CALL
FOR PAPERS FOR A SPECIAL ISSUE OF GENDER,
WORK AND ORGANIZATION
Special
Issue Editors: Janet
Borgerson (University of Exeter), Karen Dale (University of Leicester) and Melissa Tyler
(Loughborough University).
Although
often critical of legitimating institutions, Judith Butler's thought-provoking
work has rarely discussed organizational issues per se, yet engaging her insights and
concepts in the analysis of work and organization can often be productive and
inspiring, whether one ultimately agrees with her or not (Borgerson, 2005). Key
themes in Butler's writing - including her theory of performativity, her
critique of the 'heterosexual matrix', her analysis of the materialization of
gender and her recent emphasis on the politics of 'undoing gender' (Butler,
2004) - all have important and provocative implications for the ways in which we
think about, and engage with, organizations.
Often
thought of as one of the founders of queer theory, Butler is perhaps best known
for her book Gender Trouble (Butler,
1990/2000), premised upon a performative ontology of gender. Here, and
elsewhere, her work draws on and develops insights from post-structuralism,
phenomenology, feminist theory, existentialism, anthropology, literary theory
and psychoanalysis. Yet important though her emphasis on gender performativity
is for our thinking about gender and work, a preoccupation with this particular
theme has tended to overshadow other aspects of her writing, particularly her
commitment to phenomenology, and to a critical analysis of the materialization
of gender. With this in mind, we invite participants to use this special issue
as an opportunity to engage with the full implications of Butler's writing for
the ways in which we make sense of, and enact, gender, organization and
work.
Please
contact the guest editors if you wish to discuss an idea or proposal for a
paper: email Janet on [log in to unmask] , Karen
on [log in to unmask] or Melissa on [log in to unmask] . Abstracts or
outline proposals should be sent to the editors by 31st October 2006
and complete papers (not under review elsewhere) should be emailed to all three
editors by 31st March 2007. Please also copy final submissions to
the editorial assistant Annie Dempsey ([log in to unmask] ).
Final papers should be formatted according to the submission guidelines for the
journal. For full details, please consult the Gender, Work and Organization website http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673&site=1