Butler's Work Research Articles

Judith Butler's theoretical perspectives within a nursing context-a scoping review.

Philosopher Judith Butler has influenced how people talk about vulnerable bodies and sees vulnerability as universal, existential, and relational. Being vulnerable is part of the human condition. The main theoretical areas that run across Butler's work; power, knowledge and subjectivity, performativity, and ethics-are of particular relevance to nursing practice. This review aims to explore how Butler's theoretical work is reflected in research literature within a nursing context. We conducted a scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework. A systematic literature search of CINAHL (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), and Web of Science identified 15 papers. Butler's theoretical work was applied at an individual and social level in research literature within a nursing context. Nurses need to reflect on their clinical practice and role as health professionals in relation to power and performativity in encounters with patients who are marginalized. Nurses' working conditions, recognition, and understanding are strongly influenced by society, and calling nurses heroes undermines their capacity to challenge and resist the hero identity. The healthcare system's impact on patient-nurse encounters challenges patients' and nurses' subjectivity, performativity, and power relations. The review allowed us to describe how Butler's theoretical work can facilitate a reflection on nursing practice which is a prerequisite for caring, ethical relationships, and working conditions within a nursing context. Butler's concepts can provide useful perspectives on how nurses understand, communicate with, and care for patients, as well as a nuanced understanding of the nursing role and power relations and structures.

Unveiling Otherness: Gendered Memories and Identity in Octavia Butler's Dawn

In recent years, American Studies have shifted their focus towards the political realm. However, despite the undermining of many moral-philosophical dogmas of the Western metaphysical tradition by poststructuralism and deconstruction, a significant portion of the political claims made in this revisionist turn still rely, albeit tacitly, on these moral and ethical assumptions. As these assumptions often clash with the theoretical foundations of revisionist works, some proponents resort to what could be termed as the "pathos of marginality" and rely on vague concepts of "otherness." Furthermore, these political-ideological interpretations often neglect aesthetic aspects, suspecting them of carrying implicit and hegemonic strategies of representation. This abstract delves into the exploration of gendered memories and identity within Octavia Butler's seminal work, Dawn. The narrative unfolds in a world fundamentally transformed by alien intervention, where the protagonist, Lilith, grapples with the complexities of her own identity amidst encounters with enigmatic extraterrestrial beings. Through an analysis of key characters and narrative themes, this study elucidates the nuanced portrayal of otherness and the role of gendered memories in shaping individual and collective identities. Butler's visionary narrative offers a thought-provoking examination of the intersections between memory, gender, and the construction of the self in a post-apocalyptic world. By delving into the philosophical underpinnings and ethical implications of otherness, this research aims to shed light on the intricate dynamics of identity formation and the quest for belonging in speculative fiction.

A Managed Approach to On-Street Sex Working: Messages for Social Work Practice

Abstract Presently, there is limited research examining sex work and social work in the UK; however, the needs of sex workers often intersect with various areas of practice. This article sets out to enhance social work practice by drawing upon empirical findings from an Independent Review of the Managed Approach to On-Street Sex Working (2020) commissioned by the Safer Leeds Partnership. The Review evaluated the implementation of an approach to on-street sex work introduced in 2014, which established the parameters of on-street sex working in the city, including geographical boundaries and hours. Furthermore, it implemented a multi-agency response to managing problems or needs associated with its presence in the community. The Review of the Managed Approach employed a mixed-method approach that included sex workers, residents, businesses and professionals. However, this article will focus on thematically analysed qualitative data from semi-structured interviews conducted with sex workers and specialist agencies and focus groups with professionals working across a range of related fields. It will explore examples of good practice relevant to social work, whilst highlighting broader structural impediments that increase marginalisation for sex workers. In order to do so, it will draw upon the work of Butler (2006, 2009, 2020) to examine the data.

Butler, Hegel and the Role of Recognition in Organizations

AbstractIn the past decade, the concept of recognition appears to have acquired an important theoretical position in the work and organization literature. While in principle recognition denotes a positive and social form of freedom, in current-day organizations recognition may be often negative or instrumental. In order to capture this ambivalence in organizational recognitive conditions, the recent work of the American philosopher Judith Butler appears particularly applicable. The purpose of this paper is to explore theoretically to what extent her views on recognition shed new light on the variety of recognition patterns in current-day organizations. Towards that purpose, this paper first turns to the ‘master-slave’ episode in the work of Hegel and its influential interpretation by Kojève, which are at the heart of Butler’s reading and conception of recognition. As a second step, the ambivalent conception of recognition in the work of Butler is discussed and critically assessed, while in the final section this conception is extended to work and organizations.

Masculine enhancement as health or pathology: gender and optimisation discourses in health promotion materials on performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs)

ABSTRACT The consumption of performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) is commonly pathologised in public health discourse as stemming from an unhealthy relationship to masculinity, and is often framed as intrinsically ‘risky’ and fundamentally at odds with ‘good health’. This article examines Australian health promotion materials on PIEDs to analyse their role in shaping notions of good health, normal gender and appropriate self-improvement. To do so, it draws on the work of Butler, Law and Latour to consider how these materials co-constitute men and their health, often in problematic ways. First, we examine the ways in which PIEDs are constituted via a politics of the ‘natural’, then consider how the health promotion materials on PIEDs participate in the regulation of appropriate, healthy masculinity, and conclude by examining how adolescent masculinity is co-constituted with PIEDs. We observe a key tension between health promotion’s avowed interest in improvement and optimisation and its treatment of PIED consumers as aberrant, vulnerable and insecure subjects whose drive to enhance and optimise is characterised by pathology and addiction. We conclude by arguing that health promotion materials on PIEDs fail to acknowledge the exceedingly normative character of enhancement practices in contemporary society.

‘The Other Dream’ of Erewhon: An Essay on the Machines’ Discreet Rebellion

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of Samuel Butler's seminal work, Erewhon: or, Over the Range,and Vladimir Poleganov's contemporary novel, The Other Dream.The analysis centers on the discreet influence exerted by technology in the pursuit of territorial survival. The study delves into the catastrophicconsequences arising from both the success and failure of this technological endeavour.

What’s in an index? The hidden work of book indexing

This paper delves into the cultural and social dimensions of indexes by examining their functionality and production, drawing on discussion of lists as cultural techniques in the literature of the social sciences and cultural studies. A brief overview of the various dimensions of lists emphasises discontinuity – the absence of a narrative or argumentative connection between the items in the list. Lacking a predetermined order, lists have the potential to accommodate different arrangements and comparisons, a concept exemplified by the alphabetical arrangement of an index, which reconfigures a narrative text through its non-narrative structure. This radically different order structure is one of the defining characteristics of an index, providing an opportunity to view the pre-existing text from a new perspective. Acting as a mediator, the largely invisible (and often unappreciated) indexer bridges the gap between the structure of the text and the new order of the developing index, which is the result of a myriad micro-decisions on what to include and exclude. The resultant index not only supplements the existing text but may also challenge the identity of the text itself, a concern that was expressed by early critics of indexes. Examples from literary indexes in the works of Butler, Vonnegut and Perec demonstrate how indexes may deliberately catch the attention of the reader and are far more than functional devices for information retrieval.

Useless bodies? Exploring the ethical potential of art

AbstractThis paper examines the ethical value of artistic artifacts in challenging the unequal valuation of working bodies with a focus on the contemporary art exhibition ‘Useless bodies?’ by Danish artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. Drawing on Judith Butler's work and posthuman theory, particularly Braidotti's contributions, the paper argues that this exhibition exemplifies how art can foster an ethics of interdependency, one that both critiques dynamics of misrecognition and imagines alternative futures. Furthermore, the paper proposes that this affirmative and critical ethics provides theoretical and methodological foundations for work and organization studies, prompting new questions about the significance of embodiment, esthetics, and artifacts for conducting (ethical) research.

Feminist alliances against precarity or capitalism? A continuation of the Butler–Fraser debate

The relation between different forms of oppressive structures has been an object of dispute throughout the history of feminism. One of the most influential debates devoted to this issue is the one between Judith Butler and Nancy Fraser during the 1990s. Although the debate attracted a great deal of attention, and both thinkers have subsequently developed their theories by introducing novel concepts to describe oppression as well as the conditions of contemporary emancipatory movements, they have not continued to engage in each other's work. This article offers a critical reading of the positions that Fraser and Butler took in the 1990s debate, as well as an identification of shifts in their thinking ensuing from the debate. A particular interest of the article is their conceptualisations of the grounds for political alliances among groups with distinct experiences of oppression. The article not only offers a critique of both Butler's and Fraser's positions in the 1990s debate but also argues that the way in which Fraser's trajectory has come to directly address the issue of the capitalist social order, and which can also be read as an implicit self-critique, is more satisfactory than Butler's later work on precarity.

Troubling organizational violence with Judith Butler: Surviving whistleblower reprisals

AbstractHow do workers who encounter violence by deviating from organizational norms make sense of their experiences? Our article engages with Judith Butler's work on vulnerability and troubling to address this. Inspired by these concepts while analyzing empirical data gathered from whistleblowers in financial services, we propose a framing termed “aggression‐troubling”. Aggression‐troubling encompasses an awareness of: the vulnerability and relationality attending scenes of organizational violence; how imposing ideals of what is “normal” come into play as part of that violence; and how these structures might be destabilized and disrupted—or troubled. Our second contribution is analytic: we find that the singular and immediate presence of the individual other‐in‐relation—the “you” responsible for exerting violence—is a critical part of how people make sense of the scene of violence. We adopt a methodological approach focused on how individuals’ retrospective accounts of experiences of violence, and we analyze cases of whistleblowing in financial services to develop our arguments. Aggression‐troubling by no means downplays the injury and pain that normative organizational violence can cause, nor does it suggest that power relations can easily be overturned. This framing does however offer a deeper exploration of experiences of normative violence. It provides insights into how it can be survived and potentially overcome, with contributions for research and practice.

Protest, race and grievability: What does it mean for lives to matter?

AbstractIn this article I bring the political philosophy of Judith Butler to bear on contemporary and inter‐related arguments about race and (in)equality. Focusing most directly on the UK context and taking account of recent changes in UK law, I further address the role of social protest in the pursuit of equality and social justice. Starting with a seemingly simple question which echoes the language of contemporary social protest, I ask ‘what does it mean for lives to matter’. In responding to this I pursue the following aims: (i) develop an awareness of human mattering which moves beyond the lens of neoliberal individualism; (ii) generate an understanding of protest as an intensely human and ethical endeavour; (iii) engage Butler's philosophical arguments in a manner that is accessible to those unfamiliar with their work. I begin with an overview of contemporary social protests and outline recent developments in UK law before introducing key concepts from Butler's work. I then apply Butler's arguments to explore the construct and the language of mattering, before expanding on what it means to matter and the role of social protest in the pursuit of grievable lives.

Ontology as ideology: A critique of Butler's theory of precariousness

Ontology as ideology: A critique of Butler's theory of precariousness

Bisexuality in Bohemian Rhapsody: A Queer Study

This research was meant to describe the shape of sexuality in Bryan Singer's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) by analyzing the main character from the Queer perspective. Bisexual is a term used to describe relationships of people both with the same sex and the opposite sex for a certain period, including being attracted to or having sexual activity. Bohemian Rhapsody discusses Queen's career journey by showcasing the lead singer as a highlight. Freddie struggles to live in a world of hedonism and stigma, preconceptions, and the erasure of Bisexuality as a social identity. It will answer how to construct binary desires and how society shapes them by applying theory from Butler's work "Gender Trouble." to fulfil this study; In this study, either textual or visual film analysis will be applied to the subsequent discussion. 1.) Determine forms of Bisexuality in Bohemian Rhapsody; 2.) Reveal Bisexuality towards the character interactions in Bohemian Rhapsody. Through this interpretation, bisexual visibility is frequently devalued and forced to join monosexism with similar terms such as gay and lesbian, resulting in the erasure of Bisexuality. This behaviour is predicated on the social and cultural stereotypes attached to "bisexual."

A new analytical model to predict heavy oil production rate in the SAGD process

AbstractAn analytical model for predicting the oil production rate in the steam‐assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process is presented in this article. The suggested correlation is found based on Butler's original work. It considers the most effective parameters of the process that emphasize the influence of gravity drainage and that are grouped together in the form of the Rayleigh's number. The present model introduces three coefficients (i, j, and k) into the equation, which are determined by minimizing an objective function based on the difference between the six experimental SAGD datasets and the calculated results. The tool chosen for the minimization is the genetic algorithm (GA). After the initial evaluation, the same approach is used for other reservoir characteristics to ensure the robustness of the new equation. Having considered various simulation outcomes with an average error of 8.9% makes this model a credible one for predicting the SAGD production rates. The novelty of the new predictive model lies within its unique approach, making it quite fast and applicable to a wide range of reservoirs with low associated estimation inaccuracies.

The insistence on exclusion: The anti‐integrative impulse and thwarted mourning in large groups

AbstractThis paper explores resistance to equality‐promoting measures as the external manifestation of thwarted mourning of losses incurred in social trauma. This resistance, which is evidenced in backlashes against social justice, is termed the anti‐integrative impulse. Outlining the unconscious mechanisms that undergird both the desires for equality and desires to maintain inequality, the central importance of mourning in social equality movements will be established, using Moglen's model of mourning social injury and Butler's work on grievability. Common defenses against social justice efforts will be discussed and understood in terms of refusal to mourn collective losses.

Nothing Compares to You

Nothing Compares to You

Youth resilience and training programmes in Australia and the US: Beyond neoliberal social therapeutics

ABSTRACT In a world where opportunities are increasingly limited, young people are encouraged to become resilient and entrepreneurial in their pursuit of the traditional markers of adulthood. Social enterprise and community organisations dedicated to supporting young people seek to recast these expectations by providing supportive work and training environments and cultures and encouraging young people to find passion and hope in economic conditions that have failed to deliver the security and wellbeing that was promised. These organisations identify and respond to complex issues like unemployment and disengagement, homelessness and housing precarity, and provide personal development, support, education, training and employment options. In this paper, we explore how youth-focused social enterprise and community organisation programmes shape dispositions of resilience and entrepreneurialism. Drawing on the work of Butler and Anthanasiou and Dey and Mason, we argue that social organisations re-imagine the ‘social therapeutics’ that young people may require in relation to their participation in neoliberal forms of governmentality. We hope to challenge conceptualisations of such interventions as purely bounded by neoliberal and pro-capitalist therapeutic logics, by identifying the complex and sometimes contradictory goals that community organisations and social enterprises work towards in supporting young people to navigate a precarious economic landscape.

“Show us what you’ve got”: From experiences of undoing to mobilizing agentic vulnerability in research

AbstractThis inquiry both builds on and extends exploration into gendered research through a focus on researcher vulnerability and its associated ethics. We discuss six critical vignettes across Western and Eastern contexts in which female researchers are “undone” and subsequently “redone” during their research endeavors. We draw upon Butler's work on gender and vulnerability, theorized as a subset of precarity. Attention is drawn to attempts to reframe, understand, and mobilize vulnerability differently, as a form of resistance, research activism, and emancipatory enactment. We propose agentic vulnerability as speaking to felt moments of vulnerability experienced in field research. We extend this contribution into a theorization of the researcher as activist, outlining practical applications of this concept. Ultimately, we seek to reposition agentic vulnerability in institutional research as a source of new ethics, research practices, and activism.

Feminist Vulnerability Politics: Judith Butler on Autonomy and the Pursuit of a "Livable Life"

This article contributes to ongoing feminist debates about the politics of vulnerability by attempting to clarify vulnerability's relationship to autonomy. Building from Judith Butler's recent work—specifically her precariousness/precarity distinction—I argue that vulnerability can both enable and limit autonomy, depending on the type of vulnerability in question. Specifically, precariousness accentuates the positive and generative dimensions of vulnerability on autonomy, while precarity indicates unjust constraints on one's ability to exercise some degree of self-determination. My hope is that this clarification can be of assistance in discerning whether vulnerability can be of practical value for feminist social justice movements. If we think about respect for persons as autonomous agents as a core feminist value, then the aim of political responses to vulnerability must be developed in a way that enables autonomy, lest the discourse of vulnerability be co-opted to legitimize and sanction reactionary politics.

Learning in the presence of others: Using the body as a resource for teaching

Many great cultures of the world have recognised the impossibility of teaching. Governments in various colonial countries continue to spend huge sums of money on ‘closing the gap’ in Indigenous education, yet national assessment figures would support the claim that teaching is indeed an impossibility. This paper draws on some of Biesta’s recent theorisation to highlight the double impossibility of teaching in Indigenous education. While representation and miscommunication surely make teaching an impossible profession, I nevertheless return to the question, what is possible in education? I apply the more recent work of Butler to highlight how vulnerability can allow us to hear the story of others. Vulnerability allows us into the lives of others, and to recognise that they are already implicated in ours, noting that certain bonds are actually shaped through the reversibility of the story. I examine a presentation to teacher education students on the Stolen Generations as a means of understanding how the role of power in constituting body vulnerability can be leveraged in the curriculum beyond the discourse of independent and self-motivated learning.