Thursday, May 11, 2023

Summer School 2023

'The Need For Work - And How To Avoid It'

Speaker Richard Field

  Why should I let the toad work
  Squat on my life?
  Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork
  And drive the brute off?
         (Philip Larkin)

Work has a complex and curious history, one that's central to human experience. Yet what is it? And why does it seem so contradictory? Work is obligatory. We desire it. We rely on it for a sense of purpose and belonging, maybe even for identity. And yet as Sunday draws to a close and Monday approaches the thought of it can leave us clammy and hollow inside. Perhaps...

This is a lightning tour through the story of work, from the open Savannah to the open-plan office and beyond. On the way it attempts to throw some light on the brutish toad and maybe offers a pitchfork or two in consolation.

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