Decolonializing discourse: Critical reflections on organizational discourse analysis
(2011) In Human Relations 64(9). p.1121-1146- Abstract
- Organizational discourse has emerged as a large research field and references to discourse are numerous. As with all dominating approaches problematizations of assumptions are important. This article, partly a follow up of the authors' frequently cited 2000 Human Relations article, provides a critical and perhaps provocative overview of some of the more recent work and tendencies within the field. It is argued that discourse continues to be used in vague and all-embracing ways, where the constitutive effects of discourse are taken for granted rather than problematized and explored. The article identifies three particular problems prevalent in the current organizational discourse literature: reductionism, overpacking, and colonization and... (More)
- Organizational discourse has emerged as a large research field and references to discourse are numerous. As with all dominating approaches problematizations of assumptions are important. This article, partly a follow up of the authors' frequently cited 2000 Human Relations article, provides a critical and perhaps provocative overview of some of the more recent work and tendencies within the field. It is argued that discourse continues to be used in vague and all-embracing ways, where the constitutive effects of discourse are taken for granted rather than problematized and explored. The article identifies three particular problems prevalent in the current organizational discourse literature: reductionism, overpacking, and colonization and suggests three analytical strategies to overcome these problems: counter-balancing concepts - aiming to avoid seeing 'everything' as discourse - relativizing muscularity - being more open about discourse's constitutive effects - and disconnecting discourse and Discourse through much more disciplined use of discourse vocabulary. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2160478
- author
- Alvesson, Mats LU and Kärreman, Dan LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2011
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- discourse, language, methodology, organizational culture, power, subjectivity
- in
- Human Relations
- volume
- 64
- issue
- 9
- pages
- 1121 - 1146
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000294449400001
- scopus:80052192457
- ISSN
- 0018-7267
- DOI
- 10.1177/0018726711408629
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a550fece-767b-4a7d-bc95-1f47c67ec1c3 (old id 2160478)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:27:46
- date last changed
- 2022-04-27 22:08:38
@article{a550fece-767b-4a7d-bc95-1f47c67ec1c3,
abstract = {{Organizational discourse has emerged as a large research field and references to discourse are numerous. As with all dominating approaches problematizations of assumptions are important. This article, partly a follow up of the authors' frequently cited 2000 Human Relations article, provides a critical and perhaps provocative overview of some of the more recent work and tendencies within the field. It is argued that discourse continues to be used in vague and all-embracing ways, where the constitutive effects of discourse are taken for granted rather than problematized and explored. The article identifies three particular problems prevalent in the current organizational discourse literature: reductionism, overpacking, and colonization and suggests three analytical strategies to overcome these problems: counter-balancing concepts - aiming to avoid seeing 'everything' as discourse - relativizing muscularity - being more open about discourse's constitutive effects - and disconnecting discourse and Discourse through much more disciplined use of discourse vocabulary.}},
author = {{Alvesson, Mats and Kärreman, Dan}},
issn = {{0018-7267}},
keywords = {{discourse; language; methodology; organizational culture; power; subjectivity}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{9}},
pages = {{1121--1146}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Human Relations}},
title = {{Decolonializing discourse: Critical reflections on organizational discourse analysis}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0018726711408629}},
doi = {{10.1177/0018726711408629}},
volume = {{64}},
year = {{2011}},
}