Towards a queer politics and ethics within organization studies

The chapter begins by problematizing the very idea of queer theory as an easily discernible body of ideas, embedding this critique in the origins and etymology of queer and its colloquial, political and philosophical meanings (Halperin, 1995, 2003; Hall, 2002; Jagose, 1996; Edelman, 2004). It then considers the context of queer ethics and politics, noting the variation in academic writing on how these topics have been understood and put into practice in everyday life. We then consider how queer theory has permeated organization studies, reviewing some of the latest contributions made by organizational scholars to a growing body of queer inspired scholarship. Highlighting the shortage of queer theory-based research on politics and ethics in organization studies, we move to a consideration of how we might queer ethics within organization studies and in doing so, politicize an ethic of openness to the Other premised upon a recognition of mutual inter-corporeal vulnerability, a theme to which we return below.