Early call for abstracts / save the date

We are delighted to announce the 15th International Conference on Organizational Discourse. The ‘Discourse Conference’ has a long tradition of gatherings that inspire and deepen the discursive branch of organisation studies, creating a platform for lively exchange between scholars, and establishing relationships of enduring academic co-operation.

The 2024 conference theme is ‘Actions, Alternatives, Assumptions’. The city of Bristol has a long history of alternatives, in religion, arts and culture, and organisations. Equally, it is a city that was founded on a strong mercantile tradition, which included exploitation, slavery, and inequity. This has informed the theme for the call for papers, which is rooted in the need for change at multiple levels, be it organisational, societal or individual. We are interested in exploring potential actions, alternatives to the status quo, and unpacking underlying assumptions. The theme invites us to explore shifts in discourse, the potential of metaphors, new topics of study and questions about ‘what would different look like?’ and ‘how do we get there?’

To spark your interest in joining us:

Actions

Taking inspiration from David Grant’s 2022 keynote on discourse and sustainability, we are starting with actions. Thesecall for us to be engaged in the world, researching and acting on societal challenges. How does discourse shape actions and how do actions shape discourse? What new knowledge could emerge when we apply a discursive lens to issues such as sustainability, ecological resilience, social equity and social justice, fairness in the workplace, or organisational change.

Alternatives

It feels like the world is in a state of ‘permacrisis’ at present. Alternatives invites us to challenge ourselves to find reasons for hope. The strength of organisation discourse studies is that it invites us to unravel, disrupt, and unpack the status quo. Far from being simply a theoretical exercise, discourse analysis can enable us to think and do differently. This theme encourages us to investigate alternative forms of organising, different ways of seeing the world, alternative networks, and the power (or not) of utopias.

Assumptions

These are at the heart of discursive scholarship, challenging us to explore the underlying ontologies, epistemologies, contexts, and power dynamics that have shaped our field. This theme could prompt us to investigate underlying assumptions related to power relations, language and structure, diversity, inequalities and exclusion, and the ongoing legacies of colonialism and global capitalism.

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The conference theme offers a broad canvas of questions, debates, and possibilities, framed around crisis and hope. It is up to you, as the community of discourse scholars, to position your work in ways that may inspire others and garner novel insights to further the long tradition of ‘discourse and organisation’ scholarship.

We invite contributions that reflect the broad, interdisciplinary nature of the Organizational Discourse conference. In keeping with past conferences, we also welcome contributions outside of the confines of the specific theme. Currently, in addition to contributions exploring our central themes, we can imagine paper presentations that organise themselves within and around the following topics:

• Sense-making, stories and narrative
• Crisis, change and transformation
• Knowledge, affect, power and politics
• Diversity, difference and distinction-drawing
• Inclusion, exclusion and intersecting concepts
• Auto/ethnography and organisational life
• Alternative futures
• Time, space and materiality
• Discursive methodologies
• Discourse and interdisciplinarity.

We envisage that the conference will again provide an inspirational forum in which academics with various perspectives on organisation and discourse, and from all walks and stages of academic life, engage in lively debate and constructive dialogue.

Conference organisers

• Dr Anita Mangan
• Dr Lucy McCarthy

Registration

You can register for the conference online via the University for Bristol Online Shop.

Register now

Travel and accommodation

Travel options

The nearest train station is Bristol Temple Meads. The nearest airport is Bristol Airport. Regular buses run from Bristol airport to the city of Bristol.

For some international travel, you may wish to take the EuroStar if travelling from Europe. There are good train connections from London to Bristol also.

If flying, you may need to fly into London Heathrow airport. Using the Heathrow Express, you can travel directly to London Paddington, from where there are regular trains to and from Bristol Temple Meads.

Information on train times is available on the National Rail website.

Accommodation

There are a number of places to stay in Bristol.

Some options include:

• Premier Inn
• Royal Marriott
• Radisson Blu
• Bristol Avon Gorge
• Berkeley Square

There are also a number of independent hotels in Clifton, which are within 10-15 minutes walking distance from the conference venue.

Location

The conference will take place in the Priory Road Complex at the University of Bristol - Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK. We look forward to seeing you!