An Ecology of Resistance

Abstract

This paper begins an inquiry into the subject of resistance. Indiffusion theory and in the related field of organizational development,resistance is overdetermined. In other words, the topic is typicallyglossed and is too easily identified as an automatic, and by naturenegative, response to change: a change that is to be managed. Resistancemight be better viewed in terms of the potential elements that compriseit, including: individuals' internal and external responses to change,degrees of choice or fear, and/or levels of engagement andparticipation. In order to more fully conceptualize the theme, thisresearch proposes studying how resistance is understood in a subset ofdisciplines and arenas where the construct is meaningful. The goal is toinvestigate the phenomenon - and to begin to build an exploratory modeland language that more fully accounts for the complexity of resistance,as it is interpreted and experienced. Several paths are suggested, eachof which, respectively, contributes to building a systemicinterpretation, grammar, and reception theory for resistance.Resistance n. 1. a. The act of resisting. b. The capacity to resist. 2.A force that tends to oppose or retard motion. 3. {[}Elect.] Theopposition to electric current characteristic of a medium, substance, orcircuit element. 4. An underground organization engaged in a strugglefor national liberation in a country under military or totalitarianoccupation. 5. {[}Psychoanal.] A process in which the ego opposes theconscious recall of unpleasant experiences. - American HeritageDictionary, 1985.