Capitalizing on Performativity, 16-17 October 2014

“Capitalizing on Performativity: Performing on Capitalization” is the titled of the forthcoming PERFORMABUSINESS symposium, to be held in Paris, 16-17 October 2014.

The purpose?

A cogent appraisal of the spirit of contemporary capitalism and its problems calls for renewed attention to the performative. Business schools, consultancy firms, corporations, investment banks, start-up companies, market research agencies, public administrations and other sites of business life are characterized by the presence of habits, idioms and apparatuses that constitute a significant part of the reality of business. These include techniques for the simulation of business situations, methods for the explanation of business problems, instruments for the valuation of business endeavours, and tools for the presentation of business outcomes. But simulation, explanation, valuation and presentation are not only about accounting for external states of affair. They are, at least in part, about moulding, enacting, provoking and effecting the business realities they signify.

Many things have been said indeed, from a large variety of angles, about the performative condition of capitalist business existence. The point now is to think about where to go from here. Contributors to this workshop are addressing this challenge from their own particular blends of intellectual concerns and research undertakings. The workshop aims at providing an occasion to discover and discuss what they have to say. Topics covered range from the anthropology of financialization to the critique of management, from the sociology of accounting to the politics of organization and the philosophy of law.

The participants?

Invited speakers include Laure Cabantous, Eve Chiapello, Kimberly Chong, Barbara Czarniawska, Daniel Fridman, Martin Giraudeau, Penny Harvey, Sarah Kaplan, Andrew Leyshon, Javier Lezaun, Peter Miller, Paolo Quattrone, Michele Spanò and Signe Vikkelsø, also with the participation of PERFORMABUSINESS associates Alaric Bourgoin, Liliana Doganova, Fabian Muniesa, Horacio Ortiz and Alvaro Pina-Stranger.

Practical details?

This symposium is sponsored by PERFORMABUSINESS (Performativity in Business Education, Management Consulting and Entrepreneurial Finance), a project funded by the European Research Council (Starting Grant No. 263529) and located at the Centre de Sociologie de l’Innovation (Mines ParisTech/ARMINES).

The event takes place on 16 and 17 October 2014, 9:00 to 18:00, at Mines ParisTech, 60, Boulevard Saint-Michel, 75006 Paris, France. Public transportation include rapid transit train (RER B Luxembourg Station) and bus (lines 21, 27, 38, 82, 84, 85, 89).

Attendance is free within the limit of available space, and reservation is required. If you want to attend, or inquire about aspects of the symposium, please contact Pr. Fabian Muniesa.

The full program?

Available here.