Negotiating educated subjectivity : intern labour and higher education in Hong Kong

Iam Chong IP

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article examines interns’ negotiation of their work identity, with a focus on the nexus of transformations in higher education and the “new” capitalist economy. The existing literature on internships emphasizes the restructuring of employment in creative and cultural industries, the surplus cultural labour supply, and the impact of internships on the career paths of educated youth mostly in western countries. Based on interviews and participant observation in Hong Kong, I argue that the intern’s “educated subjectivity,” nurtured by new values and practices of higher education such as self-reflexive learning and interfacing with community, plays an important role in the making of the intern economy. These values and practices contribute to the ambiguity and elasticity of the role of interns identified in previous research on internships.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)501-508
Number of pages8
JournaltripleC: Communication, Capitalism and Critique
Volume13
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2015

Keywords

  • cultural work
  • educated subject
  • higher education
  • internships

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Negotiating educated subjectivity : intern labour and higher education in Hong Kong'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this