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Living on the Edge: Towards a Monstrous Organization Theory

Following the recent curiosity for monsters in social and organizational research, this paper questions the power, purity and boundaries of organization by accentuating its risky encounters with heterogeneous, monstrous bodies. In an attempt to problematize organization theory’s implicit dissociation of monsters from organization, the understanding and treatment of monsters is traced across a variety of discursive formations in Western history—from Medieval and Renaissance theology and medicine, via Classical life science, freak shows and contemporary performance art, to recent social science and organization theory. Invoking Deleuze and Guattari’s (1988) work on creative involution, the paper goes beyond previous social and organizational research in thinking the radicality of monsters, and it concludes with an argument for a monstrous organization theory that: (i) encourages organizational researchers to critically reflect about their own monstrosity; (ii) challenges the stigmatization of monstrous embodiment; and (iii) delves into bodies that live on the edge and disrupt organizational boundaries.