Women Professors and the Practice of Power at the Lebanese University

Abstract

Women professors at the Lebanese University play an influential role in the academic landscape. This article explores how these professors navigate the network of power and exert influence in academia. The article adopts a qualitative research methodology, relying on in–depth interviews conducted with twenty female professors. The findings reveal a tendency among the professors to adopt a strategy of empowerment rather than one of appeasement or confrontation. This approach is characterized by subtlety, ambiguity, and a state of individuality, spontaneity, invisibility, and lack of intentionality. It does not reflect efforts to build alternatives, create new meaning for academic action, or redefine academic power, as a position serving students, the university, and society rather than a privilege.