The Reseller Immersion Syllabus
In summer 2024, we brought together a select group of resellers interested in exploring their labor from intersectional perspectives for the pilot of a fun and one-of-a-kind research experience, the Reseller Immersion. Over a month+, participants engaged with daily reflective and creative prompts, each anchored in feminist economics, fictioning, and the future of work and algorithms, to reimagine collective futures for secondhand economies. Alongside these daily reflections, we hosted weekly coffee hours to socialize our experiences, and concluded the diary study with two thematic workshops. Below are the primary prompts from the diary study.
Themes in Feminist Economics
We review key concepts of feminist economics and intersectionality. Some themes this week are: time, alternative economies and intersectional experiences in reselling.
Key Concepts: Feminist Economics, Time poverty, Care work, Time Use, Intersectionality, Aspirational Labor
DAY ONE
Intersectionality
DAY TWO
Intro to Feminist Economics
DAY THREE
Time-use & Wellbeing
DAY FOUR
Time Allocation
DAY FIVE
The Stuff we Resell
The Future of Work/Algorithms in Secondhand
This week we review concepts from the “The Future of Work”, a theme of the Human-Computer-Interaction field that explores the roles of technologies like the influence of computing technologies like AI and Machine Learning in work arrangements.
Key Concepts: Information Asymmetry, Algorithms, Algorithmic/Platformic governance, Platformic Torque, Algorithms in platforms, Recommendation systems, Image Processing and Moderation
DAY SIX
Algorithmic Ecosystems in Reselling
DAY SEVEN
Algorithms in Reselling
DAY EIGHT
Algorithms in Reselling
DAY NINE
“The Algorithm”
DAY TEN
Catch-up & Optional prompt
Diving into a creative set of methodologies revolving around fiction and futures, we immerse ourselves in imaginative activities around secondhand, reflecting on the themes we explored in previous weeks.
Key Concepts: Fictions & Futures, Speculative Fiction, Design Fiction, Prefigurative Politics, Infrastructural Design Fictions.
DAY ELEVEN
Futures and Fictions
DAY TWELVE
Item Obituaries
DAY THIRTEEN
Reseller Rituals
DAY FOURTHEEN
Infrastructural Speculations
DAY FIFTEEN
Catch-up and collective chat
Fiction for Collective Action
Drawing on our reflections, fictions, and collective process, we will develop ideas for collective action and capacity building within these economies.
Key Concepts: AI, gen AI, Solidarity Economies, Collective Capacity
DAY SIXTEEN
Collective Entity /Ancestry
DAY SEVENTEEN
Collective Entity /Automation in Reselling
DAY EIGHTEEN
Collective Entity/Ethics of Reselling
DAY NINETEEN
Collective Entity/Fictional Dialogue
DAY TWENTY
Elaboration & Collective Chat