‘SCRITPTOLOGY’ THE ART OF ÉDOUARD LOUIS (RE-)VIEWED

Abstract

The authorial ‘I’ of organization and business scholarship has been accused of being too rational, excessively blind to the plight of the marginalized poor, too self-centred, comfortable and opportunistic. There is a problem here of the selection of focus, themes and pragmatics. And there is a problem of the ‘writing’ process itself – that is, of language, style and text. Much has been written about the former, but very little about the ‘scriptology’ or the writing process (Rhodes, 2019). As readers, we are confronted by everything from sterile, cliched and forced text; to evocative, credible and authentic writing. This article explores the ‘art’ of scriptology. It takes Édouard Louis’ texts of the lifeworld of the economic and socially disadvantaged as its exemplar. If the writing or scriptology is convincingly authentic and powerful, has it succeeded? I will make use of the Lacan/Zizek critique of the relationship between languaging (symbolization) and emancipation, as a foil to explore Louis’ achievement. Louis’ negation of the (French) ‘rust belt’ poverty trap is profoundly moving and authentic. But is a ‘negation of the negation’ necessary for anything to change? And what does that imply for the writing? The writing or scriptology is a key aspect to the ‘process of doing research’, which up to now has been insufficiently explored; this article intends to be a prolegomenon in this much needed direction.