Precarious Resistance and Refusals of Abandonment in South Korea and South Africa

Precarity engulfs the globe. Many work in insecure jobs, and against the backdrop of state abandonment, the precariously employed and unemployed struggle to secure livelihoods for themselves and their families. This talk will consider the politics of precarity and precarious resistance in South Korea and South Africa, two countries with parallel histories of democratic transition into neoliberal capitalism. Taking Han and Chun’s recent book, Against Abandonment, as a point of departure, it will consider the unfolding dynamic of solidarity, community, and affect as the precarious working class refuses abandonment in both places.