Are We Silent or Silenced? A Case Study of Working Mothers
This paper argues for a rhetorical approach to understand how teachers (working mothers) construct silence (resistance or acceptance) in their multiple identities, when academic decisions are taken in meetings that directly affect them and their work. This cross-sectional case study examines argum...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology
2010-12-01
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| Series: | JISR Management and Social Sciences & Economics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jisrmsse.szabist.edu.pk/index.php/szabist/article/view/469 |
| Summary: | This paper argues for a rhetorical approach to understand how teachers (working mothers) construct silence (resistance or acceptance) in their multiple identities, when academic decisions are taken in meetings that directly affect them and their work. This cross-sectional case study examines arguments for and against a structural change made in an educational institution for girls in Karachi, where 80%of the population is female faculty. The objective is to present how certain constructions (arguments) are made real while others are undermined as a rhetorical achievement through persuasive talk. Rhetorical analysis was chosen to expose the link between identity construction and silence, through rhetorical strategies drawing on local and cultural discourses with language as a unit of analysis. Since rhetoric is a study of argumentation and persuasion; its application to organizational studies may help the researcher to emphasize over its political functions and understand the language in a critical perspective. Semi-structured interviews with 12 respondents, for an in-depth analysis turned out to be the most effective technique for collecting such data.
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| ISSN: | 2616-7476 1998-4162 |