The Culture of Soft Work: Labor, Gender, and Race in Postmodern American Narrative (American Literature Readings in the Twenty-First Century)

The Culture of Soft Work examines American writers' responses to human resource management and motivational techniques in the workplace through readings of postmodern novels and a diverse range of other canonical and popular texts. 023060823X......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction: “Soft Is Hard”......Page 14 1 “No Good to Anybody”: Player Piano, General Electric, and the Consumption of Work......Page 28 2 Soft Soap, Snow Jobs, and Apartment Keys: Human Relations Management in Mid-Century Literature and Film......Page 58 3 Automating Feminism: Self-Actualization versus the Post-Work Society in Joanna Russ’s The Female Man......Page 102 4 A Cyborg’s Work Is Never Done: Programming Cyborgs, Workaholics, and Feminists in Marge Piercy’s He, She, and It......Page 126 5 “Sleeping Beauty”: Corporate Culture, Race, and Reality in Michael Crichton’s Rising Sun and Tom Clancy’s Debt of Honor......Page 152 6 Hoodoo Economics: On Management Gurus and Magical Black Men in Postmodern American Culture......Page 178 Conclusion......Page 214 Notes......Page 220 Bibliography......Page 254 B......Page 264 C......Page 265 D......Page 266 F......Page 267 G......Page 268 H......Page 269 L......Page 271 M......Page 272 P......Page 274 R......Page 275 S......Page 276 U......Page 278 W......Page 279

American workers over the past half-century have found themselves steeped in management discourses promoting teamwork, synergy, vision, and a host of other concepts meant to inspire an ever deeper commitment to work. The Culture of Soft Work offers an original examination of American writers' responses to these motivational techniques through readings of postmodern novels and a diverse range of other canonical and popular texts. Building on the work of scholars who have investigated the cultural impact of Frederick W. Taylor’s management theory, this study is the first to examine how post-Taylorist management has shaped Americans’ subjectivity and their art. Hicks ably demonstrates that while Taylor hardened work by stamping it with the masculine imprimatur of science, subsequent management theorists reconceived work as soft, emphasizing its emotional, spiritual, and irrational aspects—a transformation that has redefined work as postmodern and retooled the gendered subjectivity of American workers.

"American workers over the past half-century have found themselves steeped in management discourses promoting teamwork, synergy, vision, and a host of other concepts meant to inspire an ever deeper commitment to work. The Culture of Soft Work offers an original examination of American writers' responses to these motivational techniques through readings of postmodern novels and a diverse range of other canonical and popular texts. Building on the work of scholars who have investigated the cultural impact of Frederick W. Taylor's management theory, this study is the first to examine how post-Taylorist management has shaped Americans' subjectivity and their art. Hicks ably demonstrates that while Taylor hardened work by stamping it with the masculine imprimatur of science, subsequent management theorists reconceived work as soft, emphasizing its emotional, spiritual, and irrational aspects - a transformation that has redefined work as postmodern and retooled the gendered subjectivity of American workers."--BOOK JACKET Introduction: Soft is hard? "No good to anybody": player piano, General Electric, and the consumption of work Soft soap, snow jobs, and apartment keys: human relations management in mid-century literature and film Automating feminism: self-actualization vs. the post-work society in Joanna Russ's The female man A cyborg's work is never done: programming robots, workaholics, and feminists in Marge Piercy's He, she and it "Sleeping beauty": corporate culture, race, and reality in Michael Crichton's Rising sun and Tom Clancy's Debt of honor Hoodoo economics: on management gurus and magical Black men in postmodern American culture.