Blog 1- The projective city


The project, “the undertaking that carries the occasion and reason for the connection…assembles a very disparate group of people…and allows for the construction of more enduring links that will be put on hold while remaining available” (Boltanski & Chiapello, 1999, p. 104). With this being said, I believe that Mallon’s suggestion on how we learned to live is demonstrative towards “The Projective City”. Mallon suggests that some should learn the equivalent of a master’s degree every 10 years to keep pace with knowledge demands, especially if that specific individual wants to maintain their talent within the technology and business industry (Pedro, 2019). Mallon’s argument is indicative to what Boltanski and Chiapello term “the projective city” because he entails that the equivalence of earning a master’s degree can be from assessing several projects while learning new competencies throughout as they gain more and more experience. With this being said, if the project is a “mass of active connections apt to create forms – by stabilizing certain connections and making them irreversible”, then it relates to what Mallon states on “keeping up with the pace”. Mallon believes that businesses in Waterloo such as Communitech, collaborate with other businesses to test ideas that are best for the Waterloo Region Tech Sector (Pedro, 2019). This relates to the “projective city” as the project within carries “a culture inspired by a ‘vision’ shared with ‘partners’ each of whom is seen as a self-actualizing individual, with their own unique contribution to make” (Du Gay & Morgan, 2013, p. 16). With this being said, Mallon’s argument describes the Waterloo Region Tech Industry as the “projective city” where certain individuals keep sharing talents with a potential to gain personal capital. In other words, a master’s degree can be equivalent to networking and keeping up with others that are progressing within the technology industry, with the exceptional difference that a master’s degree typically requires more studying and less on building ‘employability’ (Du Gay & Morgan, 2013, p. 16).
   
Moreover, the projective city would best fit facilitating networked power and network-making power. The projective city facilitates as a networked power as individuals would excel over other individuals in a contemporary information capitalism society and maintain more knowledge over others (Castell, 1996). The Waterloo tech industry involves top-tier companies from around the world with several individuals competing against each other with pitches on new products. With this being said, students compete in university with network-making power as they specialize in fields interest specific companies. Tech companies also collaborate with other tech companies which are also considered network-making power as they can see that it is overall the most beneficial to work together (Castell, 1996).


Works Cited

Castell, Manuel. "The network society." The In for ma tion Age: Econ omy, So ci ety and Cul ture 1 (1996).

Du Gay, Paul, and Glenn Morgan. Understanding capitalism: crises, legitimacy, and change through the prism of The New Spirit of Capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Boltanski, Luc, and Eve Chiapello. "The new spirit of capitalism." International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 18.3-4 (2005): 161-188.

Pedro, Kelly. “A Master's Every 10 Years: How Workers Will Adapt to Change Future of Work Series Aims to Position Waterloo Region as Test Bed for Ideas.” Communitech News, news.communitech.ca/a-masters-every-10-years-how-workers-will-adapt-to-change/.

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