Abstract
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.
Nyla A. Ansari, Dr Amanat Ali Jalbani. (2010) Are We Silent or Silenced? A Case Study of Working Mothers, Journal of Independent Studies and Research-Management, Social Sciences and Economics, Volume-08, Issue-2.
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