Showing papers on "Critical theory published in 2011"
Book•
18 Apr 2011
TL;DR: The Structure of Critical Theories and Pragmatic Sociology of Critique as discussed by the authors The power of institutions and the necessity of criticique in political regimes of domination is discussed in Section 5.
Abstract: Preface 1 The Structure of Critical Theories 2 Critical Sociology and Pragmatic Sociology of Critique 3 The Power of Institutions 4 The Necessity of Critique 5 Political Regimes of Domination 6 Emancipation in the Pragmatic Sense
437 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a theoretically informed model of critical reflection which encompasses different purposes (thinking, learning and assessment of self and social systems), together with different forms of reflection (personal, interpersonal, contextual and critical).
Abstract: Despite long-standing commitment to the notion of critical reflection across the healthcare professions it is unusual for critical theory and practice to be taught as explicit subjects in healthcare higher education. There is evidence to show that reflective techniques such as critical portfolios and reflective diaries can help students to consolidate and assess their learning of a discipline and its practices. Yet, there are also known drawbacks of critical reflection, including over self-critical inspection and the infinite regress of reflection on action. This paper offers a theoretically informed model of critical reflection which encompasses different purposes (thinking, learning and assessment of self and social systems), together with different forms of reflection (personal, interpersonal, contextual and critical). Explicitly teaching critical reflection is a logical step towards students being able to recognise and negotiate complex ethical and professional issues. However, teaching critical refle...
233 citations
Book•
01 Mar 2011TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a framework of critical theory based on metatheoretical foundations and apply it to contemporary critical theory and pragmatism, including the Immanent Transcendence as key concept.
Abstract: Part I: Metatheoretical foundations 1. Classical Foundations 2. Appropriation of the Classical Foundations 3. Contemporary Critical Theory and Pragmatism 4. Immanent Transcendence as Key Concept Part II: Methodology 5. Contemporary Critical Theorists on Methodology 6. The Methodological Framework of Critical Theory 7. Varieties of Critique: Critical Theory Compared 8. Methodology in Action
186 citations
Book•
27 Dec 2011
TL;DR: In this article, a critical theory of Transnational Justice is proposed. But it is not a theory of human rights, but of transnational justice, and it is based on the foundation of moral autonomy.
Abstract: PrefaceTranslator's NoteIntroduction: The Foundation of JusticePart 1: Foundations: Practical Reason, Morality, and Justice1. Practical Reason and Justifying Reasons: On the Foundation of Morality2. Moral Autonomy and the Autonomy of Morality: Toward a Theory of Normativity After Kant3. Ethics and Morality4. The Justification of Justice: Rawls's Political Liberalism and Habermas's Discourse Theory in DialoguePart 2: Political and Social Justice5. Political Liberty: Integrating Five Conceptions of Autonomy6. A Critical Theory of Multicultural Toleration7. The Rule of Reasons: Three Models of Deliberative Democracy8. Social Justice, Justification, and PowerPart 3: Human Rights and Transnational Justice9. The Basic Right to Justification: Toward a Constructivist Conception of Human Rights10. Constructions of Transnational Justice: Comparing John Rawls's The Law of Peoples and Otfried H ffe's Democracy in an Age of Globalisation11. Justice, Morality, and Power in the Global Context12. Toward a Critical Theory of Transnational JusticeNotesBibliography
149 citations
Book•
18 Mar 2011
TL;DR: Critical Theory is Western Marxist thought with the emphasis moved from the liberation of the working class to broader issues of individual agency as mentioned in this paper, and Critical Theory emerged in the 1920s from the work of the Frankfurt School, the circle of German-Jewish academics who sought to diagnose and, if at all possible, cure the ills of society, particularly fascism and capitalism.
Abstract: In its essence, Critical Theory is Western Marxist thought with the emphasis moved from the liberation of the working class to broader issues of individual agency. Critical Theory emerged in the 1920s from the work of the Frankfurt School, the circle of German-Jewish academics who sought to diagnose-and, if at all possible, cure-the ills of society, particularly fascism and capitalism. In this book, Stephen Eric Bronner provides sketches of famous and less famous representatives of the critical tradition (such as George Lukacs and Ernst Bloch, Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse and Jurgen Habermas) as well as many of its seminal texts and empirical investigations. Though they shared a Marxist bent, the Frankfurt School's scholars came from a variety of fields-philosophy, economics, psychoanalysis, and even music-and they initially sought not only to do interdisciplinary work but also to combine theory with practice, criticism with empirical data. Forced by the rise of Hitler to flee to the United States, by the late 1930s the Frankfurt School left behind the emphasis on empiricism, beginning instead to specialize in philosophical inquiry into the nature of social control, which combined the work of Hegel, Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche. This VSI is ultimately organized around the cluster of concepts and themes that set critical theory apart from its more traditional philosophical competitors. Bronner explains and discusses concepts such as method and agency, alienation and reification, the culture industry and repressive tolerance, non-identity and utopia. He argues for the introduction of new categories and perspectives for illuminating the obstacles to progressive change and focusing upon hidden transformative possibilities. Only a critique of critical theory can render it salient for a new age. That is precisely what this very short introduction seeks to provide. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
144 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that culture is inseparable from who the authors are and what they do as social beings, and community psychology must aim towards intercultural work engaging its political nature from a place of ontological/epistemological/methodological parity.
Abstract: Since its inception, community psychology has been interested in cultural matters relating to issues of diversity and marginalization. However, the field has tended to understand culture as static social markers or as the background for understanding group differences. In this article the authors contend that culture is inseparable from who we are and what we do as social beings. Moreover, culture is continually shaped by socio-historical and political processes intertwined within the globalized history of power. The authors propose a decolonizing standpoint grounded in critical social science to disrupt understandings of cultural matters that marginalize others. This standpoint would move the field toward deeper critical thinking, reflexivity and emancipatory action. The authors present their work to illustrate how they integrate a decolonizing standpoint to community psychology research and teaching. They conclude that community psychology must aim towards intercultural work engaging its political nature from a place of ontological/epistemological/methodological parity.
127 citations
TL;DR: An anthropologically informed concept of skill that goes beyond old manual versus intellectual dichotomies and brings forth internal criteria of autonomy and authenticity can serve as a new bridge between categories of social justice, such as Sen and Nussbaum's basic human capabilities, and new cutting-edge work in the empirical human sciences and thereby provide Critical Theory with a renewed point of departure that is both norma... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The categories and contours of a normative social theory are prefigured by its ‘anthropological’ presuppositions. The discourse/communicative-theoretic basis of Habermasian theory was prefigured by a strong anthropological demarcation between an instrumentally structured realm of science, technology and labor versus a normatively structured realm of social interaction. An alternative anthropology, bolstered by current work in the empirical sciences, finds fundamental normative needs for orientation and ‘compensation’ also to be embedded in embodied material practices. An emerging anthropologically informed concept of skill that goes beyond old manual versus intellectual dichotomies and brings forth internal criteria of autonomy and authenticity can serve as a new bridge between categories of social justice, such as Sen and Nussbaum’s basic human ‘capabilities’, and new cutting-edge work in the empirical human sciences and thereby provide Critical Theory with a renewed point of departure that is both norma...
127 citations
TL;DR: The authors provided an overview of climate change in literature, focusing on the representation of Climate Change in Anglophone fiction. And they evaluated the way in which these fictional representations are critiqued in literary studies, and considered the extent to which the methods and tools that are currently employed are adequate to this new critical task.
Abstract: This article provides an overview of climate change in literature, focusing on the representation of climate change in Anglophone fiction. It then evaluates the way in which these fictional representations are critiqued in literary studies, and considers the extent to which the methods and tools that are currently employed are adequate to this new critical task. We explore how the complexity of climate change as both scientific and cultural phenomenon demands a corresponding degree of complexity in fictional representation. For example, when authors represent climate change as a global, networked, and controversial phenomenon, they move beyond simply employing the environment as a setting and begin to explore its impact on plot and character, producing unconventional narrative trajectories and innovations in characterization. Then, such creative complexity asks of literary scholars a reassessment of methods and approaches. For one thing, it may require a shift in emphasis from literary fiction to genre fiction. It also particularly demands that environmental criticism, or ecocriticism, moves beyond its long-standing interest in concepts of 'nature' and 'place', to embrace a new understanding of the local in relation to the global. We suggest, too, that there are synergies to be forged between these revisionary moves in ecocriticism and developments in literary critical theory and historicism, as these critical modes begin to deal with climate change and reimagine themselves in turn. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
121 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine Habermas's account of the transformation of the public sphere in modern society, and demonstrate that, whilst Habe rmas's approach succeeds in offering useful insights into the structural transformation of public spheres in the early modern period, it does not provide an adequate theoretical framework for understanding the structural transformations in late modern societies.
Abstract: The main purpose of this paper is to examine Habermas's account of the transformation of the public sphere in modern society. More specifically, the study aims to demonstrate that, whilst Habermas's approach succeeds in offering useful insights into the structural transformation of the public sphere in the early modern period, it does not provide an adequate theoretical framework for understanding the structural transformation of public spheres in late modern societies. To the extent that the gradual differentiation of social life manifests itself in the proliferation of multiple public spheres, a critical theory of public normativity needs to confront the challenges posed by the material and ideological complexity of late modernity in order to account for the polycentric nature of advanced societies. With the aim of showing this, the paper is divided into three sections. The first section elucidates the sociological meaning of the public/private dichotomy. The second section scrutinizes the key features of Habermas's theory of the public sphere by reflecting on (i) the concept of the public sphere, (ii) the normative specificity of the bourgeois public sphere, and (iii) the structural transformation of the public sphere in modern society. The third section explores the most substantial shortcomings of Habermas's theory of the public sphere, particularly its inability to explain the historical emergence and political function of differentiated public spheres in advanced societies.
105 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that critical indigenous theory disrupts a network of presuppositions underpinning political theory, social theory and humanist ethics, which are themselves built upon this form of liberal governance.
Abstract: This essay asks how critical indigenous theory might intervene in the field of critical theory. What originates here that does not in other disciplinary phrasings and phases and cannot without doing some violence to the tasks indigenous critical theory sets for itself? It begins to answer this question by introducing a form of liberal governance – the governance of the prior – that critical indigenous theory illuminates. And it argues that rather than referencing a specific social content or context, social identity or movement, critical indigenous theory disrupts a network of presuppositions underpinning political theory, social theory and humanist ethics (obligation) which are themselves built upon this form of liberal governance.
91 citations
17 Oct 2011
Book•
24 Feb 2011
TL;DR: In this article, the promises of critical hermeneutics as an innovative method and philosophy within the human sciences are explored, and it is argued that its success depends on its ability to articulate a th...
Abstract: This article explores the promises of critical hermeneutics as an innovative method and philosophy within the human sciences. It is argued that its success depends on its ability to articulate a th...
TL;DR: In this article, Foucault's central preoccupations as they emerge in his major works are reviewed, and the author briefly considers their influence on accounting scholarship as an informative exemplar of a wider Foucfault effect.
Abstract: Michel Foucault was a gifted but elusive thinker with a wide and continuing impact across many academic fields. This article positions his work as a historical sociology of knowledge and evaluates its contribution. After reviewing Foucault’s central preoccupations as they emerge in his major works, the argument briefly considers their influence on accounting scholarship as an informative exemplar of a wider Foucault effect. Four key areas for the sociological reception of Foucault are then considered: the nature of discourse and archaeology, his historical method, the problem of agency and action, and his conception of power. Articulating Foucault’s relationship to sociology is inherently problematic, not least because he takes the emergence of the sciences of man as something to be explained rather than augmented. Yet his work remains a rich resource for inquiries of the sociological type, is broadly aligned with a practice turn in social theory, and intersects with several themes in both mainstream and critical sociology.
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: Google has become ubiquitous in everyday life – it is shaping how the authors search, organize and perceive information in contexts like the workplace, private life, culture, politics, the household, shopping and consumption, entertainment, sports, etc.
Abstract: Google is the world’s most accessed web platform: 46.0% of worldwide Internet users accessed Google in a three-month period (data source: alexa.com, http://internetworldstats.com/stats.htm; February 10, 2011). In January 2011, Google accounted for 65.6% of all searches in the US, Yahoo! for 16.1%, Microsoft sites (including Bing, MSN, Windows Live) for 13.1%, ask.com for 3.4%, and AOL LLC for 1.7% (http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/ Press_Releases/2011/2/comScore_Releases_January_2011_U.S._Search_Engine_Rankings). In 2010, Google accounted on average for 85.07% of all worldwide searches, Yahoo for 6.12%, Baidu for 3.33%, Bing for 3.25%, Ask for 0.67% and others for 1.56% (January-December 2010, http://marketshare.hitslink.com/search-engine-marketshare.aspx?qprid=5). In China, Baidu accounted in 2010 for on average 60.4% of all searches and Google for only 37.7% (January-December 2010, http://gs.statcounter.com/#search_engine-CN-monthly-201001-201012). Google has become ubiquitous in everyday life – it is shaping how we search, organize and perceive information in contexts like the workplace, private life, culture, politics, the household, shopping and consumption, entertainment, sports, etc. The phrase “to google” has even found its way into the vocabulary of some languages. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “to google” as “search for information about (someone or something) on the Internet, typically using the search engine Google” and remarks that the word’s origin is “the proprietary name of a popular Internet search engine” (http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0342960#m_en_gb0342960, accessed on February 10, 2011). The German Duden (2009 edition) defines the term “googeln” as “im Internet suchen” (p. 498, = to search on the Internet). The circumstance that a company name becomes part of a vocabulary indicates that the products of large monopoly capitalist companies have become so present in capitalist society that their existence is absolutely taken for granted, not questioned and so strongly fetishized that specific verbs (“to google”, “googeln”) are defined for expressing the usage of these products. There are a lot of affirmative, uncritical popular scienceand business studiespublications about Google that have a celebratory tone, take for granted economic power and do not see this kind of power’s underbelly. For example, David Vise (2005) tells the Google Story in a celebratory tone. He argues that the great thing about Google is that it helps people “to find the information” (Vise 2005:292) they need and that it “reliably provides free information for everyone who seeks it” (Vise 2005:2). Tapscott and Williams invoke the images of revolution and participatory democracy when speaking about web 2.0 companies and therefore characterize Google as providing “participatory Web services” (Tapscott and Williams 2006:193). Bernard Girard (2009) says that Google has “democratized advertising” (Girard 2009:39) and “represents the invention of a new management model – and calling it revolutionary is no exaggeration” (Girard 2009:223). Jeff Jarvis says that talking about Google means “talking about a new society” that is built on “connections, links, transparency, openness, publicness, listening, trust, wisdom, generosity, efficiency, markets, niches, platforms, networks, speed, and abundance” (Jarvis 2009:240f). Books such as the Google Story (Vise 2005), What would Google do? (Jarvis 2009), The Google way (Girard 2009), or Googled (Auletta 2010) not only celebrate Google, but at the same time advance the individualistic myth of the American dream, in which hard working individuals have great ideas and thereby become successful. They ignore the A Contribution to the Critique of the Political Economy of Google
01 Aug 2011
TL;DR: The critique is often that political theory is too ahistorical, abstract and removed from the political reality theory is supposed to help us understand as discussed by the authors. But when political theorists correct the imbalance and turn to complex historical case studies or the practicalities of daily life, they are accused of abandoning the big questions and grand narratives that dignify their mode of inquiry and distinguish it from mere journalism.
Abstract: Introduction Political theorists periodically go public to fault their subdiscipline for its flaws. As the chapters of this volume demonstrate, the critique is often that political theory is too ahistorical, abstract and removed from the political realities theory is supposed to help us understand. Caught up in canonical texts, gripped by ideal questions never asked by real politicians, like ‘what is justice?’ or ‘which is the best regime?’ or ‘how are subjects formed?’, political theory is said to list too far to one side, becoming all theory, no politics. On the other hand, when political theorists correct the imbalance and turn to complex historical case studies or the practicalities of daily life, they are accused of abandoning the big questions and grand narratives that dignify their mode of inquiry and distinguish it from mere journalism. Both timeless and timebound, it sometimes seems that political theory can do no right.
Book•
24 Oct 2011
TL;DR: Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer as mentioned in this paper describe a philosophical jam-session in which the two thinkers improvise freely, often wildly, on central themes of their work - theory and practice, labor and leisure, domination and freedom - in a political register found nowhere else in their writing.
Abstract: Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer wrote the central text of "critical theory," Dialectic of Enlightenment, a measured critique of the Enlightenment reason that, they argued, had resulted in fascism and totalitarianism. Towards a New Manifesto shows the two philosophers in a uniquely spirited and free-flowing exchange of ideas. This book is a record of their discussions over three weeks in the spring of 1956, recorded with a view to the production of a contemporary version of The Communist Manifesto. A philosophical jam-session in which the two thinkers improvise freely, often wildly, on central themes of their work - theory and practice, labor and leisure, domination and freedom - in a political register found nowhere else in their writing. Amid a careening flux of arguments, aphorisms and asides, in which the trenchant alternates with the reckless, the playful with the ingenuous, positions are swapped and contradictions unheeded, without any compulsion for consistency. A thrilling example of philosophy in action and a compelling map of a possible passage to a new world.
Book•
10 Oct 2011TL;DR: Horkheimer's integration of psychoanalysis into his theory of contemporary society was discussed in this paper, where a materialist interpretation of the history of modern philosophy is presented. But it is not discussed in this paper.
Abstract: Introduction 1. Coming of age in Wilhelmine Germany 2. Student years in Frankfurt 3. A materialist interpretation of the history of modern philosophy 4. The beginnings of a critical theory of contemporary society 5. Horkheimer's integration of psychoanalysis into his theory of contemporary society 6. Horkheimer's concept of materialism in the early 1930s 7. The anthropology of the bourgeois epoch 8. Reflections on dialectical logic in the mid 1930s Excursus I. The theoretical foundations of Horkheimer's split with Erich Fromm in the late 1930s: Fromm's critique of Freud's drive theory Excursus II. Divergence, estrangement, and gradual rapprochement: the evolution of Horkheimer and Adorno's theoretical relationship in the 1930s 9. State capitalism - the end of Horkheimer's early critical theory Epilogue: toward a historicization of Dialectic of Enlightenment and a reconsideration of Horkheimer's early critical theory.
Book•
30 Apr 2011
TL;DR: Critical Social Theories and Education as mentioned in this paper introduces and explains the preeminent thinkers and traditions in critical social theory, and discusses the primary strands of educational research and thought that have been informed and influenced by them.
Abstract: This book introduces educational practitioners, students, and scholars to the people, concepts, questions, and concerns that make up the field of critical social theory. It guides readers into a lively conversation about how education can and does contribute to reinforcing or challenging relations of domination in the modern era. Written by a group of experienced educators and scholars, in an engaging style, Critical Social Theories and Education introduces and explains the preeminent thinkers and traditions in critical social theory, and discusses the primary strands of educational research and thought that have been informed and influenced by them.
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a thumbnail sketch of some of the central themes in the first generation of the Frankfurt School, and then look in some detail at how Jurgen Habermas and members of his generation transformed critical social theory, taking it in several new directions.
Abstract: The author begins by providing a thumbnail sketch of some of the central themes in the first generation of the Frankfurt School. He then looks in some detail at how Jurgen Habermas and members of his generation transformed critical social theory, taking it in several new directions. The author then takes up Honneth's approach, arguing that it involves a retrieval of some original Frankfurt School themes, but against the irreversible background of the Habermasian landscape and in a political and intellectual climate that gives his approach its specifically third-generational character. In addition, talk of distinct 'generations' within the Frankfurt School is misleading insofar as Habermas and Honneth are still both actively pursuing their research programmes. Members of the second and third generations continue to respond to each other's innovations, as well as to the ongoing reappropriation of first-generation thinkers. Keywords: Axel Honneth; Frankfurt School; Jurgen Habermas; second generation; third generation
TL;DR: This article endeavors to makes the interpretive claim that Foucault’s own attempts to analyse both aspects of the politics of the authors' selves are neither contradictory nor incoherent; and the constructive claim that his analysis of thepolitics of their self, though not entirely satisfactory as it stands, provides important resources for the project of critical social theory.
Abstract: Exploring the apparent tension between Foucault's analyses of technologies of domination -- the ways in which the subject is constituted by power-knowledge relations -- and of technologies of the self -- the ways in which individuals constitute themselves through practices of freedom -- this article endeavors to make two points: first, the interpretive claim that Foucault's own attempts to analyse both aspects of the politics of our selves are neither contradictory nor incoherent; and second, the constructive claim that Foucault's analysis of the politics of our selves, though not entirely satisfactory as it stands, provides important resources for the project of critical social theory.
TL;DR: Critical Theory, a model of theorizing in the field of the political sociology of education, has been proposed in this paper to herald an empowering, liberatory education that fosters curiosity and critical thinking, and a means for successful bottom-up, top-down political engagement.
Abstract: This paper discusses Critical Theory, a model of theorizing in the field of the political sociology of education. We argue for a reimagined Critical Theory to herald an empowering, liberatory education that fosters curiosity and critical thinking, and a means for successful bottom-up, top-down political engagement. We present arguments at a theoretical and meta-theoretical level, leaving empirical analysis to a future writing. We hold it impossible: to fully dissociate normative from the analytical in constructing scientific thought, thus showing the importance of the notion of a good society to guide varied intellectual explorations; to deny the political role of education; and to detach from historicity of thought and policy prescriptions emerging from such theorizing, as not all social constructions are equal in terms of logical configuration, methodological rigor, or solid empirical proof. What follows are snapshots of how we can reimagine the historical present, and how Critical Theory can impact the...
TL;DR: This paper explored how students make meaning of their educational experiences at a school that emphasizes democratic principles and a commitment to social justice, and found that students value the intentional participatory spaces and the thematic, inquiry-based curriculum in the school.
Abstract: Drawing from critical theories in education, this article empirically examines the role that public schools can play as conduits for critical peace education, particularly for young people who have been historically marginalized from school. Based on two years of ethnographic data collection at a public high school in New York City, I explore how students make meaning of their educational experiences at a school that emphasizes democratic principles and a commitment to peace and social justice. The data suggest that students value the intentional participatory spaces and the thematic, inquiry-based curriculum in the school. Not only do these unique structures re-socialize them academically, but they also encourage democratic participation, reflection, critical consciousness, and a commitment to broader social change. This comprehensive approach, in turn, presumably gives students a platform from which to think about the world differently and imagine new alternatives for the future. As a result, the articl...
01 Oct 2011
TL;DR: Pahl et al. as discussed by the authors propose a framework for literacy education, called artifactual critical literacy, which unifies a material cultural studies approach together with critical literacy education and pays attention to the voices of those who are less frequently heard.
Abstract: Author(s): Pahl, Kate H; Rowsell, Jennifer | Abstract: In this article, we propose a framework for literacy education, called artifactual critical literacy, which unites a material cultural studies approach together with critical literacy education Critical literacy is a field that addresses imbalances of power and, in particular, pays attention to the voices of those who are less frequently heard When critical literacy education is joined with a material cultural studies approach, which holds that cultural “stuff” (Miller, 2010) matters as a form of expression and also as embedded cultural practice, literacy practices such as hip hop and vernacular literacies are then given more attention alongside canonical texts Stories connected to objects and home experience can provide a platform and starting point for text-making Text-making can also be set within a framework that is multimodal and allows for a much wider concept of meaning making In this article wecombine practical examples with a new theoretical framework that brings these traditions together
TL;DR: The Black Emancipatory Action Research (BEAR) framework as discussed by the authors is a framework that allows social scientists to explore the implications that race and race research have for methodological practices and knowledge production in the field of education and beyond.
Abstract: The central purpose of this article is to introduce Black Emancipatory Action Research (BEAR) as a framework that will allow social scientists to explore the implications that ‘racing research and researching race’ have for methodological practices and knowledge production in the field of education and beyond (Twine and Warren 2003). Drawing on critical race theory (CRT), participatory action research (PAR), Critical Africentricity, and feminists scholarship (FS), the BEAR framework questions notions of objectivity and a universal foundation of knowledge by breaking down the barriers between the researched and the researcher and underscoring ethical principles such as self-determination, social justice, equity, healing and love. With its commitment to community capacity building, local knowledge, asset based research, community generated information and action as part of the inquiry process – BEAR represents an orientation to research that is highly consistent with Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy aimed a...
TL;DR: In critical and feminist educational circles there has been a lively debate between those who call for more emphasis on contextualization and concrete practices and those who defend a more generalised view of critical pedagogy as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In critical and feminist educational circles there has been a lively debate between those who call for more emphasis on contextualisation and concrete practices and those who defend a more generalised view of critical pedagogy. The unceasing march of corporate globalisation and neoliberalism make it absolutely urgent that educators and organisers dedicated to social justice find ways to work together to increase our effectiveness and extend our fields of action. Popular education, which shares historical roots with critical pedagogy, can help to resolve some of the enduring dilemmas of critical pedagogy and increase its ability to achieve its goals. In this paper, the author locates herself within the field of popular education and provides an introduction to its philosophy/methodology. Next, she reviews what popular education has to offer in terms of relevant language, concrete practices, and opportunities to experience changed social relations, providing examples from her own practice. Finally, ...
TL;DR: The philosophy for children (PFC) program as discussed by the authors has attracted overlapping and conflicting criticism from religious and social conservatives who don't want children to question traditional values, from educational psychologists who believe certain kinds of thinking are beyond children of certain ages, from philosophers who define their discipline as theoretical and exegetical, from critical theorists who see the programme as politically compliant, and from postmodernists who see it as scientistic and imperialist.
Abstract: As conceived by founders Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp, Philosophy for Children is a humanistic practice with roots in the Hellenistic tradition of philosophy as a way of life given to the search for meaning, in American pragmatism with its emphasis on qualitative experience, collaborative inquiry and democratic society, and in American and Soviet social learning theory. The programme has attracted overlapping and conflicting criticism from religious and social conservatives who don't want children to question traditional values, from educational psychologists who believe certain kinds of thinking are beyond children of certain ages, from philosophers who define their discipline as theoretical and exegetical, from critical theorists who see the programme as politically compliant, and from postmodernists who see it as scientistic and imperialist. The paper is written as a dialogue in order to illustrate the complex interactions among these normative positions. Rather than respond to particular criticisms in depth, I indicate the general nature of my position regarding them and provide references to published material where they have been made and responded to over the past 40 years.
27 Jul 2011
TL;DR: Critical Systems Theory (CST) as discussed by the authors is derived from both systems theory and critical social theory and is defined by its core commitment to three ideas: critique, emancipation, and pluralism.
Abstract: Qualitative research is inherently critical, interpretive, and multi-method in function, and Denzin and Lincoln (2005) argue that the current status of qualitative research sees the social sciences as a place for critical conversation. This highlights the task at hand for qualitative educational researchers, and their responsibility in bringing a critical view to methodology, promoting social justice, and engaging with systems of education by seeking to identify and address the problems within them. While the problems in education are complex, the application of systems thinking for identifying and solving complex problems has largely been absent. Critical Systems Theory (CST) brings a systems-thinking lens to help educational researchers understand the complex nature of educational systems and problems, while incorporating critical perspectives in both methodology and broader research objectives such as emancipation and social justice. CST is derived from both systems theory and critical social theory. In the mid-twentieth century, systems theory was established by a multidisciplinary group of researchers who believed that studies of science had become increasingly reductionist and the various disciplines isolated. The term system has been defined in various ways, but the core concept is one of relations between components, which together comprise a whole. Among the first to establish systems theory, Bertalanffy (1968) noted the existence of principles and laws that could be generalized across systems and their components regardless of the type of system or its relations to other systems. Ultimately, systems thinking entails identifying the components that make up a system, understanding relations between them, and how these components impact the larger system, external systems, and supra-systems, and vice versa. Systems theory continued to be of large influence in management sciences and research over the last half of the twentieth century, and underwent significant change, including the development of traditional "hard" (positivistic) and "soft" (interpretive) approaches to systems thinking. During the early 1980s, scholars called for a more critical, socially-aware approach to systems thinking and practice (Jackson, 1982; Mingers, 1980). This critical perspective was further developed based on the epistemological views of Habermas, influencing systems theory into the 1990s (Flood & Jackson, 1991; Jackson, 1991a, 1991b). Today, CST is defined by its core commitment to three ideas: critique, emancipation, and pluralism (Schecter, 1991). While CST's history has largely been within the management and operational sciences, its principles and methodological tools offer significant insight to qualitative researchers in many disciplines within social science. This is particularly true for the field of education, where many researchers are focusing on critical, emancipatory research and employing multi-methods for the proper exploration of diverse topics in education. The following section details the development of systems thinking to embrace a critical approach and how the fusion of critical and systems theory resulted in critical systems theory, a theory that merges systems thinking with a critical lens and can provide practical methods to the qualitative researcher for understanding and changing systems with inequalities. We further detail the core commitments to critique, emancipation, and pluralism that form the foundation of CST. Finally, we describe a system of system methodologies to contribute to and guide the selection of critical research methods for qualitative researchers in education. Development of Critical Systems Theory Hard Systems Thinking The early days of systems thinking represented a hard systems approach, reflecting a positivist epistemology, and the research methods focused on concepts such as prediction and control within the natural sciences. …
TL;DR: In this paper, the connection between Critical Security Studies and the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School is examined, and the connections between emancipatory change, violence and resistance as a means of interrogating and challenging the definition of "security as emancipation".
Abstract: Within the current configuration of Critical Security Studies (CSS) the concept of ‘emancipation’ is upheld as the keystone of a commitment to transformative change in world politics, but comparatively little is said on the status of violence and resistance within that commitment. As a means of highlighting this relative silence, this article examines the nature of the connection between CSS and the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. In particular it disinters the reflections of Herbert Marcuse on the connections between emancipatory change, violence and resistance as a means of interrogating and challenging the definition of ‘security as emancipation’. Doing so, it is argued, points towards some of the potential limitations of equating security and emancipation, and provides a provocation of contemporary CSS from within its own cited intellectual and normative foundations.