In Pursuit of Storytelling: A Conversation with Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Laureate in Literature

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This paper addresses an ethical issue which comes into play when a scholar sits down to write an article. It concerns rhetorical strategies traditionally employed in top-tier academic journals, specifically in business and management, which efface a unique authorial voice and are reader exclusive. To reclaim authorial voice and embrace the reader’s presence in text construction, we propose approaching scholarly writing as a dialogue between the writer and the reader, an emotional engagement which includes aspects of the notion of ‘tenderness’ coined by Olga Tokarczuk (2019, 2020). Writing with tenderness enables authors to engage with readers in a way that helps them unite fragments of text into a single coherent design.
Because in our digitalised and globalised world, there is a lack of universal values the writer could draw on to craft arguments convincing for the reader, we need to search for new ways to narrate our lives. Our approach involves the inclusion of what Tokarczuk (2019) calls ‘structures of mythology’ which are conceived of as values fundamental for human lives and allow for a wide range of content-dependent interpretations. Incorporating aspects of ‘tenderness’ in the process of text production will have important impact on the utility, accessibility, relevance, quality and global reach of scholarly writing.
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Writing Differently about Scholarly Issues: Defending Our Voices and Inviting the Reader

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When the fictional character Forrest Gump said: “Life is like a box of chocolates,” he offered an intriguing insight into at least one aspect of human existence. However, in creating his analogy he likely fell into a trap that sometimes ensnares social science researchers. For example, since the 1950s authors in disparate academic and professional genres have used metaphors/analogies to better understand organizational culture and create imagery encapsulating its key components. However, this essay argues that this genre is not always associated with methodological rigor. Problems include: metaphors/analogies are often employed without associated rationale; and, authors define their object of analysis in overly broad ways and/or fail to specify an agenda. This article explores these limitations in their historical context and offers a strategy for remedying them, a strategy with implications for scholarly written communication. Identified problems and a proposed solution are somewhat generic and are therefore relevant wherever analogies are used.
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<italic>Forrest Gump’s</italic> Contribution to Research Methodology: An Analogy for Organizational Culture and Some Musings on How to Write about Comparisons

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No writer has captured the reader’s imagination as vividly as the Marquis de Sade. Per his usual ramblings, he espouses evil via excruciatingly detailed sexual exploits; but, in later writings he is vehemently critical of those who engage in corrosive behavior. In <italic>Reflections on the Novel</italic>, de Sade provides step-by-step instructions to create repelling, enthralling, and memorable fictional narratives, then stratifies “what not to do” in order to avoid situations that may lead to irreparable physical, mental, and emotional damage in real life. In this same pamphlet, he advocates authenticity in writing and ways to empower the budding Sadist. Moreover, he is unique in this discourse because he deviates from previous writings and speaks directly to the audience. This article deconstructs <italic>Reflections on the Novel</italic> and it provides unique writing tenets as suggested by de Sade. These precepts are revolutionary because they provide new avenues of research in entrepreneurship.
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What Marquis de Sade’s Literary Critique Can Teach Us about Entrepreneurship

Preface

On the Plagues and Pleasures of Academic Publishing

Black Scholarship: Autoethnographies and Epistemic (in)Justice

Per Ardua ad Astra? Some Early-career Reflections on Academic Writing for Publication

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 21 (2024): Issue 1 (June 2024)

Volume 20 (2023): Issue 1 (December 2023)

Volume 19 (2023): Issue 1 (June 2023)

Volume 18 (2022): Issue 1 (December 2022)

Volume 17 (2022): Issue 1 (June 2022)

Volume 16 (2021): Issue 1 (December 2021)

Volume 15 (2021): Issue 1 (June 2021)

Discourses on Culture

Discourses on Culture is a semi-annual scholarly journal. The journal explores and develops the ideas of ‘interculturality’ and ‘interdisciplinarity’ insofar as these constructs are relevant to scholarship. Content published in the journal crosses disciplinary boundaries and often represents the collaborative efforts of authors from disparate backgrounds in Humanities and Social Sciences. The journal’s editors welcome academic discussions which bridge boundaries traditionally separating scholars from the disciplines of applied linguistics, literature and organisation and management studies. Diverse approaches to addressing theoretical, conceptual and methodological issues facilitate plurality in intellectual exchange.  Highlights   Intercultural and multi-disciplinary research approach which crosses subject-specific boundaries.  Innovative tools and methods for exploring aspects of human communication.  New theoretical insights that particularily advance our understanding of applied linguistics, second language learning and teaching, translation studies, literature, cultural studies and organisation and management studies.  Scholarly-based forum for researchers representing different fields of Humanities and Social Sciences. To enrich possibilities for cross-disciplinary synergy, we publish thematic issues which offer scholars, students and trainers the possibility to broaden their conceptual and practical approaches to a wide variety of topics and establish an inclusive  and participatory  academic environment.  To access the open calls for submissions click the tab below. Calls for SubmissionsThe latest version of the index of journals published by the Polish Ministry of Higher Education attributes 100 points to publications in the journal. Open Access Statement  The journal is an Open Access journal that allows a free unlimited access to all its contents without any restrictions upon publication to all users.  Open Access License This journal provides immediate open access to its content under the Creative Commons BY NC ND 4.0 license. Authors who publish with this journal retain all copyrights and agree to the terms of the above-mentioned CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 