Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 20:39:09 -0000 (GMT) Subject: [postanarchism] CFP Contesting Capitalism: Practices and Strategies From: "stevphen shukaitis" <stevphen-AT-mutualaid.org> COLLECTIVE FOR ALTERNATIVE ORGANISATION STUDIES (CAOS) University of Leicester Management Centre Contesting Capitalism: Practices and Strategies Workshop to be held on Wednesday 18 May 2005 CALL FOR PAPERS Following the success of CAOS inaugural workshop in June 2004, we are organising a second event to coincide with Katherine Gibson (University of Massachussetts) and Julie Graham’s (Australian National University) visit to the University of Leicester Management Centre. We are inviting papers from all disciplines within social sciences and humanities on the theme of ‘Contesting Capitalism’. Building on the ethos of CAOS (see www.le.ac.uk/ulmc/caos), we would particularly welcome contributions that go beyond critiques of capitalism and dare to offer 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 organising 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, we invite contributions that propose to engage with any of the following themes: · Exploring past and present alternative forms of organising, highlighting the very possibility of alternatives, and the extent of their contribution (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 invite participation from all those who share our commitment to broaden the imagination and practice of organisation. We welcome contributions from academics at all levels, as well as from those involved in shaping alternatives (activists, politicians, NGO workers and others). We would also like this openness to be reflected in different types of sessions; some may follow the paper presentation format, whilst others may take the form of more open discussion forum. Abstracts or proposals for discussion forum of no more than 500 words should be sent as email attachments to Prof Colin Williams (e-mail: c.williams-AT-le.ac.uk) by Friday 31st January 2005. Notification of acceptance will be sent by the end of February. We hope you will be many to answer this call and we look forward to seeing in May.
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