LDSM3531 - Reading Seminar in Critical Management Studies
5 ECTS
Profs. Julie Hermans, Amélie Jacquemin, Maxence Postaire, Laurent Taskin
Academic year 2025-2026
Main objectives
The reading seminar aims primarily to introduce Critical Management Studies (CMS) and assist doctoral students in the construction and development of their doctoral research—especially in its critical stance. It provides a collective discussion and proposals around five core propositions of CMS: De-naturalization, Anti-performativity, Reflexivity, Challenging Structures of Domination, Multidisciplinary Research. Our intention is to better equip doctoral students in terms of methods and theoretical assumptions by discussing their own research design at the prism of the five core propositions.
The five core propositions of CMS
1. De-naturalization: CMS challenges the assumption that current management practices are natural or inevitable. It problematizes the idea that social and organizational behaviors are fixed, asserting that they are contingent and shaped by struggles over power and resources. CMS aims to reveal the precarious nature of these practices.
2. Anti-performativity: CMS critiques the mainstream focus on performativity, which prioritizes efficiency and profitability over ethical or political concerns. It argues that people and organizational processes should not be solely evaluated based on their contribution to business performance, advocating for a broader understanding of the value of work and management.
3. Reflexivity: CMS emphasizes the need for scholars and researchers to be aware of how their own contexts and power structures influence their work. Reflexivity involves recognizing that no research or organizational account is neutral, challenging the objectivism and scientism of mainstream management research.
4. Challenging Structures of Domination: CMS is committed to exposing how knowledge and power are intertwined. It seeks to reveal how supposedly neutral forms of knowledge often reinforce existing power relations, thereby perpetuating domination. CMS promotes the idea that such knowledge is not immutable but subject to contestation and change.
5. Multidisciplinary Research: CMS encourages breaking down disciplinary silos and engaging in dialogues across fields. It believes that critical understanding is enriched by integrating diverse perspectives, fostering deeper questioning of taken-for-granted assumptions in management studies.
The seminar will broaden the perspective and pose topical issues on management research. With the aid of critical theories, the seminar will help participants to understand how environmental and social concerns are framed, and how the roles of actors in the CMS agenda are defined.From this point of view, each doctoral student should personally benefit from participating in this collective activity: direct benefit from the work done in relation to the five core propositions; indirect reflection on the themes of other researchers (mutual awareness). The reading seminar is therefore presented as a living interaction between researchers, participating in a community of knowledge. The community explicitly includes the doctoral researchers enrolled in the course, the visiting scholars that will be invited as experts for each of the five core propositions, as well as the academic coordinators.
Content and time frame
The doctoral course consists of 5 three-hour thematic sessions. For this second edition of the seminar, we will have the privilege of welcoming esteemed scholars renowned internationally for their expertise and work in CMS. They will present recent research or books they have published.
| Date & horaire | Contenu |
|---|
| 5 mai, 10–13h | Les fondements des approches critiques en management, présentation et discussion menées par Laurent Taskin, avec Julie Hermans, Amélie Jacquemin et Maxence Postaire |
| 12 mai, 10–13h | Critical perspectives in accounting, Jeremy Morales (University of Bristol), discuté par Maxence Postaire |
| 26 mai, 14–17h | Les enjeux des « grand challenge » pour les sciences de gestion, Véronique Perret (Université Paris Dauphine PSL), discutée par Julie Hermans |
| 2 juin, 10–13h | Les anthropologies de la gestion, Jean-François Chanlat (Université Paris Dauphine PSL), discuté par Laurent Taskin |
| 9 juin, 14–17h | Perspectives critiques en entrepreneuriat, Sandrine Le Pontois (Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Étienne), discutée par Amélie Jacquemin |
Learning method
For each session, participants should read the articles mentioned for the session and prepare their contribution to the workshop. This preparation requires writing a summary of the readings associated with the topic (2 pages max.). It should highlight the key insights from the articles and identify clarification points (questions on the content and the meaning assigned by the author), discussion points (in relation to their own understanding, and to other texts) and preliminary take-aways (in relation to their own research design).
After each session, participants are invited to reflect on the take-aways for their own research and to write max. 2 pages about what they have learned, why it is important for them as researchers, and what they would like to change in their research design or in the future by applying those take-aways. A final 2-pages synthesis of the five reflexive pieces, together with a reflection on the interconnectedness of the five propositions and implications for their own doctoral research, should finalize the work of the participant for this doctoral course.
Evaluation methods and criteria
1) Active participation in seminar sessions (50 %, individual)
2) Construction of a portfolio that documents the work done in relation with the doctoral course (50%, individual): a) the preparation before each session (summary 2 pages max),
b) the key learnings after each session (2 pages max per session)
c) a final synthesis about key learnings (2 pages max)
Registration
To apply, simply send an email requesting registration by April 15 to the coordinators (julie.hermans@uclouvain.be; amelie.jacquemin@uclouvain.be; maxence.postaire@uclouvain.be; laurent.taskin@uclouvain.be).
