Sarrah Kassem

Short biography

Sarrah Kassem studied Political Science with a specialization in International Relations at the American University in Cairo (BA 2013, MA 2016). During her studies, she completed a semester abroad for her BA at the Free University in Berlin and her MA at the University of Tübingen as part of the CMEPS exchange program. During these years she became increasingly passionate about labor, labor struggles and resistance. These interests then came together in her dissertation in Political Economy. Under the supervision of Professor Hans-Jürgen Bieling and Professor Thorsten Schulten she completed her doctorate in 2020 on the alienation and agency of workers in the Platform Economy, delving more concretely into Amazon’s platforms. Her current teaching and research foci center around workers, working conditions, different forms of labor organization and the intersectional dimensions of the labor movement.

Publikationen / Publications

Kassem, S. (2023) Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy – Amazon and the Power of Organization, Bristol: Bristol University Press, https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/work-and-alienation-in-the-platform-economy.

Kassem, S. (2023) “(Re)shaping Amazon labour struggles on both sides of the Atlantic: the power dynamics in Germany and the US amidst the pandemic”, Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 28(4), https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589221149496.

Kassem, S. (2022) “Labour realities at Amazon and COVID-19: obstacles and collective possibilities for its warehouse workers and MTurk workers”, Global Political Economy 1(1): 59-79, https://doi.org/10.1332/UVGT2823.

Kassem, S. (2021) “Prekarisierung der Arbeitswelt – Transnationale Wertschöpfungsketten und die neue Plattformökonomie”, Politikum 7(3): 24-31, https://www.wochenschau-verlag.de/Kapitalismuskritik/Pk3-21.

Kassem, S. (2020) “Amazon in the time of coronavirus”, HesaMag 22, ETUI, 14-17, https://etui.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/4-Sarrah_Kassem_Amazon%20in%20the%20time_of_coronavirus_2020.pdf.

Kassem, S. (2020) “Die Dialektik der Plattformökonomie” in W. Schroeder, U. Bitzegeio and S. Fischer (eds) Digitale Industrie Algorithmische Arbeit Gesellschaftliche Transformation (Onlineveröffentlichung in Ergänzung der Originalausgabe), Dietz Verlag, 1-15, https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/studienfoerderung/17480.pdf.

Medien / Media

Blogposts:

Kassem, S. (2023) “Amazon Shows Us the Many Faces of Worker Alienation and Resistance Today”, Marxist Sociology Blog, Available
from: https://marxistsociology.org/2023/04/amazon-shows-us-the-many-faces-of-worker-alienation-and-resistance-today.

Kassem, S. (2023) “How platform workers show solidarity and organise”, Social Europe, Available from: https://www.socialeurope.eu/how-platform-workers-show-solidarity-and-organise.

Kassem, S. (2023) “Pushing Back Against Platform Giants: Labor Power and Solidarity at Amazon”, Inequality.org, Available from:
https://inequality.org/research/amazon-union-organizing-aws/.

Kassem, S. (2023) “Let’s not forget the humans who power the platform economy”, Transforming Society, Bristol University Press/Policy Press, Available from: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2023/02/27/lets-not-forget-the-humans-who-power-the-platform-economy.

Kassem, S. (2023) “Surveillance and Resistance in Amazon’s Growing Platform Ecosystem”, Law and Political Economy Blog, LPE Project, Available from: https://lpeproject.org/blog/surveillance-and-resistance-in-amazons-growing-platform-ecosystem.

Podcasts:

Kassem, S. and Lopez, T. (2023) “Delivery Workers v. The Ghost of Hans Carl Nipperdey”, Delivery Charge, Available from: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ZMwsYgcKNax57ejPMhBFz.

Kassem, S. (2023) “Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy: Amazon and the Power of Organization”, New Books Network, Available from: https://newbooksnetwork.com/work-and-alienation-in-the-platform-economy.

Kassem, S. (2022) ‘A Platform for Platform Workers’, In Our Tech Society, Available from: https://anchor.fm/ethicsforachangingworld/episodes/A-Platform-for-Platform-Workers-e1mf7np.

Videos:
Meet the author - “Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy”, Bristol University Press, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cFVmKO8XbE.