Through a series of ethnographic presentations, this participatory workshop, organised by Alihan Gök, holder of the LEST/Iméra chair for the second half of 2024-2025, explores the concrete practices of food delivery through different ethnographic fields located in Barcelona, Istanbul, Marseille and Mexico-City.
Illustrative image generated by A.I from one of Alihan Gök’s videos.
Two-wheeled delivery drivers under market domination
Delivery work by bike or motorbike – often perceived as a temporary, flexible or ‘free’ activity – is in reality marked by invisible forms of dependency, strong economic and psychological pressures, and a blurring of the responsibilities of those who make the decisions. This work is based on a complex combination of intense physical effort, exposure to urban hazards, algorithmic injunctions and structural solitude. Delivery workers find themselves isolated in the public space, with no visible supervision, no formal social protection, and yet subject to tight control by the platforms through digital applications.
In this context, workers are exposed to the risks of the market: job insecurity, lack of wage guarantees, blurring between private and professional life, physical and mental fatigue, health vulnerabilities, untransparent algorithmic management, racial or gender discrimination, obstacles to unionisation and weak social protection.
In the face of this reality, representations oscillate between invisibilisation (delivery workers as anonymous elements of the urban landscape) and occasional victimisation (accidents, conflicts). But too little attention is paid to the actual experience of work, its rhythms, gestures and meanings.
The work of delivery drivers as seen through the lens of ethnographic research
The aim of this study day is to explore the concrete practices of delivery work through a series of ethnographic studies carried out in Marseille, Istanbul, Barcelona and Mexico City. These surveys are based on methods of direct observation, shadowing, interviews and visual recording, to give an account of the daily life of delivery drivers, in their interactions with the city, with the platform, with others and with themselves.
The aim of this day will therefore be twofold: to document in detail the realities of delivery work in different urban and cultural contexts, and to question our research tools in the face of a phenomenon that is mobile, fragmented and difficult to grasp using conventional methods.
The speakers will share their investigations into delivery workers on motorbikes or bicycles in order to examine the rhythms of work, their relationship to the city and to platforms, as well as the forms of organisation and resistance that emerge.
Study day programme
- 9:30-10:30 am: Opening speech by Enrico Donaggio, followed by a keynote by Antonio Casilli (Zoom) with time for questions and answers.
- 10:30 am-12 pm: Research presentations (20 minutes each) by Fabien Lemozy, Arthur Guichoux, Claire Burban, Alihan Gök, Federico de Stavola.
- 12:00 – 12:30 pm: Q&A and discussion with participants.
- 12:30 – 2:00 pm: Lunch
- 2:00 – 4:30 pm: ‘Shadowing workshop: tools for a mobile ethography’, moderated by Thierry Berthet.
- 4:30 – 5:00pm: Collective feedback, sharing of experiences, closing.
The aim of this group session is to bring together academic research, field practices and forms of artistic or visual representation. It is aimed at researchers and students, as well as workers, activists and those curious about the city and work.
In a world where forms of employment are being redefined at breakneck speed, it’s crucial to take a close, precise look at these shifting realities. Observing delivery workers in motion also means questioning our own ways of doing research, and rethinking our links to the city, to work and to solidarity.
Shadowing workshop: tools for a mobile ethography
Goal: To discover or develop the ethnographic method of shadowing. To enable participants (students, researchers) to learn about or reflect collectively on the shadowing method in the context of platform work, based on real cases, visual data, feedback from the field, and opening up methodological and ethical reflections. Practice observing work situations in an urban and digital context. Collectively sharing feedback and experiences.
Target audience: Researchers, field practitioners, social science students.
Enrico Donaggio: Scientific director of Iméra, the Institute for Advanced Study of Aix Marseille Université, and director of the Necessary Utopias research programme.
Antonio Casilli: Professor of sociology at Télécom Paris/Institut Interdisciplinaire de l’Innovation (CNRS), Antonio Casilli is a Franco-Italian sociologist specialising in digital technology, platforms and new forms of work. He explores the relationship between artificial intelligence, automation and human micro-work. Author of En attendant les robots (Seuil, 2019), he defends a critical reading of digital work. He is also involved in research projects on digital rights and social justice in the digital age.
Fabien Lemozy: Sociologist and researcher at the Institut de psychodynamique du travail (IPDT), specialising in the psychological impact of work, Fabien Lemozy analyses the effects of algorithmic management on platform delivery drivers. His research focuses on suffering at work, mental health, job insecurity and the subjective reconfigurations brought about by new digital organisations.
Arthur Guichoux: With a PhD in sociology, Arthur Guichoux is a Marie Sklodowska Curie post-doctoral fellow at the University of Liège, working on the mobilisation of precarious workers and alternatives to digital platforms. He is particularly interested in delivery cooperatives and forms of self-organisation in the delivery sector. His research combines the sociology of work, political sociology and the social economy.
Claire Burban: As a doctoral student in geography at Nantes University – Laboratoire Espaces et Sociétés (ESO), Claire Burban is researching the social geography of working-class work in city centres, with a particular focus on platform delivery drivers and maintenance workers. Her approach analyses the social divisions linked to the organisation of work, residential geography and the appropriation of public and private spaces.
Alihan Gök: Researcher and lecturer in political philosophy at Marmara University, Alihan Gök is currently leading a project entitled ‘Reappropriating social cooperation: opportunities and challenges in the digital platform era’ as part of the LEST/Iméra – Worlds of Labour chair.
Federico De Stavola: As a PhD student in sociology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Federico De Stavola is studying the changing face of work in Latin American cities through the prism of platform capitalism. He analyses the subjective logics of delivery workers, algorithmic domination, forms of resistance and new urban conflictualities. His current fields of research include Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Bologna.
Thierry Berthet: CNRS research director at the Laboratoire d’Économie et de Sociologie du Travail (LEST, UMR 7317 CNRS/amU).
Coming to Iméra
- Pedestrian access: come through the gate of the 2 place Leverrier, 13004 Marseille.
- PRM access: come through the gate of the Allée Jean-Louis Pons, 13004 Marseille.
