Our callings, our selves: Repositioning religious and entrepreneurial discourses in career theory and practice

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to integrate and extend career development theory by focusing on the metaphor of “calling.” In order to understand the impact of calling narratives on organizational life, I analyze how students understand and construct the meaning of work at a small Christian liberal arts college in the eastern United States. The study identified three themes in which religious and entrepreneurial discourses compete and collide: 1) the meaning of inner conviction; 2) the meaning of service, 3) the meaning of corporate. By incorporating the integrative concept of discursive positioning, this study alerts us to a more nuanced understanding of the tensions and contradictions that arise in and through calling narratives. © 2007 Central States Communication Association.