
Organizing Vulnerability
Melissa Tyler(Author)
Bristol University Press
1st Edition
Published on 31. March 2026
Book
Hardback
188 pages
978-1-5292-3895-2 (ISBN)
Description
How might vulnerability be rethought beyond its traditional associations with weakness and reimagined as the basis for solidarity?
Across the world, there are unprecedented numbers of dispossessed people; rights and resources are increasingly inaccessible to those who need them most, and the responsibilities we have to one another are continually undermined and exploited.
Referencing three sets of social relations - breathing, grieving and appearing - this book examines how recognition of our shared but always socially situated vulnerability could be the basis for organizing our lives in ways that better support relationality, solidarity and care, now and for the future.
Across the world, there are unprecedented numbers of dispossessed people; rights and resources are increasingly inaccessible to those who need them most, and the responsibilities we have to one another are continually undermined and exploited.
Referencing three sets of social relations - breathing, grieving and appearing - this book examines how recognition of our shared but always socially situated vulnerability could be the basis for organizing our lives in ways that better support relationality, solidarity and care, now and for the future.
Reviews / Votes
'Beautifully written, intellectually stimulating and much needed given the critical, pressing realities and lived experiences of those facing increasing precarity and marginalization. Importantly, the book responds to the enduring question of why we cannot recognise or act on our shared vulnerability, what reinforces the boundaries between us and how scholarship on organizations and organizing can advance our understanding of relationality and the ethics of interdependency.' Sheena J. Vachhani, University of Bristol 'We are all vulnerable throughout our lives and could never survive without each other. But nobody analyses the uneven, situational effects of our interdependence better than Melissa Tyler, who covers brilliantly all we need to change to create genuine human flourishing. Everybody should read this erudite, compelling book. I relished every page.' Lynne Segal, author of Lean on Me'This book is so important for critical disability studies and the social justice movement.' Alison Lapper, artist, activist and author of My Life in My Hands 'Professor Melissa Tyler is a leading organizational scholar. Her work is always insightful, groundbreaking and a joy to read. This book is no different, offering a profound and necessary reimagining of vulnerability as a foundation for solidarity, care and collective life.' Kate Kenny, University of Galway
More details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
2 s/w Abbildungen
2 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
440 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5292-3895-2 (9781529238952)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Melissa Tyler
Organizing Vulnerability
E-Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Bristol University Press
€40.99
Available for download

Melissa Tyler
Organizing Vulnerability
Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Bristol University Press
€39.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Melissa Tyler is Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the University of Essex
Content
Introduction: Being Vulnerable in Relation to One Another
1. Vulnerability and/as Organization
2. Existing: The Social Relations of Breathing
3. Enduring: The Social Relations of Grieving
4. Enacting: The Social Relations of Appearing
5. Radical Vulnerability: Organizing for Workable Lives
1. Vulnerability and/as Organization
2. Existing: The Social Relations of Breathing
3. Enduring: The Social Relations of Grieving
4. Enacting: The Social Relations of Appearing
5. Radical Vulnerability: Organizing for Workable Lives