Colloquia

CSOC colloquia consist of small groups of academic professionals and practicing consultants working to broaden their understanding of 21st Century organizations, and further new ideas and perspectives. Dialogue is a vital aspect of CSOC colloquia, distinguishing them from other conferences. Many participants find that the dialogue and open exchange of ideas help them develop and refine their papers for subsequent publication.

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Through paper presentations, the colloquium is intended to facilitate dialogue and sharing of ideas about psychoanalytic explanations of organizational dynamics. Colloquium themes have included:

Organizational Psychodynamics in the 21st Century: Exploring and Defining the Field

Papers presented addressed the core issues, concepts, and ideas that shape the emerging interdisciplinary psychoanalytic field of organizational psychodynamics. Papers highlighted the application of key concepts and ideas in psychoanalytic theory to organizational culture, identity, and behavior to organizations challenged by multiple forces such as advances in communications technology, counter-terrorism, human security, globalization, and atomization.

Advancing Psychoanalytically Informed Organization Theory and Research

Papers presented focused on how particular concepts and terms or schools of thought in psychoanalysis (classical, object relational, self-psychological, relational, intersubjectivist, dialectical constructivist, co-participant, etc.)contribute to a more insightful understanding of organizations, organizational change, and acts of organizing. Paper topics derived from qualitative organizational research, action research, participant-observation, psychoanalytic field research, and organizational consultation were encouraged.

Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Organizations and Organizational Consultation: Contributions and Limitations

This colloquium took a fresh look at the fields of psychoanalysis and organizational inquiry. In psychoanalysis we have seen a shift during the 20th Century from classical and ego psychology to object relations, relational, and interpersonal psychoanalysis – what some refer to as a shift from one- to two-person psychology or from unconscious impulses to relational dynamics. In organization theory we have seen shifts in how we think about organizations as a result of environmental factors such as globalization, downsizing, advanced communication technologies, chaos and complexity. These realities have reframed how many theorists view organizational identity, culture, strategy and structure. The purpose of this colloquium was to address these changes from a psychoanalytic and organizational perspective and to consider their implications for how we approach, theoretically and practically, constantly changing organizations.

Last modified: October 23, 2012.