Leadership Talk by Charlotte Karam
For Whom and To What End? The Epistemological Leap Toward Relationality and Activism in the Age of Crises.
- Starts:14:00, 6 May 2025
- Ends:14:45, 6 May 2025
- Location:Online
- Contact:Lina Daouk-Öyry (lina.daouk-oyry@bi.no)
In a time marked by ecological collapse, geopolitical conflict, and deepening social inequities, the academy faces a profound reckoning. In this critical talk, Professor Charlotte Karam invites us to reimagine leadership in the academy—not as a role bound by hierarchy or metrics, but as a deeply relational and ethically engaged practice rooted in care, reflexivity, and collective action.
Drawing on her journey as a scholar-activist whose work bridges feminist praxis, inclusive HR systems, and business ethics, Professor Karam explores what she terms an “epistemological leap”—a paradigmatic shift away from the positivist ideals of neutrality toward situated, transformative knowledge production. She asks: Knowledge production for whom? And to what end? Through stories from her research across the MENA region, Charlotte critiques the disincentives baked into academic structures and offers a call to action: to step off the sidelines, embrace relational accountability, and reimagine our institutions in ways that support social justice. The talk will share frameworks for scholar-activism and examples of feminist participatory research and multi-stakeholder coalitions designed to build more inclusive and equitable futures.
This talk is especially relevant for faculty, graduate students, and administrators interested in ethical leadership, critical theory, and research impact beyond the university.
What is Leadership Talks?
Leadership Talks is a series of seminars about topics related to leadership, change and sustainability, project management and organizational psychology, hosted by the Department of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at BI Norwegian Business School.
Professor Charlotte Karam
