Work and language in times of aspiration

Abstract This entry highlights the value of Josiane Boutet’s translated articles for the study of precarious work under late capitalism in regions like Asia, which are undergoing rapid socioeconomic transformation and urbanization. The significance of the context is that while work has become precarious, life has become aspirational. Theories of precarity that emerged out of Euro-American experiences are typically unable to account for this twinning of aspiration and precarity in work. However, Boutet’s emphasis on materiality and language foregrounds the context of work as much as the content of work. I illustrate how this approach permits careful analysis of contradictory, multi-directional facets of employment. The analysis draws on data from a longitudinal research project that traced youth transition from education to work in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.