Passing the torch: How Barbara Czarniawska influences generations of social scientists
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19245/25.05.pij.15.09.26.2Keywords:
Barbara Czarniawska, GenderAbstract
With close to 500 publications, Barbara Czarniawska is one of the most cited and influential scholars in organizational theory and related fields. How did she do this? In this article, I use my own story as an example of the many ways in which she influenced and continues to influence current and future scholarship. First, I show how she exposed me to literature and ways of thinking about the social world that changed how I conceptualized gender, and how this change resulted in a doctoral dissertation – a discourse analysis of research texts on women’s entrepreneurship – that in turn influenced how this research field conceptualized gender and paved the way for new research priorities. Second, I detail an example of how her theory that gender positioning is a result of negotiation between partners in conversation helped me guide a doctoral student from the next generation of scholars. Finally, by discussing the pedagogical methods she used in her doctoral courses, I show the practical ways in which she consistently encouraged collective, reflexive and critical thinking.
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