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Bodies and communication: how Act Up redefined what an "organization" is about

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  • Fabien Hildwein

    (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - USPC - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

Robin Campillo's acclaimed movie, "120 battements par minute" presents us, organizational management scholars, with a thought-provoking opportunity to reexamine our conceptions of what we mean and what we think of, when we say "organization". Act Up certainly is not the first organization with innovative features. History (and more particularly the history of social movements) is full of unorthodox groups and collectivities, questioning the Weberian ideal-type of hierarchical bureaucratic structures. Feminist movements for instance, as early as in the 1930s, had already developed symbolic performances to demand the right to vote (Molinier-Boyd, 1995) and has led an enduring reflection on alternative organizations (Ashcraft, 2001; Dorion, 2017; Freeman, 1972). What makes Act Up unique is how the concrete conditions of its struggle and its cause created a specific and innovative organization-or, to be more precise, how unusual organizing processes happened to adapt to extreme circumstances, pushing the group outside of traditional organizational tropes.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabien Hildwein, 2018. "Bodies and communication: how Act Up redefined what an "organization" is about," Post-Print hal-04000315, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04000315
    DOI: 10.3917/mana.213.1154
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04000315
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Leonhard Dobusch & Dennis Schoeneborn, 2015. "Fluidity, Identity, and Organizationality: The Communicative Constitution of Anonymous," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(8), pages 1005-1035, December.
    2. Léa Dorion, 2017. "Construire une organisation alternative," Revue française de gestion, Lavoisier, vol. 0(3), pages 143-160.
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