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Professor Mark Learmonth Inaugural Lecture

Bloody Bureaucrats! Cultural Images of Work at Work

Mark Learmonth
Networking | Public lectures | Seminars

In this lecture, Professor Mark Learmonth will delve into the cultural images linked to a variety of jobs, exploring where such images come from, and examining their subtle, often ambiguous effects.

  • From: Tuesday 14 March 2023, 5.30 pm
  • To: Tuesday 14 March 2023, 7.30 pm
  • Registration: 5.30 pm
  • Location: Lecture Theatre 5, Newton building, Goldsmith Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU
  • Booking deadline: Tuesday 14 March 2023, 3.00 pm
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Event details

It’s easy to come up with images of what the people who do a particular job are supposedly like. For instance, I’m often told that I’m a ‘typical academic’ and when I was a hospital administrator, I occasionally got called a ‘bloody bureaucrat’. Dominant images within our culture like these might be dismissed as satirical caricatures, yet many similar examples influence people in significant, if relatively unnoticed ways. In this lecture, we’ll delve into the cultural images linked to a variety of jobs, exploring where such images come from, and examining their subtle, often ambiguous effects. Cultural images of work roles can be particularly important in shaping the way we think and act, whether we’re working in a job, or making judgments about the people who are. While relatively persistent, they do evolve with the societies into which they’re embedded. I argue therefore that consciously providing alternative images – or simply paying attention to what current images do – are both likely to speed up processes of change.

Biography

Mark is Professor of Organization Studies at Nottingham Trent University. Prior to NTU, he worked at Durham University and the Universities of Nottingham and York but spent the first 17 years of his career in administrative posts within the British National Health Service.

Programme

5.30 pm

Registration and welcome refreshments

6 pm

Welcome talk

6.05 pm

Lecture begins

6.50 pm

Close and thanks by Executive Dean

7 pm

Drinks reception

7.30 pm

Close

Location details

Room/Building:

Lecture Theatre 5, Newton building

Address:

Goldsmith Street
 Nottingham
 NG1 4BU

Parking:

Take a look at our maps and directions page to find the best route for you to our City campus.

Travel Info:

Take a look at our maps and directions page to find the best route for you to our City campus.

Past event

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