Speaker Series on Capital as Power (October-November, 2015)

Organized by the Forum on Capital as Power and sponsored by the York Department of Political Science and Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought (open to all, with refreshments) Existing theories of capitalism, mainstream as well as heterodox, view capitalism as a mode of production and consumption. This speaker series interrogates capitalism as a […]

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The Enduring Power of GE The Enduring Power of GE (Tuesday Nov . 17. 3-5pm)

Abstract or Brief Description General Electric (GE) has demonstrated extraordinary longevity in the upper echelon of U.S. corporations. From 1925 to 2013, the company has never fallen below 10th in the rankings of firms by market capitalization. The only other firm to match this feat is the oil giant ExxonMobil. GE’s durability is remarkable given […]

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Blockbuster Cinema: Hollywood’s Obsession with Low Risk (Tuesday, Nov 3, 3-5pm)

Blockbuster Cinema: Hollywood’s Obsession with Low Risk York University presentation by James McMahon ABSTRACT: Hollywood is obsessed with blockbusters – for 20 years the major studios have been making them, and it appears that blockbuster cinema will be with us for many years to come. This presentation will theoretically and empirically explain how blockbusters, and […]

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McMahon, ‘What Makes Hollywood Run? Capitalist Power, Risk and the Control of Social Creativity’

Abstract This dissertation combines an interest in political economy, political theory and cinema to offer an answer about the pace of the Hollywood film business and its general modes of behaviour. More specifically, this dissertation seeks to find out how the largest Hollywood firms attempt to control social creativity such that the art of filmmaking […]

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