Beyond bodies? The interplay between bodying and organizing

Thesis defence
Beyond bodies? The interplay between bodying and organizing

Sara BIGLIERI,
PhD candidate in the PhD programme ESCP, publicly defended her PhD thesis in Management Sciences.

December 17, 2024
14:00-17:00 (CET)
online via Zoom or at Campus Champerret - Salle 856

Attend this defence
(zoom link)

Abstract

This thesis reconsiders the concept of embodiment in organizational studies by introducing a processual understanding of the body, drawing on the concept of bodying, inspired by Erin Manning’s posthumanist philosophy. Grounded in dance improvisation as both an empirical field and epistemological approach, it views the body as a relational materiality, continuously evolving and actively shaping organizational processes.

Rooted in the artistic and performative practice of dance improvisation, which serves both as an empirical field and an epistemological framework, this research considers the body as a relational materiality, constantly evolving and actively shaping organizational processes.

The thesis unfolds in three successive parts, each delving deeper into the connections between bodying organizational theory, ethics, and methodology, while embracing the proposition that the researcher is an integral part of the research process and engaging in a dialogue between my experiences as a researcher and a dancer. The first study is a case study examining the Judson Dance Theater, an avant-garde dance movement of the 1960s that, by challenging established dance codes with improvised and experimental compositional practices, gave rise to a new form of collective organization. This study lays the groundwork for an ontological redefinition of embodiment, introducing a processual conception of the body. The second research axis focuses on embodied ethics. Departing from traditional conceptions of ethics, it explores how touch and joy can become tools for repair and transformation in the face of societal challenges by fostering bonds of solidarity and resilience. Through an affective ethnography, ethics is presented as a dynamic and negotiated process constantly evolving based on contexts and bodily experiences. Finally, the third study introduces research-creation, a method that intersects artistic practice and academic inquiry, and explores how bodying can bring to light the affective and relational dimensions in the co-creation of embodied and experiential knowledge, fostering collaborative research processes.

This thesis makes several significant contributions to organizational studies. First, drawing on an interdisciplinary approach, it proposes an ontological shift, a new vision of the body within organizations, and a processual and relational vision that goes beyond the static and mechanistic conceptions inherited from the Cartesian model. By adopting the perspective of bodying we understand the organization as an emergent process where materialities co-constitute, thus challenging traditional organizational structures. Second, the relational concept of bodying transcends the individual to situate itself in a transindividual dimension, thus highlighting the importance of the collective as a place for constructing individual meanings. Third, bodying invites us to rethink research practices by making them more embodied, privileging an affective approach that integrates the performative concept and the process of co-creation of knowledge between the researcher and their object of study and involving the researcher's body in the construction of knowledge.

Keywords: bodying, Manning, dance improvisation, ethics, touch, research-creation, post humanism, post qualitative research, embodied research

Jury