[ox-en] Workshop by Collective for Alternative Organisation Studies
- From: Soenke Zehle <soenke.zehle web.de>
- Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:17:01 +0100
Contesting Capitalism: Practices and Strategies
One Day Workshop, Wednesday 18 May 2005
Collective for Alternative Organisation Studies
University of Leicester Management Centre
Programme Details
Registration
Following the success of CAOS inaugural workshop in June 2004, we are
organising a second event to coincide with Katherine Gibson (Australian
National University) and Julie Graham’s (University of Massachussetts)
visit to the University of Leicester Management Centre.
Building on the ethos of CAOS, the aim of the workshop is to go beyond
critiques of capitalism and consider alternatives. We want to respond to
those who believe that ‘there is no alternative’ by waving the weight of
evidence to the contrary. By documenting the alternatives created by
those who refuse to be trapped by the supposed omnipotence of global
capitalism, we hope to open up a space where the very possibility of
non-capitalist practice can be taken seriously.
However, we recognise that neo-liberal fundamentalism has become immune
to empirical evidence. It tends to close the space for imagining
alternative organisation by re-inscribing any existing alternative
within an inevitable path towards failure or cooptation. Thus contesting
global capitalism not only requires pointing to evidence of
alternatives, but also developing strategies for re-thinking the economy
and organisation in ways that do not systematically condemn alternatives
to the suffocating grip of global capitalism. To borrow a phrase from
Gibson-Graham, we need to develop conceptual frameworks that challenge
capitalocentric representations of the economy. This entails
destabilising the presumed hegemony, totality and unity of capitalism by
pointing to its historical, social, political specificities and
contingencies. Thus we need to dispel the myth of a singular capitalist
essence and instead reveal the multiplicity of concrete practices that
make up capitalisms. The explosion of Capitalism into a set of
fragmented, multiple, contingent sites of capitalisms, in turn, opens up
the space for (recognising) non-capitalist practices. Alternatives no
longer have to establish themselves against, defend themselves against,
or resist, some a priori hegemonic force of capitalism.
If we follow Gibson-Graham, breaking free of ‘capitalocentrism’ also
means thinking differently about the ‘economy’. Thus we need to develop
a vocabulary of economic (and organisational) difference by freeing
‘exchange’, ‘work’, and ‘organisation’ from the capitalist grip within
which they have been trapped as ‘commodity market’, ‘waged labour’ and
‘capitalist enterprise’. This may involve for example abandoning the
concepts that have dominated our understanding of the economy and
organisations (e.g. management, performance, competence, growth…) and
choosing others (e.g. justice, dignity, sustainability, values…)
In short, the workshop will engage with the following themes:
• Exploring past and present alternative forms of organising (e.g.
alternative forms of work, alternative forms of exchange, alternative
organisational forms: cooperative, communes…)
• Exploding the myth of capitalism as an omnipotent and monolithic
force, and highlighting the breaks, disjunctures, differences in the
making of contemporary economies.
• Reconceptualising ‘organisation’ and the economy, or to paraphrase
Gibson-Graham developing a vocabulary of ‘economic / organisational
difference’.
CAOS is an open community and we would like to extend the invitation to
the workshop to all those who share our commitment to broaden the
imagination and practice of organisation. We welcome academics at all
levels, as well as from those involved in shaping alternatives
(activists, politicians, NGO workers and others). This openness will
also be reflected in the different formats of the sessions; some may
follow the paper presentation format, whilst others may take the form of
more open discussion forum.
Time and Venue
The workshop will open at 9.30 with registration and close at 5.15,
although it may continue informally for those who want to stay for a
drink afterwards. It will take place in the Charles Wilson Building (2nd
Floor) at the University of Leicester, University Road. For directions
to the university and the Charles Wilson Building, visit the university
website at www.le.ac.uk/maps/
Attendance
Attendance at the workshop is FREE, however we need to know how many
participants there will be in order to book lunch and refreshments. So
if you wish to attend, please complete the registration form and email
to Jenni Hern (j.hern le.ac.uk ) by the 15th of April 2005.
Accommodation in Leicester
If you need accommodation for the night before or after the workshop,
there are two hotels close to the University campus:
Regency Hotel www.the-regency-hotel.com
Belmont Hotel www.bw-belmonthouse.co.uk
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Web-Site: http://www.oekonux.org/
Organization: projekt oekonux.de