keywords
Development, digital labor, emerging region, immaterial labor, information and communication technology for development, informational capitalism, Istanbul, life-long learning, Turkey, upskilling/deskilling
Abstract
This article examines upskilling programs that involve information and communication technologies in the city of Istanbul, Turkey. While their learning aims range from basic computer skills to entrepreneurship and innovativeness, upskilling programs do not just stimulate skills and potential to learn, create and collaborate. They also introduce discourses and techniques that govern the latter. This article analyzes the politics of skill and potential in the so-called ‘emerging region’, where potential as a human resource becomes articulated to prognosticated macro-economic development yet where skill trends are equivocal. Focusing on both the curriculum design of upskilling programs and everyday practices of learning, I explore the subjection of skill and potential to rationalities of macro-economic development and informational-capitalist logics of accumulation as well as the possibility of resistance to such subjection. To this end, this article designs a nexus of upskilling/deskilling and empowerment/disempowerment, which highlights empirical and normative complexities in the debate on skill trends in cultural studies and adjacent fields.
DOI
10.1177/1367549416682969
Print ISSN
13675494
E-ISSN
14603551
Funding Information
This research was partially funded by Lingnan University (Grant DA13A4). {DA13A4}
Publisher Statement
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Hoyng, R. (2017). The politics of skill and potential in an ‘emerging’ region: Upskilling initiatives in Istanbul. European Journal of Cultural Studies, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1367549416682969
