Reframing the possible: Rancièrian aesthetics and the study of organization

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This paper draws upon the work of the philosopher Jacques Rancière in order to outline a reconfigura-tion of the relations between aesthetics, art and organization (theory). For this, I will consider a specific notion of aesthetics as the distribution of the sensible that enables modes of articulation, i.e. ways of perceiving, thinking and saying (Rancière, 2004a). Hence, aesthetics here does neither refer to a theory of taste and sensual pleasure, nor solely to art theory or the study of specific forms of art. For reasons that will be discussed in this paper, Rancière nevertheless attributes to art a significant power of rearranging and expanding what can be perceived and what is thinkable (Rancière, 2007b). I will suggest that a Rancièrian thinking of aesthetics in general as well as its implications for exploring artistic endeavours in particular are interesting terrain for the study of organization and the field of organizational aesthetics, most notably by provoking the organizational scholar to think rupture and dissent, hence emergence and newness from an aesthetico-political perspective.
Original languageEnglish
JournalAesthesis
Volume2
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)32-42
Number of pages11
ISSN1751-9853
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes