Cartography as a Research Method for Work and Subjectivity Studies

Abstract

Objective: the study aims to present cartography as a suitable method to research work and subjectivity in administration. Proposal: in this article, cartography is supported by Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of ‘rhizome,’ aligned to post-structuralism and grounded on administration studies. Finally, this study proposes the flâneur-cartographer as a cross-cutting practice in research. The use of cartography is illustrated by describing the cartographic path of a study on subjectivation processes that make up the immaterial labor of migrants and refugees in Brazil. Conclusions: tracking, touching, landing, attentive recognition, and, above all, the journey as a flâneur-cartographer guide the approach to the territory. Participant-observation of events-activities and interview-meeting with the various participants are simultaneous strategies to follow the processes of the territory, evidencing the research-participation or investigation-interaction, the cartographer’s political role, and the ethos of trust necessary in cartography. The analysis of the jointly produced data occurs throughout the research. Keeping vigilance to scientific norms, cartography configures itself as an affective and political method to assess the relationship between work and subjectivity in existential territories of difficult access. Therefore, the method offers a social contribution, welcoming multiplicity, alterity, and mobility.