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An anarchist reconfiguration of management education?

  • 1.  An anarchist reconfiguration of management education?

    Posted 10-17-2002 06:46
    Mg-Ed-Dv-ers,
    Critical (left) approaches to management education intrigue me.
    At some level I find the need for managers not to be greedy as on
    target. On another level, at least here in New York, our situation is
    one of a huge capitalist sector coupled with a huge socialist sector
    (government) and a huge not-for-profit sector (museums, private
    universities). However, whether a student is working for a hospital or
    an investment banking firm, it seems that a lot of the management
    know-how (is that a bad word for critical theorists?) seems to me to be
    same including social responsibility related know-how. The below call
    was sent to me and I think the subjects it suggests would be wonderful
    to discuss in Mg-Ed-Dv. Who knows, maybe some discussion will lead to
    some additional presentations at this conference.
    Cybercollaborating,
    Charles Wankel
    Mg-Ed-Dv List Director
    St. John's University, New York City

    --------------------------------------------------------

    CMS 3 Conference, July 2003 - Call for Papers - Lancaster University
    Management School
    Critical Management Education: From pedagogy to activism.

    Description of the stream

    Many of us who research in the field of Critical Management Studies are
    also teachers of managers. As such we often find ourselves working in
    institutions or alongside colleagues who do not share our critique of
    management or teach it unproblematically as a technical skill. What
    differentiates our pedagogical practice from those of an uncritical
    nature? Is there any difference?

    This stream wishes to explore what Critical Management Education is
    about.
    How is it practiced? What do we mean when we say we are 'critical'
    management educators? How do we make sense of our participation in an
    educational process that is 'critical'? How do we present it to students
    and the institution?
    What sense are our students making of such educational experiences?

    For example, do we claim that our 'critical' pedagogic contribution is
    made in terms of process i.e. challenging passive education, where
    students learn that education is something that is done to them, rather
    than something that they do? Does it invite students to become active
    learners - who question received wisdom, undemocratic relations, and who
    co-develop the curriculum (activism within the classroom)? Or is CME a
    result of content - seeking to understand "management" from
    poly-historical and multi-vocal perspectives? What other ways of
    understanding criticality in management education and development are
    there?

    We are especially interested in the claims that education is the sphere
    of Critical Management Studies' activism. Activist teaching and learning
    in the critical management classroom surely takes different shapes
    depending on the unique situation of each classroom and we also welcome
    papers that explore these 'different shapes'.

    The time seems right for the re-emergence of a debate about criticality
    in education. It is now more than a decade since Ellsworth incurred the
    wrath of the 'radical' education movement by suggesting that their
    version of criticality had become a repressive myth that perpetuated
    relations of domination within the classroom. Critical Management
    Education is often written about as if it is unproblematically part of
    the Freirean radical tradition - but is that the case? And what
    difficulties might that present those who want to identify as critical
    management educators but who, like Ellsworth, may find its pedagogic
    practice repressive? What voices are missing from Critical Management
    Education? What reconfigurations might post-structuralists, feminist or
    anarchist educators wish to bring to CME pedagogy?

    We welcome contributions from critical management educators, developers
    and learners that address pedagogy as activist and from educators
    working in critical ways within and outside of traditional classrooms.

    Important dates

    * Please send your abstracts (in Word 97 or higher or in RTF.
    Format) as an email attachment to any of the stream conveners, but no
    later than 17th November

    * A note of acceptance or otherwise will be sent to you by Jan
    2003

    * Finalised abstracts from successful candidates must be sent to
    stream conveners by 20th February 2003

    * Full papers will be required by 15th April 2003


    Stream conveners

    Nick Nissley, Assistant Professor, Organization Learning and
    Development,
    University of St. Thomas.
    Email: nnissley@stthomas.edu

    Linda Perriton, Lecturer in Management Studies, University of York.
    Email: ljp8@york.ac.uk

    Michael Reynolds, Professor of Management Learning, Lancaster
    University.
    Email: m.reynolds@lancaster.ac.uk

    Formatting of abstracts:
    Extended abstracts will be included on the conference web pages and in
    the bound proceedings for participants. Abstracts submitted for
    consideration should include:

    * Title
    * Authors (affiliation, contact details)
    * Body of Text
    * References

    And should not exceed 1500 words in length (excluding references)


    Michael Reynolds
    Department of Management Learning
    Management School
    Lancaster University
    Lancaster
    LA1 4YX
    01524 594025
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