| Although the topic of bullying generally leads to discussions of the dynamics between and among children, bullying increasingly involves complex power structures among adults in their workplaces. The purpose of this project is to broaden the understanding of workplace bullying in the United States through the critical analysis of popular media and U.S. legal discourses. The analysis unravels the ways in which bullying is normalized, individualized, perpetuated and rewarded. It seeks to denaturalize the phenomenon and situate bullying as a construction that can be deconstructed and addressed. It interrogates the messages of resistance, agency and blame as productive and disciplinary strategies that permit bullying to operate with discursive and material impunity. Legal prohibitions alone will not prove to be the panacea but, along with reframed discourses, they will help undermine the naturalization of bullying in the workplace and open new avenues for exploring solutions and alternatives. |
