TY - JOUR
T1 - Virgil’s Aeneas as the Quintessential Social Entrepreneur
T2 - Juxtaposing Selections from Epic Poetry and Entrepreneurship Theory to Teach Social Entrepreneurship
AU - Shockley, Gordon
AU - Frank, Peter M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2010, Copyright The Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
PY - 2010/1/1
Y1 - 2010/1/1
N2 - In this paper we propose a pedagogical strategy of juxtaposing Virgil's Aeneid—a canonical epic poem in Western literary tradition—and foundational economic texts in entrepreneurship theory by Joseph Schumpeter and Israel Kirzner. Our utilization of foundational texts of Schumpeter and Kirzner convey the “entrepreneurship” piece in teaching social entrepreneurship. They present students with elements of sound entrepreneurship, such as the novel intuitions and entrepreneurial discovery, the distinct role of the entrepreneur, and the causal functionality of entrepreneurship. Our utilization of Virgil's Aeneid conveys the “social” piece in teaching social entrepreneurship. Certain features distinguish social entrepreneurship from entrepreneurship's other forms, such as a community orientation and private sacrifice for public benefit. The figure of Aeneas in Virgil's Aeneid embodies these features and, we argue, is the quintessential social entrepreneur. Additionally, the structure of the poem puts into fictional and imaginative practice elements of Schumpeterian and Kirznerian entrepreneurship theory. The advantages of our pedagogical approach to teaching social entrepreneurship are that it provides sound entrepreneurship theory; illustrates the “social” in social entrepreneurship; and recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of social entrepreneurship studies.
AB - In this paper we propose a pedagogical strategy of juxtaposing Virgil's Aeneid—a canonical epic poem in Western literary tradition—and foundational economic texts in entrepreneurship theory by Joseph Schumpeter and Israel Kirzner. Our utilization of foundational texts of Schumpeter and Kirzner convey the “entrepreneurship” piece in teaching social entrepreneurship. They present students with elements of sound entrepreneurship, such as the novel intuitions and entrepreneurial discovery, the distinct role of the entrepreneur, and the causal functionality of entrepreneurship. Our utilization of Virgil's Aeneid conveys the “social” piece in teaching social entrepreneurship. Certain features distinguish social entrepreneurship from entrepreneurship's other forms, such as a community orientation and private sacrifice for public benefit. The figure of Aeneas in Virgil's Aeneid embodies these features and, we argue, is the quintessential social entrepreneur. Additionally, the structure of the poem puts into fictional and imaginative practice elements of Schumpeterian and Kirznerian entrepreneurship theory. The advantages of our pedagogical approach to teaching social entrepreneurship are that it provides sound entrepreneurship theory; illustrates the “social” in social entrepreneurship; and recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of social entrepreneurship studies.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885071462&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84885071462&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/08276331.2010.10593516
DO - 10.1080/08276331.2010.10593516
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84885071462
SN - 0827-6331
VL - 23
SP - 769
EP - 784
JO - Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
JF - Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
IS - sup1
ER -