The Business Story and the Occupational

A story in the “occupational” genre develops within a professional setting, like a hospital, airport, or police department. Occupational novels (and film and television scripts) are widely consumed but rarely studied. In this course, we will take a deep dive into the history of the genre, beginning with works from French and Soviet realisms, and continuing to American police procedurals and Japanese business novels.

Despite its popular image, works in this genre will lead us to profound philosophical questions about collective intelligence, personal belonging, the emergence of institutional agency, and the feeling of personal powerlessness in the face of large bureaucracies. Readings from Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Mary Douglas, Sara Ahmed other institutional theorists will therefore anchor our weekly discussion.