Special Issue JMSR - Imagination and Organizational Lives

Starts:  Dec 21, 2020 09:00 (ET)
Ends:  Jan 18, 2021 17:00 (ET)

Inviting initial proposals for the JMSR special issue on "Imagination and Organizational Lives: Exploring the liminality of the human experience"

In this special issue of the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, we invite conversations on the significance of imagination as an essential human need and as an essential human capability. This need and capability, we argue, enable individuals to shape and understand their experiences in work organizations as well as social communities.

Imagination defines human possibility more than the qualities of reason and logic. It provides ways to regenerate our ethical engagements and to re-instil much-needed spiritual meaning when organizations and institutions fail to serve humanity. When the imagination is present and engaged, boundaries shift and thresholds appear, opening a space for individuals to meet with one another in different ways.

This liminal “in-between” quality of the imagination makes it a precious, yet under-researched and possibly under-appreciated, resource for the development of soulful, dynamic, nurturing and resilient organizations and organizational members.

We encourage researchers and practitioners to share their imaginative explorations of what it means to be human in the context of organizations. We seek to engage with the richness and diversity of imagination to help organizations understand complex realities and transcend what may be perceived as limitations. We especially invite contributions that situate, explore, and/or discuss the following:

  1. How imagination is experienced and manifested in organizations and social communities.
  2. How imagination contributes to our understanding of ourselves and of our lives as organizational agents and as social change agents.
  3. How imagination informs reflections on spiritual aspects of management and leadership.
  4. How imaginative stories are expressed and manifested in organizations and/or communities, and what role they play in these contexts.

We welcome manuscripts that explore the imagination in a variety of formats, including creative writing, poetry, visual arts, embodied practice, sonic and musical performances, improvisation and more. We encourage submissions that reflect on practice as well as concepts.

Submission process

Interested authors should submit their proposal (between 500 and 1,000 words excluding references) by January 15th, 2021. Submit your proposal as a pdf document by email to the Special Issue editors: crozuel(at)ustpaul.ca and llevesque(at)ustpaul.ca. Make sure to include “Special Issue JMSR” in the email subject line. Your proposal should include your name, email contact details and – if applicable – institutional affiliation.

The proposals will be reviewed, and feedback and invitations to submit full manuscripts will be sent to potential authors by February 15th, 2021.

For the full Call for Proposals, visit the webpage listed.

Contact

Cecile Rozuel

crozuel@ustpaul.ca