Character Development and Its Relationship to DEI in Case Writing

Like any form of writing or storytelling, utilizing characters effectively is important to case writing. In cases, characters help the reader engage with the storyline by feeling their emotions and relating to what they are facing (Lamb, 2008). The purpose of this panel discussion is twofold: to overview theory on character development (Jarvis, 2014; New York Book Editors, n.d.) and to highlight its relationship to DEI in the writing of case studies. Different types of characters, their purpose, and related aspects of their development will be presented first. The panel will then discuss how character development relates to DEI through narrative transportation and will discuss the emotions that cases can evoke through their characters (van Laer et al., 2014). The different types of diversity, such as internal, external, organization, and worldview are also aspects of characters that can convey these details. They can help the reader connect and empathize with the characters, identify contextual information when developing answers related to problems and potential solutions, and boost creativity and innovation when analyzing the answers to the questions posed in the teaching note.