Brett Caraway

Programs: CCIT, DEM; Cross-Appointment at Institute for Management & Innovation, and Faculty of Information
Specialization: Media economics, Sustainability management, Environmental communication, Ecological economics, Social movements

Brett Caraway obtained his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin before coming to the University of Toronto in 2012. He is an associate professor in the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, & Technology (ICCIT) with a cross-appointment to the Institute for Management & Innovation (IMI). He is also the Program Director for the Digital Enterprise Management (DEM) program. Prof. Caraway’s research lies at the intersection of economics, the ecological impacts of technology, social movements, and media studies. His research has been published in prominent academic journals like Communication Theory,Environmental Communication, Information, Communication & Society, Media, Culture & Society, and the International Journal of Communication. He recently co-edited a book with Tracey Bowen entitled Visual Futures: Exploring the Past, Present, and Divergent Possibilities of Visual Practice. He also has a forthcoming book from SAGE on media economics entitled Digital Media, Culture and Information. He teaches courses in economics and sustainability management.

Research:
Dr. Brett Caraway published his article “Collective Action Frames and The Developing Role of Discursive Practice in Worker Organisation: The Case Of OUR Walmart” in the Spring 2018 issue of Work Organisation, labour & globalisation. This study examines a year’s worth of content from a secret Facebook group designed as a forum for current and former Walmart employees. Caraway considers how emergent communication practices relate to the organizational forms of resistance among workers struggling for better working conditions and higher wages. Caraway is nearing completion of his book Stand Up, Live Better: The Story of OUR Walmart, an analysis and chronicle of the influential worker organization. In December 2017, Caraway delivered the keynote lecture at the Open Institute 2: Open in a Time of Closure conference at the Universidade da Madeira. Caraway recently joined the editorial board of Upping the Anti, which will be publishing its 20th issue this year. Caraway has several articles under review, featuring new research on ecomedia studies and audience economics. He also has completed a chapter on the ecological impacts of Amazon’s logistics systems for an upcoming edited volume on the post-growth cultural economy.