The Rationalizing/Racializing Logic of Capital in Cultural Production

Saha, Anamik. 2016. The Rationalizing/Racializing Logic of Capital in Cultural Production. Media Industries, 3(1), pp. 1-16. ISSN 2373-9037 [Article]

[img] Text
rationalizing_racializing logic of capital_revisions.docx - Accepted Version
Permissions: Administrator Access Only
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (819kB)
[img]
Preview
Text
rationalizing-racializing-logic-of-capital-in-cultural.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (802kB) | Preview

Abstract or Description

This paper introduces the concept of the ‘rationalizing/racializing logic of capital’ as a new form of racial governance. This is most evident in cultural production, where the techniques of rationalization - and in particular, the uses of data - that characterize media industry practices produces racializing effects, transforming the potentially disruptive texts of minority producers into absolute ethnic difference. To illustrate this the article presents an empirical study into the experiences of British South Asian authors in the publishing industry. It focuses on the use of a point-of-sale technology called BookScan, which, it is shown, is the means through which Asian authors come to be pigeon-holed by their ethnicity, and subsequently grouped together, impeding their ability to reach wider audiences. In this way the rationalizing/racializing logic of capital represents a new form of racialized governmentality that attempts to manage the counter-narratives of difference as they appear in cultural commodities.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.3998/mij.15031809.0003.101

Keywords:

Race, Orientalism, Publishing, BookScan, Big Data

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies

Dates:

DateEvent
8 June 2016Published
6 July 2015Submitted
22 September 2015Accepted

Item ID:

16853

Date Deposited:

07 Jul 2016 11:45

Last Modified:

10 Mar 2021 12:47

Peer Reviewed:

Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/16853

View statistics for this item...

Edit Record Edit Record (login required)