Stelae from ancient India: Pondering anew through historical empathy for diversity

Abstract

Diversity management is generally considered to be rooted in activism, legislation and scholarship in Europe and North America. In this article, we draw on the notion of historical empathy to analyse and highlight an Eastern legacy, specifically Aśokan (273–232 BC) stelae, for management learning on diversity. Thus, we encourage pondering anew on history based on Aśokan teachings in ancient India, via dhamma (affective connection) and governance (perspective taking). We contribute to an emerging scholarship which uses history for management learning, and we do this through elaborating on the concept of historical empathy. Moreover, we reveal how an Eastern legacy may enable the (re)construction of the present in contemporary organisations which exist in the interstices of history, politics, gender and diversity. Through our analysis, we develop a matrix, which integrates historical empathy with dhamma, governance and historical contextualisation to provide implications for learning in the field of diversity.