Nathan Gerard
Biographic Data
| ID | 4055460 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nathan Gerard |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nathan |
| FAMILY NAME | Gerard |
| SIGNATURE | GÉRARD N |
| AFFILIATIONS | California State University, Long Beach |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4323-8030 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Toward an Ethics of Ambiguity in Critical Work and Organizational Psychology
In recent years, a scholarly movement has taken hold that is critical of work and organizational psychology (WOP). Referred to as critical work and organizational psychology (CWOP), this movement problematizes some of the foundational premises of WOP, including its lack of reflexivity on its own values and ethics. While bringing increased attention to reflexivity and ethics as vital to critical theorizing and praxis, CWOP has yet to concertedly e…
Winnicott and the politics of subjectivity at work
A Self More Alive to Sleep
What might Winnicott’s hatred of the impossible profession of teaching teach us? In this paper, I explore how hatred is not just at play in teaching, but vital to making contact with the self. Conceptual links are made between Winnicott’s own experiences with teaching, particularly his proneness to fall asleep in front of his students, and his work on hate, the primacy of aggression, and vitality rooted in the body. The implication is drawn that …
Still servants of work? Exploring the role of the critic in work and organizational psychology
This paper situates the burgeoning movement of critical work and organizational psychology (CWOP) within a broader and ongoing effort to rehabilitate work in a broken society. Drawing upon Loren Baritz's seminal critique of the field, The Servants of Power , the argument is made that while CWOP scholars clearly militate against pandering to the “power elite,” they nonetheless risk becoming servants of work, defined as the propensity to perpetuate…
To sit quietly by oneself
Building upon Max Weber’s insightful critique of the capitalist spirit as causing ‘unprecedented inner loneliness’, this article traces the trajectory of a fraught subjectivity over the course of a socioeconomic order from the Protestant Reformation to the present. Beginning with the premise that this socioeconomic order has a long history of both inviting and foreclosing upon the capacity to have an inner life, the general argument is pursued th…
Recognizing cocoon phenomena in a hospital restructuring
In this paper, we expand upon our use of the cocoon metaphor for understanding and working with organizations from a psychodynamic perspective. Conceived as both defensive and generative, cocoons are relational phenomena that manifest throughout organizations and risk being mistaken as dysfunctional entities in need of dismantling. To illustrate the utility of the cocoon metaphor in conceptualizing organizational problems, we present a case study…
More alive, though not necessarily more stable
Healthcare Management and the Humanities
Throughout the fields of medicine and organization studies, there are growing indications of the value of the humanities for enriching scholarship, education, and practice. However, the field of healthcare management has yet to consider the promise of the humanities for illuminating its particular domain. This perspective paper explores how the humanities might begin to play a role in healthcare management by focusing on three broad areas: (1) un…
Cursed creatives
This paper connects the critical discourse on the ‘creative class’ with a longstanding lineage of thought on creativity in psychoanalysis, demonstrating their combined value in understanding worker subjectivity and exposing the perils of contemporary creative work. Drawing upon object relations theorizing in particular, the argument is made that the ‘objects’ of contemporary creative work coupled with its surrounding ‘potential space’ prove sever…
Undoing work, rethinking community
Undoing work, rethinking community
To sit quietly by oneself
Building upon Max Weber’s insightful critique of the capitalist spirit as causing ‘unprecedented inner loneliness’, this article traces the trajectory of a fraught subjectivity over the course of a socioeconomic order from the Protestant Reformation to the present. Beginning with the premise that this socioeconomic order has a long history of both inviting and foreclosing upon the capacity to have an inner life, the general argument is pursued th…
Cursed creatives
This paper connects the critical discourse on the ‘creative class’ with a longstanding lineage of thought on creativity in psychoanalysis, demonstrating their combined value in understanding worker subjectivity and exposing the perils of contemporary creative work. Drawing upon object relations theorizing in particular, the argument is made that the ‘objects’ of contemporary creative work coupled with its surrounding ‘potential space’ prove sever…
Cursed creatives
This paper connects the critical discourse on the ‘creative class’ with a longstanding lineage of thought on creativity in psychoanalysis, demonstrating their combined value in understanding worker subjectivity and exposing the perils of contemporary creative work. Drawing upon object relations theorizing in particular, the argument is made that the ‘objects’ of contemporary creative work coupled with its surrounding ‘potential space’ prove sever…
Undoing work, rethinking community
Healthcare Management and the Humanities
Throughout the fields of medicine and organization studies, there are growing indications of the value of the humanities for enriching scholarship, education, and practice. However, the field of healthcare management has yet to consider the promise of the humanities for illuminating its particular domain. This perspective paper explores how the humanities might begin to play a role in healthcare management by focusing on three broad areas: (1) un…
Recognizing cocoon phenomena in a hospital restructuring
In this paper, we expand upon our use of the cocoon metaphor for understanding and working with organizations from a psychodynamic perspective. Conceived as both defensive and generative, cocoons are relational phenomena that manifest throughout organizations and risk being mistaken as dysfunctional entities in need of dismantling. To illustrate the utility of the cocoon metaphor in conceptualizing organizational problems, we present a case study…
More alive, though not necessarily more stable
Still servants of work? Exploring the role of the critic in work and organizational psychology
This paper situates the burgeoning movement of critical work and organizational psychology (CWOP) within a broader and ongoing effort to rehabilitate work in a broken society. Drawing upon Loren Baritz's seminal critique of the field, The Servants of Power , the argument is made that while CWOP scholars clearly militate against pandering to the “power elite,” they nonetheless risk becoming servants of work, defined as the propensity to perpetuate…
To sit quietly by oneself
Building upon Max Weber’s insightful critique of the capitalist spirit as causing ‘unprecedented inner loneliness’, this article traces the trajectory of a fraught subjectivity over the course of a socioeconomic order from the Protestant Reformation to the present. Beginning with the premise that this socioeconomic order has a long history of both inviting and foreclosing upon the capacity to have an inner life, the general argument is pursued th…
Toward an Ethics of Ambiguity in Critical Work and Organizational Psychology
In recent years, a scholarly movement has taken hold that is critical of work and organizational psychology (WOP). Referred to as critical work and organizational psychology (CWOP), this movement problematizes some of the foundational premises of WOP, including its lack of reflexivity on its own values and ethics. While bringing increased attention to reflexivity and ethics as vital to critical theorizing and praxis, CWOP has yet to concertedly e…
Winnicott and the politics of subjectivity at work
A Self More Alive to Sleep
What might Winnicott’s hatred of the impossible profession of teaching teach us? In this paper, I explore how hatred is not just at play in teaching, but vital to making contact with the self. Conceptual links are made between Winnicott’s own experiences with teaching, particularly his proneness to fall asleep in front of his students, and his work on hate, the primacy of aggression, and vitality rooted in the body. The implication is drawn that …
Political science (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Management and Organizational Studies (5 works) · Psychoanalysis (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Politics (4 works)