PhD Thesis
PhD Thesis Title: The Platformization of Creative Labour on Social Media
PhD Supervisor: Filipe Calvão
Expected completion date: 2025
Nkululeko’s research focuses on the environment platformization has fostered for digital content production and consumption while questioning the effects this process has on artistic expression and creativity. Content creation, as a profession, is the direct result of the monetisation of content as well as the commodification of user data extracted by platforms and advertisers. Thus, content creation is an integral part of the ‘big data’ ecosystem that enables and furthers the quantified human experience also known as datafication. Additionally, this research is interested in the manner in which creators navigate their relationships with social media platforms considering the opacity of how the recommendation algorithm operates and the unilateral decision-making power of the platform. This suggests that social media platforms behave less like intermediaries and more like arbiters who control the interactions among their various stakeholders. Lastly, the study interrogates the perception content creators have of the algorithm and their experience of algorithmic management, by studying their content as well as the process of making said content.
Profile
Nkululeko Dlamini is a PhD candidate and Teaching Assistant at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Sociology and Labour Studies from the University of Pretoria and went on to complete a master’s degree in Industrial and Economic Sociology at WITS University in South Africa. Prior to joining the Institute, Nkululeko worked as a lecturer in the Sociology Department at the University of Zululand and as a researcher at Ditsela Trade Union Education Institute in South Africa. Her research interests cover pressing matters such as the future of work, digital labour and platform governance, engaging these themes within the evolving dynamics of labour and technology.
Academic Work experience
Teaching Experience
Sociology Lecturer at the University of Zululand, South Africa (2018- 2021)
Research Experience
Researcher at DITSELA Trade Union Education Institute (2017)
Research Interests
- Digital Labour
- Platformization and Datafication
- Algorithmic Management
Fellowships, Grants and Awards
- Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship 2021
- Post Graduate Merit Award - WITS University 2015
- South African National Research Foundation Scholarship 2015
Links