Academics and artists
Introduces a new white paper - co-authored with Christa Sathish - that compares academic writing to various art forms
Artist: Jos Harzing, Title: Mother with children and dog, Material: Polyester, Year: 1963, Location: Station restaurant Driebergen-Zeist
As a grand-daughter, daughter, sister and aunt of artists, I have often compared academic writing to art. In the acknowledgments of my PhD thesis I already referred to research being akin to art in that it requires matching the 1% inspiration with 99% perspiration. In this video on why academia can still be a great career, I compared academics and artists in terms of careers.
Academic writing and art
However, there may also be similarities on the level of day-to-day work practices. In my last three papers, dealing with linguistic diversity in multinationals, a reinterpretation of ethnocentric staffing, and inpatriation and subsidiary capability building, my co-authors and I spent an awful lot of time crafting, rewriting, and polishing our work.
In one case we had to start on a completely fresh canvas after our original creation wasn’t appreciated by the critics (aka reviewers). In another case, we had to cut ruthlessly to reveal the diamond hidden within the rough cut of competing story lines. The third paper had a slightly less tortured journey, being accepted at our first-choice journal after only one R&R. However, we had polished the paper so much before submission that our fingers and brains hurt. We must have looked at every word in that paper five times!
At the same time, however, these three papers were a glorious experience in terms of collaboration. They were each written with a different set of two co-authors. On each of these three papers every co-author played their part to perfection, whilst at the same time caring deeply about making the collective end product the best it could be.
From sketch note to white paper
When reflecting on these projects for an – as yet unfinished – blogpost about the joy of co-authorships, the analogy with art came to mind again. Not just the parallel with 99% perspiration aka bloody hard work, but also the analogy with different art forms: painting, sculpting, and acting.
So I made a sketch note (see academic writing as sketching) with some rough ideas in my “blog ideas document” with the plan to write up a blogpost about it at some stage. I have at least fifty sketch notes in various stages of development. So, the idea languished for quite a while until Christa Sathish read the sketch note. It triggered lots of great ideas with her, and she offered to co-author the post with me.
In the writing process our ideas multiplied and, at 5,000 words, the resulting piece was far too long for a blogpost. So we decided to publish it as a white paper: The art of academic writing. You can find the entire white paper here, but you can also skip to individual sections by clicking on the links below. We hope you enjoy our reflections and they inspire you to think further about the parallels between academics and artists.
Related video
Related blogposts
- How to create a sustainable academic career
- How to get promoted in academia?
- Transforming academia
- The Academic Woman Interview (3): Research culture
- What are your current passions and interests?
- This little girl: message to my younger self
- How to prevent burn-out? About staying sane in academia
Copyright © 2024 Anne-Wil Harzing. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Wed 24 Apr 2024 15:35
Anne-Wil Harzing is Professor of International Management at Middlesex University, London and visiting professor of International Management at Tilburg University. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a select group of distinguished AIB members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business. In addition to her academic duties, she also maintains the Journal Quality List and is the driving force behind the popular Publish or Perish software program.
