Working with words: Italian feminism and organization studies

Searching for a writing about organizations that is more real, relevant, and respondent, we propose to engage with Italian feminism of difference and the wealth of practices elaborated by small feminist groups and collectives, asso- ciated with it in the seventies. Currently undergoing a phase of rising interest, in Europe and North America, this strand of feminism—philosophically varied and complex—is characterized by the act of grounding theory in practice and articulating practices of political and personal trans- formation deeply anchored in society, yet outside in- stitutions. In this paper, we aim at presenting Italian feminism and more specifically introduce the main tenets of Italian feminism of difference (of the seventies) to organi- zation studies. We focus on a specific practice of Italian feminism of difference, namely the partire da sé (departing from oneself), prepared by the earlier practice of autoco- scienza (political consciousness‐raising). Resting particu- larly on the thinking of the philosopher Luisa Muraro, we frame the potential contribution of her theorizing the partire da sè practice in relation to existing organization research that is grounded in feminist stands.