Business History

Purpose of the course
The course aims to provide a knowledge of the methods and contents of business history, with a focus on the interaction between organizational knowledge and practice in a long-term perspective.

Students are expected to learn how the historical method works, why it is different from the methods of social sciences, and how it may supplement the latter.

General knowledge of methods in social sciences.
Basic knowledge of general history.

Lessons will develop along a three-parted scheme, focusing on
· What is historical research? A methodological introduction.
· History and management studies.
· Historical practice.
A peculiar attention will be paid for the debate on the utility of an historical approach for students’ research projects.

M. Bucheli, & R. D. Wadhwani, Organizations in Time:History, Theory, Methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
P. Clark & M. Rowlinson, 2004, The Treatment of History in Organisation Studies: Towards an ‘Historic Turn’?, Business History, 46(3): 331-52.
S. Decker, 2013, The Silence of the Archives: Postcolonialism and Business History, Management and Organisational History 8(2): 155-173.
S. Decker, 2015, Mothership reconnection: Microhistory and institutional work compared, in The Routledge Companion to Management and Organizational History, London: Routledge: 222-238.
G. Favero, The exceptional normal at work: Absence and presence, silence and voice. Paper presented at the workshop Applied microhistory on March 15, 2016, EHESS Paris.
S. Fellman & A. Popp, 2013, Lost in the archive: the business historian in distress, in B. Czarniawska and O. Löfgren (eds.), Coping with excess. How organizations, communities and individuals manage overflows, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar: 216-243.
S. Fellman & M. Rahikainen (eds.), Historical Knowledge: In Quest of Theory, Method and Evidence: Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
M. Rowlinson, J. Hassard & S. Decker, 2014, Research Strategies for Organizational History: A Dialogue between Historical Theory and Organization Theory, Academy of Management Review, 39(3): 250-274.

Evaluation will be based on student participation (20%), class presentations (30%), research exercise (10%), and on a final research project (1500-3000 words) discussing the possibility of an historical approach to the managerial research interests of the student, to be previously agreed with the teacher (40%).
The grade will be assigned on the basis of a pass-or-fail judgement, but a more precise assessment will be given as a feedback to each student.

Students are required to
1) actively discuss assigned readings that will be presented by the teacher;
2) present assigned articles, books and chapters (the syllabus will be adjusted depending on the number of attending students);
3) perform an exercise in critical historical research, and present its results.
Students are also required to prepare and discuss a project with an historical research approach to their specialization in management (final paper).

Inglese

Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

scritto e orale

Questo insegnamento tratta argomenti connessi alla macroarea "Capitale umano, salute, educazione" e concorre alla realizzazione dei relativi obiettivi ONU dell'Agenda 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile