D.Phil. / My social entrepreneurship case study, and in particular my life as a “Draytonian Changemaker”, takes the form of an autoethnographic dissertation journey (Garratt, 2003). You are cordially invited to witness this journey, which will be presented by using a relatively new qualitative method. Autoethnography, a relatively new qualitative method, represents: “… a multilayered, intertextual case study that integrates private and social experience and ties autobiographical to sociological writing …” (Ellis, 1995, p. 3). I trust that you will enjoy my expedition as a social entrepreneur but, more importantly, in the words of the leading social entrepreneur of autoethnography, Prof. Carolyn Ellis (University of North Carolina, USA), urge her readers to “experience the power of autoethnography, feel its truths as well as come to know it intellectually!” (Ellis, 2004, p. xix). You will encounter the many people who influenced my life, amongst others, Prof. Willem Schurink, my promoter, who acted as my “tour guide” and “Ultra City” en route. I am an activist by nature and this characteristic naturally has also taken root in my writing (see Sparkes, 2002). Ultimately, I would like you to embrace my world: the world of the Draytonian Changemaker, of people who believe that we can change the world with our burning desire to make a difference through revolutionary social innovations. The following points are of particular importance for this rather unusual journey: • The journey also represents the cultural setting of my world – the world of Susan Steinman – the social entrepreneur, activist and workplace violence expert in the greater universe of social entrepreneurs. This relatively new concept is explored in Part I of this thesis in which the terrain of the journey is mapped by acquainting the reader with the concept of social entrepreneurship as it is understood by scholars, as well as the viewpoints of Ashoka, a fellowship of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:6658 |
| Date | 10 March 2010 |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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