Abstract
PurposeFicto-feminism is offered here as a creative method for feminist historical inquiry in management and organizational studies (MOSs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper introduces a new method called ficto-feminism. Using feminist polemics as a starting point, ficto-feminism fuses aspects of collective biography with the emic potential of autoethnography and rhizomatic capacity of fictocriticism to advance not only a new account of history in subject but also in style of writing.FindingsThe aim of ficto-feminism is to create a plausible, powerful and persuasive account of an overlooked female figure which not only challenges convention but also surfaces her lost lessons and accomplishments to benefit today's development of theory and practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper reviews the methodological components of ficto-feminism and speaks to the merit of writing differently and incorporating fictional techniques.Originality/valueTo illustrate the method in action, the paper features a non-fiction, fictitious conversation with Hallie Flanagan (1890–1969) and investigates her role as national director of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) (1935–1939). The FTP was part of the most elaborate relief programs ever conceived as part of the New Deal (a series of public works projects and financial reforms enacted in the 1930s in the USA).
Highlights
The past is an elusive place to find women, female organizational actors and their many vital contributions
I introduce ficto-feminism; a novel postmodern, prowoman method that invites writers to draw on various sources to present a faithful but fictious conversation between a female historical figure and the researcher/author
This method allows for the creation of a more intimate portrait of a woman for whom we might only have scant traces of her endeavours, her career and of her life
Summary
The past is an elusive place to find women, female organizational actors and their many vital contributions. The ten thousand anonymous men and women – the et ceteras and the and-so-forths who did the work, the nobodies who were everybody, the somebodies who believed it – their dreams and deeds were not the end They were the beginning of a people’s theater in a country whose greatest plays are still to come Hallie’s story and her time with the FTP have value for practitioners operating in a variety of sectors and for scholars and theorists engaging in a new spectrum of capitalist behaviours and organizational structures In this retelling, I went beyond the sources and played in the liminal spaces, to deliver a portrait of Hallie that revealed my passion and her personality. Hallie’s time with the FTP offers important lessons in leadership and management practice and in fusing creative output with social good and economic stimulus. Perhaps others will be feminists interested in using this method to introduce other neglected figures
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