Phantasmatic and discursive readings of post-liberalism (19 - 22 December 2011)

Faculty
Jason Glynos, Senior lecturer (Dep. of Government, University of Essex), Casper Hoedemaekers, Lecturer (Cardiff University), Yannis Stavrakakis, Associate professor (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Political Sciences), Jens Frederiksen, Lecturer (Fisk University), Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen, Professor, (Dep. of MPP, CBS), Susanne Ekmann, Assistant professor (Dep. of Organization, CBS), Holger Højlund, Associate professor (Dep. of MPP, CBS), Sabrina Speierman, PhD, Strategic Advisor, Kaspar Villadsen, Associate professor (Dep. of MPP, CBS)

Course Coordinator
Holger Højlund, Associate professor, Dep. of MPP, CBS

We welcome PhD students from a wide variety of backgrounds across the field of social and political theory. What is important for attending the course is not so much the specific academic profile, as it is an interest in how to understand and critically interrogate the present social and politics situation by means of post structural theory.

As part of the course the participants are asked to submit a paper describing their own research interest. Deadline for submitting is two weeks before the start of the course, that is, December 5th. The paper should be sent to kht.research@cbs.dk. Each paper should run between 10-20 standard pages and be written either as an empirical analysis or a presentation with indications of some theoretical entries into the empirical matter.

A precondition for receiving the course diploma is that the student attends the whole course.

Following Zizek we can ask, what is the ‘Sublime Object of post-liberalism and post-liberal welfare, and how is this object supported by (post)ideological fantasies. Or to put it a bit differently, we may ask if there are sublime welfare objects underpinning ideological fantasies of the present. Zizek is not the only scholar who pays attention to contemporary post-liberal politics. Other scholars may have different vocabularies, but nevertheless they share an interest in understanding and criticizing post-liberal welfare. In this PhD course the point of departure is the critique of post-liberal welfare politics understood in a broad sense as present programs, ideas and ideological constructs. Both the participants and the lecturers are expected to bring in their own empirical studies for discussion. The lecturers will present different theoretical perspectives, empirical readings and conceptual applications as sources of inspiration for analytical work.

Since the course investigates the possibilities and advantages of bringing together critical perspectives on post-liberal welfare, a broad range of different positions within post-structuralism, discourse theory, psycho-analytical approaches, radical organisation theory, systems theory, and critical management tradition are welcome. It is our basic assumption that contemporary welfare politics is torn between discursive, affective and organisational phantasms and regimes. The course invites Ph.D. students and scholars who in their work deal with questions of how to supplement and combine different discursive analytics. The purpose of this course, then, is to look for new ways to revitalise critical analysis. Motives and moves from classical ideology critique are brought back in. Synergies are expected to emerge.

In order to provide a stimulating atmosphere for sharing ideas at a high theoretical level, a basic knowledge of social theory and political analysis is expected from the participants. Some familiarity with reading and understanding discourse theory is also an advantage. This includes some fundamental contact with the main argumentative frameworks ranging from thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Niklas Luhmann, to Ernesto Laclau, Chantall Mouffe, Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler, just to mention some of the key figures at the Lacanian Left, as they have been named (Stavrakakis, 2007).

Besides a shared familiarity with discourse theory, all participants are expected, at least to some degree, to deal with concrete empirical material. The course is aimed at achieving an ‘exchange value’ from the confrontation of discourse theory with empirical analysis. Theory will be considered as a source of inspiration and a framework that encourages empirical inventiveness and playfulness.

The course addresses the question of how theoretical concepts may be applied in concrete problem-driven empirical analysis. The course affords a setting for discussions and development of creative and innovative research strategies driven by the empirical cases.

The participants will be offered a range of lectures presenting different takes on the construction of research strategies using the notion of for example fantasy, phantasm, empty signifier, genealogy or other analytical category. The different takes will be presented by a selection of scholars, who will present their own work, not as state of the art, but as an example of readings of post-liberalism and post-liberal welfare. The scholars will also elaborate on their own research strategies as an example of fantasmatic readings of post-liberalism.  How did they themselves develop their original research strategies? What selection of concepts did they bring into play? Taking their own epistemological struggles as a point of departure, the lecturers offer insights into development of specific research strategies, while aiming to encourage dialogue.

To qualify dialogue, the course will each day stage an ‘academic battle’ between two internationally prominent guest lecturers. The closing dialogue sessions will appear as informal encounters between the different approaches represented by the scholars of the day.

Another significant part of the course consists of participant presentations. The participants are offered the opportunity to present their own reflections, research strategy or analysis as an example on how to attempt reading post-liberalism from a discourse analytical approach. All in all, our ambition is to inspire the participants to develop an original research strategy designed specifically to connect with the actual problematization and to analyse a concrete empirical case while drawing upon a few but effective theoretical concepts which have been chosen because of their ability to produce interesting observations from the empirical cases.  

 

Lecture plan

Time/period	Faculty	Title
Day 1: 13.00 - 17.00	Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen, Holger Højlund, Sabrina Speierman, Kaspar Villadsen	Introduction and kick-off workshop
Day 2: 10.00 - 17.00	Jason Glynos, Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen, Jens Frederiksen, Holger Højlund, Kaspar Villadsen	Two discursive readings of contemporary post-liberalism
Day 3: 10.00 - 16.30 + dinner from 19.00	Yannis Stavrakakis, Holger Højlund, Kaspar Villadsen	Welfare consumerism as a phantasm
Day 4: 10.00 - 17.30	Caspar Hoedemaekers, Susanne Ekman, Holger Højlund, Kaspar Villadsen	Knowledge intensive organizations

The PhD course provides an opportunity to engage with contemporary political and social tendencies in present welfare and post-liberal societies. We wish to provide an open-minded atmosphere with an aim to exchange views on ongoing research, present analytics and approaches.

A list of readings will be provided for the course, but each participant is also expected to find an individually chosen way through the suggested reading list.   

Mandatory Readings for the Course

Andersen, Niels Åkerstrøm (2011): Who is Yum Yum? A Cartoon State in the Making. In: Ephemera forth comming issue in August 2011

Andersen, Niels Åkerstrøm (2009): Power at play. The relationships between power, play and governance.  Palgrave Macmillan 

Ekman, S. (2011) The Organization as an Arena for Eternal Growth – fantasies about work as permanent transgression. Working paper.

Glynos, Jason (2008a): Self-transgressive Enjoyment as a Freedom Fetter. I: Political Studies vol. 56:679-704.

Glynos, Jason (2008b): Ideological Fantasy at Work. I: Journal of Political Ideologies, oct  Vol. 13/3:275-296.

Glynos, Jason & Howarth, David (2007): Logics of critical Explanations in Social and Political Theory. Routledge.

Glynos, Jason & Stavrakakis, Yannis (2008): Lacan and political subjectivity: fantasy and enjoyment in psychoanalysis and political theory. In: Subjectivity 26:256-274.

Hoedemaekers, Casper (2010) 'Not even semblance': exploring the interruption of identification with Lacan. In: Organization, May Vol. 17 Issue 3, p379-393, 15p

Hoedemaekers, Casper (2009): Traversing the empty promise: management, subjectivity and the Other's desire.  In: journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p181-201, 21p;

Højlund, Holger (2009): “Hybrid Inclusion – The New Consumerism of Danish Welfare Services”, Journal of European Social Policy, Vol 19(5): 421-431.

Stavrakakis, Yannis (2007): The Consumerist Politics of Jouissance and the Fantasy of Advertising. In: Stavrakakis, Yannis: The Lacanian Left. 227-253. Edingburgh: Uni Press.

Stavrakakis, Yannis (2010): Symbolic Authority, Fantasmatic Enjoyment and the spirit of capitalism. Genealogies of mutual engagement. In: Cederström, Carl & Hoedemaekers, Casper (eds.): Lacan and Organizations, Mayflybooks, London

Villadsen, K. & Karlsen, M.P. (2008) "Who Should Do the Talking? The proliferation of dialogue as governmental technology", in: Culture & Organization, no. 14, vol. 4.

Dean, M. & Villadsen, K. "State phobia, Civil Society and a Certain Vitalism", in: Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory (under 2. review)

Zizek, Slavoj (2003): “The Spectre of Ideology”, pp. 53-85 in Zizek Reader. London: Blackwell Publishing.   

Zizek, Slavoj (1997): The Plague of Fantasies. London: Verso.

Zizek, Slavoj (2010): The Sublime Object of Ideology. London: Verso.