David M. Rasmussen

Bio: David M. Rasmussen is an academic researcher from Boston College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Philosophical anthropology & Interpretation (philosophy). The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 59 publications receiving 3712 citations. Previous affiliations of David M. Rasmussen include Chestnut Hill College.

The final Foucault

Abstract: Michel Foucault left a rich legacy of ideas and approaches, many of which still await exposition and analysis. The Final Foucault is devoted to his last published (and some as yet unpublished) work and includes a translation of one of his last interviews, a comprehensive bibliography of his publications, and a biographical chronology.Foucault was still working on his history of sexuality when he died in 1984, but his main concern remained, as throughout his career, a deeper understanding of the nature of truth. His final set of lectures at the College de France, described here by Thomas Flynn, focused on the concept of truth-telling as a moral virtue in the ancient world.In the other essays, Karlis Racevskis examines the questions of identity at the core of Foucault's work; Garth Gillan takes up the problems inherent in any attempt to characterize Foucault's philosophy; James Bernauer explores the ethical basis of Foucault's work and offers a context for understanding his late interest in the Christian experience; and Diane Rubenstein offers a Lacanian interpretation of the last work.James Bernauer is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. The Final Foucault is based on a special issue of the Journal Philosophy and Social Criticism, edited by David Rasmussen and published at Boston College.

Legitimacy, sovereignty, solidarity and cosmopolitanism: On the recent work of Jürgen Habermas

Abstract: I read this paper, ‘A Plea for the Constitutionalization of International Law’, as an extension of the problematic taken up in Zur Verfassung Europas: Ein Essay (2011), translated as The Crisis of the European Union: A Response, the lecture, ‘Democracy, Solidarity, and the European Crisis’ (2013) and the essay ‘A Political Constitution for a Pluralist World Society’ (2008). This paper on the constitutionalization of international law builds on ideas taken from these quite recent works and it achieves an elegant level of generalization that goes beyond them. The general context for the constitutionalization of international law has been the ‘juridification of international relations’ which began after the Second World War leading to a fundamental change in our understanding of state power, suggesting a potential transnationalization of democracy. What is new in Habermas’ position regarding both the problems of the European Union and the concept of world citizenship is the special use of the concept of mixed constituent power, pouvoir constituant mixte. Although this idea is as old as Emmanuel Sieyes and James Madison, Habermas gives it a new meaning. The idea is that the development of constitutional law within the EU represents the potential for a new stage in international law viewed from the perspective of an historical reconstruction, which was originally framed by Kant. In contrast to the Euro skeptics Habermas constructs ‘a convincing new narrative’ which will characterize the potential development of the EU as a new stage in the process of the constitutionalization of international law as we move from the national to the transnational or supranational level of democratic development.

Handbook of critical theory

Abstract: List of Contributors. Acknowledgments. Editora s Introduction: David M. Rasmussen (Boston College). Part I: Philosophy and History: . 1. Critical Theory and Philosophy: David M. Rasmussen (Boston College). 2. Urban Flights: The Institute of Social Research Between Frankfurt and New York: Martin Jay (University of California, Berkeley). 3. Critical Theory and Tragic Knowledge: Christoph Menke. Part II: Social Science, Discourse Ethics, and Justice:. 4. Critical Theory and Empirical Research: Hauke Brunkhorst (Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut, Essen). 5. The Communicative Paradigm in Moral Theory: Alessandro Ferrara (Universita Degli Studi di Roma). 6. Justice, Reason, and Critique: Basic Concepts of Critical Theory: Rainer Forst (Freie Universitat Berlin). Part III: Law and Democracy: . 7. Habermasa s Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy: An Overview of the Argument: William Rehg (St. Louis University). 8. Critical Theory and Democracy: James Bohman (St. Louis University). Part IV: Civil Society and Autonomy:. 9. Civil Society: Beyond the Public Sphere: Jodi Dean (Hobart and William Smith Colleges). 10. Public Reason and Personal Autonomy: Kenneth Baynes (SUNY, Stonybrook). Part V: Pragmatics, Psychoanalysis, and Aesthetics: . 11. Karl--Otto Apela s Contribution to Critical Theory: Matthias Kettner (Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut, Essen and Johann--Wolfgang--Croethe University, Frankfurt). 12. Fantasy and Critique: Some Thoughts on Freud and the Frankfurt School: Joel Whitebook (New School for Social Research). 13. Theodor W. Adorno: Aesthetic Constructivism and a Negative Ethic of The Non--Forfeited Life: Hauke Brunkhorst (Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut, Essen). Part VI: Postmodernism, Critique and The Pathology of The Social: 14. Critical Theory and Postmodernism: On the Interplay of Ethics, Aesthetics and Utopia in Critical Theory: Seyla Benhabib (Harvard University and Center for European Studies). 15. Critical Theory and Postmodernism: A Response to David Hoy: Thomas McCarthy (Northwestern University). 16. Pathologies of the Social: The Past and Present of Social Philosophy: Axel Honneth (Freie Universitat Berlin). Part VII: Bibliography:. 17. A Bibliography of Critical Theory: James Swindal (John Carrol University). Index.

Rethinking subjectivity : narrative identity and the self

Abstract: Au-dela de la critique hermeneutique elaboree par la phenomenologie husserlienne, et au-dela de la critique analytique elaboree par le scepticisme, l'A. etudie les implications de la critique de la theorie de l'interlocution developpee par P. Ricoeur, du point de vue de la re-emergence de la notion de subjectivite, et du point de vue de la categorie d'identite narrative de soi

How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school.

Abstract: New developments in the science of learning science of learning overview mind and brain how experts differ from novices how children learn learning and transfer the learning environment curriculum, instruction and commnity effective teaching - examples in history, mathematics and science teacher learning technology to support learning conclusions from new developments in the science of learning.

Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research

Abstract: This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (1) Theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (2) One cannot generalize from a single case, therefore the single case study cannot contribute to scientific development; (3) The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, while other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building; (4) The case study contains a bias toward verification; and (5) It is often difficult to summarize specific case studies. The article explains and corrects these misunderstandings one by one and concludes with the Kuhnian insight that a scientific discipline without a large number of thoroughly executed case studies is a discipline without systematic production of exemplars, and that a discipline without exemplars is an ineffective one. Social science may be strengthened by the execution of more good case studies.

Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research

Abstract: This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (a) theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (b) one cannot generalize from a single case, therefore, the single-case study cannot contribute to scientific development; (c) the case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building; (d) the case study contains a bias toward verification; and (e) it is often difficult to summarize specific case studies. This article explains and corrects these misunderstandings one by one and concludes with the Kuhnian insight that a scientific discipline without a large number of thoroughly executed case studies is a discipline without systematic production of exemplars, and a discipline without exemplars is an ineffective one. Social science may be strengthened by the execution of a greater number of good case studies.

Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract: Since the late 1980s, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) has become a well-established field in the social sciences. However, in contrast with some branches of linguistics, CDA is not a discrete academic discipline in the traditional sense, with a fixed set of research methods. The manifold roots of CDA lie in a myriad of disciplines including rhetoric, anthropology, philosophy and cognitive science, to name a few. This four-volume set brings together seminal articles on the subject from varied sources, creating an invaluable roadmap for scholars seeking to consolidate their knowledge of CDA, and of its continued development. Sculpted and edited by a leading voice in the field, this work covers the interdisciplinary roots, the most important approaches and methodologies of CDA, as well as applications in other disciplines in an updated and comprehensive way. Structured thematically, the four volumes cover a wide range of aspects and considerations: Volume One: Histories, Concepts and Interdisciplinarity Volume Two: Theoretical Approaches and Methodologies Volume Three: 'Doing CDA' - Case Studies Volume Four: Applications and Perspectives - New Trends in CDA

What is agency

Abstract: This article aims (1) to analytically disaggregate agency into its several component elements (though these are interrelated empirically), (2) to demonstrate the ways in which these agentic dimensions interpenetrate with forms of structure, and (3) to point out the implications of such a conception of agency for empirical research. The authors conceptualize agency as a temporally embedded process of social engagement, informed by the past (in its “iterational” or habitual aspect) but also oriented toward the future (as a “projective” capacity to imagine alternative possibilities) and toward the present (as a “practical‐evaluative” capacity to contextualize past habits and future projects within the contingencies of the moment).