THE NEW SUBJECTIVITIES OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM: SPIRITUALITY,PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE WORLD OF WORK
Guest speakers:EmmaBELL (The Open University, UK)Ekaterina CHERTKOVSKAYA (Lund University,Sweden)François GAUTHIER (University of Fribourg, Switzerland)Scott TAYLOR (University of Birmingham, UK) Conference organized by the Sociology Department ofBabes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaConference Dates: 18th – 20th ofSeptember 2017Venue: Cluj-Napoca, Sociology Department, BBU
Deadline for abstract submission: 7th of August 2017Notification for acceptance: 15th of August 2017Abstracts of papers should be submitted tothe following email addresses: Sorin Gog ([log in to unmask]) or Anca Simionca ([log in to unmask])
Thecurrent neo-liberal transformations of global capitalism have producedthroughout the world lasting and significant changes. At the same time, theyhave generated new cultural ontologies, institutions and social practices whichare embedded, appropriated and sometimes resisted in local political, religiousand social contexts. This conference focuses on the emergence of new forms ofsubjectivities that encourages individuals to govern themselves by becomingmore creative, competitive and entrepreneurial. An important aspect of thecontemporary neo-liberal governmentality is represented by the role played bythe various embodiments of a new spirit of capitalism based on an ethic ofself-transformations that instills in its subjects a sense of responsibility,autonomy and most of all an immanent desire for authenticity. In this contextwe have witnessed in the past decade the emergence of new alternative religionsand spiritualities, workshops for personal development, integrative andtrans-personal psychologies, popular therapeutic expertise on management of theself; these new technologies of care for human resources that aim atsocializing new subjectivities have spread not only in work environments andgovernmental agencies but also in educational establishments, healthcare andsocial work programs.
Theaim of this conference is to explore on one hand the religious changes incontemporary society and the way these new spiritualities (yoga, theta healing,meditation, holotropic breathing, familial constellations, reiki. etc.) arebecoming an important component not only of popular culture but of variousprofessional fields (management, psychology, psychotherapy, medicine, sport,etc.) and shape a culture of neo-liberal subjectivities. On the other hand we want to analyze the transformative changes of theneo-liberal economic environment, especially those sectors that experiment witha new spirit of capitalism through innovative forms of management ofindividuals and creative policies for developing human resources.
Thisconference aims to bring together scholars from a broad field of socialsciences (anthropology, sociology, religious studies, political science,critical management studies) that are interested in the contemporaryflourishing of new forms of subjectivities and in the role they play incontemporary capitalist societies. The goal of the conference is to discusslocal instances of how neo-liberalism is reproduced through what appears astransformative ethics of self-realization and to analyze the mechanisms ofgenerating ‘enterprising’ and 'competitive' subjectivities that are engaged intransforming their inner selves and their social environments in accordancewith the prevailing economic rationalities. Wewelcome papers that: · explore the new landscapesof religion and spirituality and ways in which these new cultural ontologiesare appropriated by global capitalism; · explore the role played bythe spiritual and personal development programs in shaping a new sense of selfthat is adapted to the contemporary social and economic conditions; · explore how the neoliberaleconomic transformations are contested and resisted by traditional religionsand the way moral communities are creatively reframed in order to engage withthese vast social and economic transformations. · explore the transformationswithin the psy-disciplines and the role they have played in the implementationof technologies of intervention and in the popularization of devicesself-production through the mass consumption of psychological expertise(therapies, clinical mediation, self-help literature); · explore the role played bythe spiritual and personal development sector in further legitimizing theunderstanding of individuals as fully responsible for their employability andthe outcome of their attempts to better position themselves withinorganizations or in the labor market. · explore changes in theworld of work through recent processes like de-proletarianisation orre-proletarianisation and the subsequent transformations of the workers' senseof the self; analyze how the reconfiguration ofregions as economic units transform the nature and experience of work. · any other topic related toneoliberal subjectivities in religions, organizations, work environments andpopular culture. Participation, abstractsand registrationThe conference is open to all academics andMA/PhD Students working on related topics. Please submit an abstract of no morethan 200 words before 7th ofAugust 2017 to the following email addresses: Sorin Gog([log in to unmask]) or Anca Simionca ([log in to unmask]). The authorswill be notified about the acceptance of their abstracts before 15thof August 2017. There is no registration fee for this conference. Participantsare expected however to cover for their travel to Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Upon request, theorganizers can provide accommodation for a limited number of participants.
Link:
http://www.isa-sociology.org/uploads/imgen/499-cfp-the-new-subjectivities-of-global-capitalism.pdf
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