TY - JOUR

T1 - I'd prefer not to

T2 - Bartleby and the excesses of interpretation

AU - Beverungen, Armin

AU - Dunne, Stephen

PY - 2007/6/1

Y1 - 2007/6/1

N2 - This paper engages with Herman Melville's short story Bartleby the Scrivener, as well as contemporary discussions thereof, so as to consider a peculiar concept of excess suggested to us by its main character. Our discussion focuses upon three of the most prominent contemporary Bartlebys: 'The Politicized Bartleby' of Slavoj Zizek, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri; 'The Originary Bartleby' of Gilles Deleuze; and 'The Whatever Bartleby' of Giorgio Agamben. On the basis of these interpretations we derive a concept of excess as the residual surplus of any categorical interpretation, the yet to be accounted for, the not yet explained, the un-interpretable, the indeterminate, the always yet to arrive, precisely that which cannot be captured, held onto nor put in place. This particular discussion of Bartleby is connected to a more general discussion of a management and organization studies that has become increasingly reliant upon literary texts. On this topic, we pass a not altogether optimistic commentary, itself informed by the excessive demand of adequately interpreting Bartleby.

AB - This paper engages with Herman Melville's short story Bartleby the Scrivener, as well as contemporary discussions thereof, so as to consider a peculiar concept of excess suggested to us by its main character. Our discussion focuses upon three of the most prominent contemporary Bartlebys: 'The Politicized Bartleby' of Slavoj Zizek, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri; 'The Originary Bartleby' of Gilles Deleuze; and 'The Whatever Bartleby' of Giorgio Agamben. On the basis of these interpretations we derive a concept of excess as the residual surplus of any categorical interpretation, the yet to be accounted for, the not yet explained, the un-interpretable, the indeterminate, the always yet to arrive, precisely that which cannot be captured, held onto nor put in place. This particular discussion of Bartleby is connected to a more general discussion of a management and organization studies that has become increasingly reliant upon literary texts. On this topic, we pass a not altogether optimistic commentary, itself informed by the excessive demand of adequately interpreting Bartleby.

KW - Management studies

KW - Bartleby

KW - Excess

KW - Literature

KW - Fiction

KW - Interpretation

KW - Literature studies

KW - Cultural studies

KW - Digital media

KW - Digitale Kultur

KW - Digitale Kulturen

KW - Netzkultur

KW - Medienkultur

KW - Medienkulturen

KW - Medienwissenschaften

KW - Neue Medien

KW - Soziale Medien

KW - Medientheorie

KW - digital Culture

KW - digital cultures

KW - net culture

KW - media culture

KW - media cultures

KW - media studies

KW - new media

KW - social media

KW - media theory

KW - Media and communication studies

KW - Transdisciplinary studies

U2 - 10.1080/14759550701299941

DO - 10.1080/14759550701299941

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 13

SP - 171

EP - 183

JO - Culture and Organization

JF - Culture and Organization

SN - 1475-9551

IS - 2

ER -