Aesthetics and emotion in an organisational ethnography
View/ Open
Date
2008-11Author
Kenny, Kate
Metadata
Show full item recordUsage
This item's downloads: 1189 (view details)
Recommended Citation
Kenny, K. (2008) Aesthetics and emotion in an organisational ethnography. International Journal of Work, Organization and Emotion Vol. 2, No. 4, pp.374-388
Published Version
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that an aesthetic approach can help us to better understand workplace ethnography. Ethnography is sensory by nature; it can incorporate a feeling of rightness and beauty in the experience of 'being-with' the organisation being studied. The process is inherently aesthetic. I explore this argument with an in-depth account of a researcher's experiences at a non-profit organisation. I identify the aesthetic of belonging that developed over time. This study shows how an aesthetic perspective helps us to understand the day to day experience of ethnography, and how it can be emotionally ambivalent and somewhat dark.