Current calls for papers

Organizing for apocalypse

submission deadline

15 Sep 2022

call for papers pdf

Issue editors: Sine N. Just, Erik Mygind du Plessis, Sara Dahlman & Emil Husted

One central lesson of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is that societal institutions and social norms that appear both immutable and indestructible – such as the right to peaceful assembly, unrestricted access to schools and hospitals, or the professional handshake – may come tumbling down surprisingly fast. This realization has, in combination with a seemingly escalating number of earth-shattering crises (the financial crisis, the refugee crisis, the climate crisis, and, most recently, the war in Ukraine), given rise to a new kind of public awareness centered on questions like: What happens if the laws and customs of contemporary society cease to function? What might we do if critical infrastructures (e.g., power grid, medical supplies, and supermarkets) erode? What if the state cannot guarantee our safety and protect us from disaster?

While such questions have long been matters... more

Intangible breath? Exploring the organization of respiration

submission deadline

31 Oct 2022

call for papers pdf

CfP Intangible breath.pdf

Issue editors: Lisa Wiedemann, Vanessa Weber, and Hannah Grün

In times of Covid-19, it has become increasingly apparent that breathing is not only a vital life process indicating the leakiness (Shildrick, 1997) and connectivity of bodies, but also a matter of organizing. The numerous pandemic practices unveil the organizational aspects of respiration: meeting and breathing together in indoor spaces often requires sociomaterial regulation. We enter public ‘breathing spaces’ (Mitman, 2008) with vaccination or testing certificates; ‘respiratory publics’ (Nguyen, 2020) develop hygiene or ventilation concepts; containment scouts track shared air zones; people quarantine to protect others from their respiration or organize their used face masks for airing on walls. Such organizational practices that aim to facilitate breathing rely heavily on sociotechnical infrastructures and specific materiality (e.g., filter, disinfectants, masks, antigen and PCR tests, ventilators, air conditioners, air quality measures, QR codes, Bluetooth connections, or apps). Aside from pandemic issues, breathing is... more

Keywords

socio-material relations

Open issue

submission deadline

31 Oct 2022

call for papers pdf

CFP - open issue 24.4.pdf

Issue editors: Randi Heinrichs, Bernadette Loacker, Birke Otto and Lisa Wiedemann

ephemera welcomes open submissions, outside of special issues, that address themes relating to the theory and politics in organization.

Theory

ephemera encourages contributions that explicitly engage with theoretical and conceptual understandings of organizational issues, organizational processes and organizational life. This does not preclude empirical studies or commentaries on contemporary issues, but such contributions consider how theory and practice intersect in these cases. We especially publish articles that apply or develop theoretical insights that are not part of the established canon of organization studies. ephemera counters the current dominant approaches of social theory and operates at the borders of organization studies in that it continuously seeks to question what organization studies is and what it can become.

Politics

ephemera encourages the amplification of the political problematics of organization within academic debate, which today is being actively de-politicized by the current organization of thought... more

Keywords

open issue

Games, incorporated

submission deadline

31 Jan 2023

call for papers pdf

Games, incorporated (CfP).pdf

Games now permeate our lives on an unprecedented scale. We play mobile games on our daily commute. We collect XP and unlock virtual rewards as we go about our normal work. We use augmented reality to catch Pokémon during our lunch break. We learn on-the-job skills with the aid of a VR headset and a personalized avatar. We relax by playing online role-playing games with our friends in the evening. It is no exaggeration to say that we now live in a ‘ludic society’ (Mäyrä, 2017), one that is oriented around digital imaginaries in the spheres of work, leisure, education, and human relationships.

In this special issue, we invite scholars to reflect on the meaning and significance of games – whether analogue or digital – for understanding organizational life in its broadest sense. More than ten years have passed since the ephemera special issue on Work, play and boredom (Butler,... more

Keywords