26 November, 12:00 – 13:15 EST
Free online event

Over 40 years after its publication, Michael Burawoy’s The Politics of Production remains one of the most influential works in Marxist labour research, one which is central to the development of labour process theory. In 2025 the labour research community also suffered a profound loss with Burawoy’s sudden passing. We are honouring Burawoy’s contribution with an online discussion of his work and what it offers scholars today.

This session will feature authors from the upcoming Themed Section “Rethinking Michael Burawoy’s Legacy” published in Work in the Global Economy. During this session, we will debate Burawoy’s legacy, including his influence on ideas on consent, workplace relations, hegemonic regimes in times of technological change and the extended case study method.

The presentations will be followed by a live discussion and Q&A session. All the articles featured at this event will be free to access from 9 – 30 November 2026.

Speakers:

• Paul Edwards will examine Burawoy’s concept of the extended case method and discusses how it has been received in research.
• Valeria Pulignano and Lynford Dor will draw on Burawoy’s concept of ‘hegemonic regimes’ and to adapt it for the analysis of current technological upheavals.
• Paul Thompson will discuss Burawoy’s notions of conflict, antagonism, and consent.
• Alex Wood will explore the evolution of the understanding of the workplace, workplace relations and class identities in Burawoy’s work.

Chair: Jean Jenkins, Co-Editor in Chief of Work in the Global Economy and Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University UK

The event is free to attend but pre-registration is required. Register here.

All registered attendees will receive a recording of the webinar and temporary free access to the upcoming Themed Section “Rethinking Michael Burawoy’s Legacy”, published in Work in the Global Economy.