THEORIZING SUBJECTIVITY IN ORGANIZATIONS - THE FAILURE OF FOUCAULDIANSTUDIES

This paper examines the promise of Foucault as a vehicle for addressin g subjectivity and organizations. It questions the supposed non-essent ialism and nondualism of Foucauldian work, and argues that such work h as difficulties in theorizing agency, and the relation between self an d discourse. Though the paper is critical of previous attacks on the a nti-materialistic stance of Foucauldian work, it nevertheless suggests that Foucauldian studies have been unable to adequately theorize 'mat erial' relations, and that they have so far provided an inadequate bas is by which to develop an ethics of either individual or collective ch ange. In developing this critique, the paper largely focuses on Foucau ldian work rather than the text of Foucault himself, though some atten tion is paid to Volumes 1 to 3 of The History of Sexuality. Feminist w ork is also employed in order to illustrate the limitations of Foucaul t in theorizing the self and subjectivity.