Polyphony and its Other

Abstract

A post-deconstruction ethics of honoring, respecting, and/or theorizing anOther via a concept of polyphony seems very attractive to organizational studies (De Cock and Jeanes 2006; Clegg et al. 2006). Many organizational studies intellectuals prefer ‘reasonableness’ and/or ‘historical meanings’ as an object of study to a more empirical one. This rhetorical strategy (amongst others) has claimed polyphony as a leading concept, celebrating dialogue, diversity, and intertextuality. But, as Gayatri Spivak has indicated, it is necessary to ask if anOther speaks at all in such practices. Spivak (1999) explores polyphony in terms of the subaltern and her (his) representation, making use of différance to clarify what a many-voiced perspective actually could imply. In this article, I deconstruct two organizational studies articles on polyphony, making use of Spivak’s insights.

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