Dr. Orhan Ürüncan YÜCEL: From Employee to Techno-Serf: The Organizing Practices of Motorcycle Couriers in Türkiye

My study, which builds upon the organizing section of my doctoral thesis focusing on platform-based motorcycle couriers, was initially presented as an abstract at the Labour Session of the Turkish Social Sciences Association (TSBD) 18th National Social Sciences Congress. The papers presented by esteemed colleagues in this session transcended standard conference proceedings, evolving into a comprehensive volume of full-text articles. My work has now taken its place as a book chapter in this compilation, titled Güvencesizlik Çağında Türkiye'de Emek (Labour in Türkiye in the Age of Precarity), edited by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Makal and published by İmge Kitabevi.

I authored this chapter by refining my draft text in light of the enlightening critiques, constructive contributions, and valuable evaluations provided by the esteemed participants during my congress presentation. This academic interaction allowed me to significantly deepen the theoretical foundation of the study.

In this work, I have brought greater clarity to the concept of the "technoserf", which garnered particular interest during the presentation. I enriched the text by discussing in detail why this concept diverges from Yanis Varoufakis's terminology and Guy Standing's precariat, as well as the specific ways in which it offers a distinct analytical tool.

For detailed information about the book (ISBN: 978-625-6455-78-8), please click on the book cover image below.

Yücel, O. Ü. (2023). İşçiden teknoserfe: Türkiye'de motokuryelerin örgütlenme pratikleri. In A. Makal (Ed.), Güvencesizlik çağında Türkiye'de emek (pp. 383-420). İmge Kitabevi Yayınları.

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