[] = something to be unpacked / clarified / called otherwise
#### radical admin as caregiver?
radical admin as a caregiver is the idea that the admin facilitates circulation of resources but is also sensitive to the well-being of the org's people
* the radmin journal
In the transition between an educational environment and the establishment of a creative (publishing) practice in the field of [digital (experimental) publishing], a lot of questions arise around how much of the so far carefully constructed values of sustainability, care, collective learning, and autonomy around collaborative work would actually survive, and at which cost.
Back in November 2022, when I was asked to submit the first thesis outline and project proposal I panicked
in parallel I was reading Simone Weil's "Reflections concerning the causes of liberty and social oppression" []. A book that I received when I turned 25. I knew her from her writings on the abolition of all parties, and for her [let's say anarco-mysticism.] I was throwing her name here and there so often that someone thought to take the first italian edition of the first book with her name that was possible to find in the book store and give it to me as a gift.
And I'm extremely grateful to this person.
The book contains an essay in which the French philosopher not only draws an incredibly lucid analisys on the status of her historical present through an unapologetic critique of marxist doctrine, but also sketches a proposition for a more [ gentle] way of living and working rooted into a realistic economy of the present. As soon as I started reading it I discovered Simone Weil was 25 too at the time she wrote the essay,
Now, I admit, this got me thinking alternatively several times "oh my god there's a secret link between me and Simone Weil, destiny has wanted that" and "omg what am I doing of my life and how could she be so smart at 25?". In between, I even started to fantasize about the fact that if she would have lived in the present day, she would have probably been busy writing about computers and other digital means of production. This made me even more excited about this sort of historical warmhole between 2 lifes in their 25, of which I coud be somehow a herald from this side of the temporal segment, to which her knowledge would have been transferred. But the factual reality is that while she was living teh toughest life teaching in high school and universities, and working in the factory, and organizing unions(need to double check on this one), I barely know how to do my taxes.
Still, there are some takeaway from this incomparable parallel:
- different language, I'm not able to understand some of teh concepts, what do they actually mean
- simone weil draws an analysis of the material [infra-]structure and the more ideological dynamics within a group/society and how they influence each other, and there is something of this way of proceeding that I will use too [well.. marx but we're also sick of him at a certain point]
- ...
###### connecting to the scope of the research and research question
"realistically depressing" world (Berlant, 2011),
Let's start from this depressive realism?
what is this depressive realism that we have to face when dealing with cultures? and not only with cultures, but with labour within the field of digital cultures (there will be a series of definitiions for what I mean by cultures) and not only within digital cultures, but specifically within the context of self-organized cultural organizations, groups, collectives, small institutions that rely on open source technologies both infrastructurally and [thematically ](how do you say when something is what you study, research, or produce ...). And even more, the ways of organizing and relating to the diffent components, internally, and with the different reality, externally, follow a series of principles rooted within the field of open source software, but also, more broadly within anarco, anticapitalist and feminist tendencies [unpack the connection]. these self organized groups create small but very complex systems which try to thrive and compete against the neoliberal logics of contemporary cultural production, in a process of continuous negotiation of the conditions of autonomy, dependency, sustainability, care, failure [this sentence is a bit populistic, will unpack...]
@ -18,65 +32,97 @@ The point is, how Earl McCabe puts it in his/their(?) interview to Lauren Berlan
In digital realm this translates into... [... ]
In this capitalism realism (Fisher, 2015) where "there's no alternative", those contraints on life are threatening to the core small self-organized cultural realities are one of those places where these contrains on life manifest as [digital discomfort ... ]
This need for realism, is translated to me to the call for getting to know the present we live in order to regain agency on it.
* research question:
in the context of self-organized cultural organizations that rely on floss software infrastructures and/or self-hosted technologies, how is administration operated in between maintenance and sustainability? (in between might create poles)
where
the word sustainability demands and creates the context for a bearable environment at a techno-social/political/economical level
and the maintenance responds to instances of such (write) sustainability (read: care/well being, economic/financial stability, etc) with actual hands-on practice, tools, strategies and guidelines...
###### introducing the bigger context
* radmin
* care
* working conditions in foss envs
when I came across the work of Kate Rich and Angela Piccinini, I though it was the perfect angle from which looking at publishing for 3 main reasons:
1- radical admin is wrapped into great values
2- admin is an office job and it's perfect because I'm extremely shy and a bit social anxious
3- i can finally learn to do my taxes
3 suspicions:
the first one is that radical admin is not really a thing, and that even admin without radical is an invention...
the second one is that assuming there is such a thing like radical admin, then it's all about anything else than office job
and the third one, will I actuallly learn to do my taxes after all?
#### radical admin as caregiver?
radical admin as a caregiver is the idea that the admin facilitates circulation of resources but is also sensitive to the well-being of the org's people
I want to introduce here what how and why of the System Requirement specification:
I want to introduce here what how and why of the System Requirement specification:
1) the research question that for now is:
1) the research question that for now is:
in the context of self-organized cultural organizations that deal with [open source guidelines and/or self-hosted technologies, how is administration operated in between maintenance and sustainability?
in the context of self-organized cultural organizations that deal with [open source guidelines and/or self-hosted technologies, how is administration operated in between maintenance and sustainability?
where
where
the word sustainability demands and creates the context for a bearable environment at a techno-social/political/economical level
the word sustainability demands and creates the context for a bearable environment at a techno-social/political/economical level
and the maintenance responds to instances of (write) sustainability (read: care/well being, economic/financial stability, etc) with actual hands-on practice, tools, strategies and guidelines...
and the maintenance responds to instances of (write) sustainability (read: care/well being, economic/financial stability, etc) with actual hands-on practice, tools, strategies and guidelines...
2) introducing radical administration as point of view from which the research will be conducted
2) introducing radical administration as point of view from which the research will be conducted
the shift to an admin perspective in cultural production/publishing allows for an overview of the material conditions of existence of any cultural project.
the shift to an admin perspective in cultural production/publishing allows for an overview of the material conditions of existence of any cultural project.
survival difficulties of projects that include self-organized and self-hosted technologies: the admin point of view could be a place where the contradictions between the needs of these projects (often based on a strong immaterial unpaid labour) and the pressures of the rising living costs manifest and can be addressed.
survival difficulties of projects that include self-organized and self-hosted technologies: the admin point of view could be a place where the contradictions between the needs of these projects (often based on a strong immaterial unpaid labour) and the pressures of the rising living costs manifest and can be addressed.
3) introducing the method of research: the boiler inspections and the approach of 'maintenance'
3) introducing the method of research: the boiler inspections and the approach of 'maintenance'
introduction of the chapters
introduction of the chapters
4) instructions on how to contribute to the Specification
4) instructions on how to contribute to the Specification
### 1 // admin realism (realismo amministrativo)
In this chapter I want to expand on the idea of embracing the admin point of view: admin as an observatory on self-organized collaborative cultural projects (that follow F/OSS principles*),
In this chapter I want to expand on the idea of embracing the admin point of view: admin as an observatory on self-organized collaborative cultural projects (that follow F/OSS principles*),
in more details: what it means to inhabit this role as cultural producer, how does reality look like from this point of view, and all the sweet ideological assumptions i want to believe about what an admin is/does (which are: see below)
in more details: what it means to inhabit this role as cultural producer, how does reality look like from this point of view, and all the sweet ideological assumptions i want to believe about what an admin is/does (which are: see below)
assumption 1: admin = serving, curing, caring
assumption 1: admin = serving, curing, caring
assumption 2: admin as the space where things are wrapped into value, maintained, and made "real" (what do you mean? maybe see Kate Rich)
assumption 2: admin as the space where things are wrapped into value, maintained, and made "real" (what do you mean? maybe see Kate Rich)
assumption 3: admin can creatively use their bureaucratic tools to cope with depressive realism (Lauren Berlant) and/or capitalist realism (Mark F)
assumption 3: admin can creatively use their bureaucratic tools to cope with depressive realism (Lauren Berlant) and/or capitalist realism (Mark F)
burocrazy is a bitch dere's no escapin it*: now bureaucracy comes in and all the assumption start loosening their romance.
burocrazy is a bitch dere's no escapin it*: now bureaucracy comes in and all the assumption start loosening their romance.
definition of bureaucracy: drawing from graeber's idea of bureaucracy as a sort of byproduct of structural violence in society, and the very (rethorical) proof of the existence of things (f.e. you cannot be proven born or dead if you don't have the correspondent certificate).... Let's go and have a look at how other people are doing, meet you in the conclusions again...
definition of bureaucracy: drawing from graeber's idea of bureaucracy as a sort of byproduct of structural violence in society, and the very (rethorical) proof of the existence of things (f.e. you cannot be proven born or dead if you don't have the correspondent certificate).... Let's go and have a look at how other people are doing, meet you in the conclusions again...
main references here:
main references here:
kate rich
kate rich
Femke & Co.
Femke & Co.
D Graeber
D Graeber
bulshit jobs
bulshit jobs
tba
tba
* Quote from Linton Kwesi Johnson
@ -84,56 +130,56 @@ This need for realism, is translated to me to the call for getting to know the p
### 2 // maintenance of bureaucratic infrastructures
In this chapter i want to introduce the subquestion (which is actually a pre-question) of what needs to be sustained/maintained in the first place and how.
In this chapter i want to introduce the subquestion (which is actually a pre-question) of what needs to be sustained/maintained in the first place and how.
so needs and wants and their maintenance with/against bureaucratic infrastructures. which in other words could be: maintaining sustainability, and the sustainability of maintenance itself
so needs and wants and their maintenance with/against bureaucratic infrastructures. which in other words could be: maintaining sustainability, and the sustainability of maintenance itself
the approach of maintenance (??another assumption maybe)
the approach of maintenance (??another assumption maybe)
how can maintenance be cared and shared? can bureaucracy stop being bitchy and stupid?
how can maintenance be cared and shared? can bureaucracy stop being bitchy and stupid?
building up on these question to create suspance and expectations on boiler inspections lol
building up on these question to create suspance and expectations on boiler inspections lol
main references here:
main references here:
Salvatore Iaconesi e Oriana Persico
Salvatore Iaconesi e Oriana Persico
David Graeber again
David Graeber again
Femke & Co.
Femke & Co.
TBA
TBA
### 3 // Boiler inspections
introduction of the boiler inspections in more details
introduction of the boiler inspections in more details
breaking down the assumptions
breaking down the assumptions
the boiler inspection is a situated report on how different self- organized cultural organizations operate administration in between sustainability and maintenance.
the boiler inspection is a situated report on how different self- organized cultural organizations operate administration in between sustainability and maintenance.
the objective is then to situate what needs to be sustained and how (maintenance), in practice these could be the part in which specific fields like care, collective work, learning, failure, clumsiness, affect... are given specific meaning and (use-)value through bureacuratic documents (like CsOC), practices (f.e. specific practices for decision making, roles, work distribution etc) and tools (f.e. softares), all of which delineate the bureaucratic infrastructure.
the objective is then to situate what needs to be sustained and how (maintenance), in practice these could be the part in which specific fields like care, collective work, learning, failure, clumsiness, affect... are given specific meaning and (use-)value through bureacuratic documents (like CsOC), practices (f.e. specific practices for decision making, roles, work distribution etc) and tools (f.e. softares), all of which delineate the bureaucratic infrastructure.
New pad is coming here https://pad.xpub.nl/p/grgr_boiler_inspection
New pad is coming here https://pad.xpub.nl/p/grgr_boiler_inspection
I will treat this part as separated content for now bc it's more practical
I will treat this part as separated content for now bc it's more practical
### 4 // conclusions: imaginative bureaucracy
conclusions on what i learnt and deduced from boiler inspections
conclusions on what i learnt and deduced from boiler inspections
activating: turning the tools of bureaucracy into props to trigger storytelling, critique and dialogue >> what happened during boiler inspections?
activating: turning the tools of bureaucracy into props to trigger storytelling, critique and dialogue >> what happened during boiler inspections?
grgr
2 years ago