Abstract
Introduction
Barbara Czarniawska left this world on April 7, 2024. With sadness, over the subsequent months we debated about how to remember her as a foundational member of this journal and a major figure in organization studies. Our choice to celebrate Barbara’s life with a focus on narrative was made with trepidation given the expansive and multidisciplinary aspects of her very rich oeuvre. But we came to see that her work on narrative provides a thread for tracing her influence over generations of scholars, as well as offering a trace that could be followed by generations to come.
We first met Barbara face to face in 1986 at a small conference of critical management scholars at Baruch College, NYC, and we met again in 1987 at a SCOS conference in Milan, where culture and symbolism was the centrepiece. From that moment on it was clear that for us knowing Barbara would be a continuing experience. For sure we had common interests but, as they sometimes do, our academic conversations quickly grew into a sustained and deepening friendship that lasted even when we didn’t meet in the same place physically or intellectually. Yet, whatever it was – whether in the world of ideas or movies or food or acquaintances – there was no time when we doubted the learning experiences she offered, or the love she shared with us. This may explain a bit our trepidation at organizing this set of memories, for no collection of words can capture the fullness that was Barbara, a fullness from which this journal also benefitted.
When Organization first appeared mid-1994, it showed up as an international and interdisciplinary journal for innovative and critical work on organization, theory and society (albeit ‘international’ translated editorially into UK, Europe and USA). As part of the founding editorial team, much of the leg work we did during the prior year was to search for editorial board members who would represent clearly the aims of the journal, as well as our and the publisher’s interest in having explicit editorial gender diversity. Barbara was of course an important choice, becoming an editorial board member from the first issue of the journal, agreeing to become part of the co-editors team in 2006 and returning to the editorial board when her term was over. Altogether, she filled editorial positions to the end of her life but also contributed to the intellectual value of the journal in several other ways during those many years. Her first publication in the journal appeared in 1995 as a lead article in vol. 2 (1): ‘Narration or Science? Collapsing the Division in Organization Studies’, followed by another lead article in 1997’s vol. 4 (1): ‘A Four Times Told Tale: Combining Narrative and Scientific Knowledge in Organization Studies’. This latter article demonstrated, in particular, another aspect of Barbara’s scholarly reach and didactic generosity, always eager to contribute innovative scholarship while also teaching others how to do so. In fact, between 1997 and 2004, she also published three books which became ‘go to’ works for organization scholars engaged in or wanting to learn narrative approaches to research. 1 Barbara’s influence through these works continues today, spanning generations of scholars and, as we expect, continuing to do so, carried forward by the voices of those she touched personally.
It is with this latter aim that we invited the contributions which follow. Each of these short pieces was written by someone influenced by Barbara’s narrative scholarship, among other works, and by having received Barbara’s personal touch and affection when producing their own. Organized from the earliest to the more recent, this collection shows a generational progression, and as such the voices carrying Barbara’s work toward the future. Specifically, Yiannis Gabriel offers a re-review of Barbara’s 1999 book,
And thus, these are not last words but inspirations for those who wish to follow the thread and carry forward the gifts Barbara left for all of us.
