Dr Anna Brown
Senior Lecturer
Biography
My research seeks to understand the different ways in which people become skilled, and how organisations learn. My published work draws on process theorising and coalesces around themes of embodiment and materiality. I have studied embodied knowing in the context of craft work through an autoethnography of pottery making and am also involved in research collaborations that explore becoming and identity in the fire service, higher education, and in business networks.
I am a keen methodologist and enjoy exploring embodied and affective research methods, in particular auto-ethnography and apprenticeship.
My research and approach to teaching draws on my practice as a professional ceramicist, and Fine Art training (BA Hons 2003). I am part of a collective that runs a ceramics gallery and studio in Edinburgh, and can often be found working with clay at the potter's wheel. I also have professional experience in economic development and the public sector, having previously worked for the South West Regional Development Agency delivering the UK Government's Business, Innovation and Skills agenda in the South West of England.
I completed a MLitt in Managing in the Creative Industries (2012), and a PhD in Management Studies (2017), at the University of St Andrews. My doctoral thesis followed my own experiences in becoming a potter as part of the wider Scottish craft industry.
I welcome applications from PhD students that adopt process or practice theoretical perspectives and/or fit within the following themes: craft work; embodiment; materiality; skills and learning; strategy.
I am Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and in 2019 I was awarded a Teaching Excellence Award for innovation in teaching. In 2021 I was awarded the Management Learning journal's best paper award for my article, 'The mark of the researcher's hand'.
Teaching
- MN2001 Management and Society
- MN3102 Organisation Studies
- MN4310 Scenario Thinking
Research areas
My research coalesces around themes of embodiment and materiality. I have studied these themes in the context of craft work through an autoethnography of pottery making. I am involved in research collaborations that explore processes of becoming and identity in the fire service, and also in business networks. I am also interested in embodied and affective research methods, in particular auto-ethnography and apprenticeship.
Selected publications
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Open access
Anything but Sony! Meshworking, identity multiplicity and the emergence of portable music players
McKinlay, M., Brown, A. M. & Trolle Elmholdt, K., Nov 2022, In: Industrial Marketing Management. 107, p. 29-38 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The mark of the researcher's hand: the imperfections of craft in the process of becoming a qualitative researcher
Brown, A., Nov 2021, In: Management Learning. 52, 5, p. 541-558 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Evaluation of Year 3, and the full three-years of the Student Transitions Enhancement Theme: Evaluation Report
Brown, A. M., Dennis, A., Gordon, L. J., Howden, S. & Jindal-Snape, D., Sep 2017, QAA for Higher Education.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Skillful coping: processes of becoming and being in practice
Brown, A., Greig, G. J. & Ferraro, E. R., Jul 2017, Skillful Performance: Enacting Capabilities, Knowledge, Competence, and Expertise in Organizations. Sandberg, J., Rouleau, L., Langley, A. & Tsoukas, H. (eds.). Oxford University Press, (Perspectives on Process Organization Studies (P-PROS); vol. 7).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Sensing bodies: the aesthetics of knowing and practising
Brown, A., Greig, G. & Ferraro, E., 22 Mar 2016, Knowledge and Practice in Business and Organisations. Orr, K., Nutley, S., Russell, S., Bain, R., Hacking, B. & Moran, C. (eds.). New York: Routledge, p. 89-102 14 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter