 |
 |
Dear Petra,
You might be thinking of the book I mentioned when I posted the following as part of a message:
One of the most exciting stimulating books I have read in recent years is Decolonising Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />University of Otago Press) LTSD is Director of the International Research Institute for Maori and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I was and am also very positive about Ian Parker's 'Qualitative Psychology: Introducing Radical Research' which I think is tremendously stimulating
I also really like Carla Willig's Introducing Qualitative Research in psychology: Adventures in Theory and Method. Whilst not as 'critical' as the above in some ways it really does make the reader think about the very different epistemological and ontological assumptions underlying different qualitative methods and that makes it hard to avoid problemetising ideological positionings too
In a sense much of the discussion on the list lately has been relevant in that . . . in my view, it is not so much that there are 'critical methods' one can choose to use if one wants to do 'critical research', as methods one can deploy critically if one is thinking critically . . . so the key thing in my view is to develop critical thinking rather than acquire specific research techniques . . . though in my view there is something intrinsically problematic about the assumptions and actuality of much of what counts as 'research' as a project (rather than as a set of techniques)
David
David Fryer
Community Psychology Group
University of Stirling
FK9 4LA
Scotland
+44 (0) 1786 467650 (tel)
+44 (0) 1786 467641 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
--
- -----Original Message-----
- From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Petra Boynton
- Sent: 06 December 2005 3:03 pm
- To: [log in to unmask]
- Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Escaping the Critique
- Hi everyone
- In one of the messages during this discussion of being critical someone mentioned a reference for a book which I think was about research methods and aboriginal people - a critical approach to international research (or something like that). I'd really like to look up the book but have lost the reference, could someone please remind me of the full title?
- Also if anyone has any other useful references for critical books/papers around research methods specifically I'd be really interested in hearing about them. I'm lecturing on an international masters in primary care and we're trying very hard to have a critical approach to methods for our diverse group of students who're working all over the world.
- bw
- Petra
- At 13:43 06/12/2005, you wrote:
- Thanks Grant for that interesting posting.
- In relation to the 'postmodern' I suppose I'd have to say 2 things.
- 1) I have used it in what was a brief piece as a kind of shorthand (that
- risked losing all nuances) for the tendencies towards extreme relativism
- and idealism (in the sense of denying that there is a social reality -
- however hard to apprehend), and of a denial of the possibility of what is
- usually called 'grand narratives' - i.e. general theory of the world. So
- I apologise to anyone who self defines as postmodernist that also rejects
- those extremes, most notoriously expressed in a text (I forget by whom)
- called something like "The Gulf War Didn't Happen".
- 2) I also want to question that there is something that can be sensibly
- called a 'postmodern condition' - i.e. as a theory of the state of the
- world or of modern culture, it just seems inadequate to me, posing a break
- with the modern, whereas what I see in imperialist globalisation, in the
- extension of capital into all areas of life, including culture (and
- Habermas is good on this - colonisatin of the lifeworld) is an extension
- of the worst aspects of modernism - modernism without enlightnment. This
- idea seems to have a lot in common with the 'end of history' ideologists
- of triumphant capitalism at the start of the 90s.
- For some time I bought the Habermasian line that tries to recapture an
- emancipatory tradition in modernism, contrasting it with the repressive,
- rationalising, mechanical modernism of the capitalist machine. However,
- reading Enrique Dussel on philosophy of liberation, I came to the view
- that this notion is very Eurocentric, and the modernist project is beeply
- bound up in the economics of capitalist expansion, the politics of
- colonisation and empire, and the social psychology of exclusion. Instead
- Dussel proposes a paradigm of transmodernity, that (and I don't have the
- texts to hand to check exactly) tries to synthesise a liberatory praxis
- and world view from the modernist ouvre together with other world views -
- especially those excluded within and excluded outside the totality of the
- system.
- Again these are difficult ideas to grasp, (and I'm in great danger of
- oversimplifying and caricaturing them), but this seems to me to suggest a
- way out of the impasse of a stalled and flawed enlightenment project.
- Dussel uses the term 'analectics' to capture this synthetic praxis - the
- idea being to go beyond the dialectic model of thesis-antithesis-synthesis
- (which Grant alludes to in the Lyotard quote) to and instead to integrate
- a diversity of perspectives (from the stanpoint of the many and diverse
- victims of the system and their cultures and ideologies and from their
- allies within the system- which might include 'critical' community
- psychologists) - but within an integrative whole - not a fragmentary
- 'postmodern' melange!
- I do have to come back to a strong sense of what's at stake hear. We are
- living in a world dominated by a monster that is destroying not just
- people, families, communities, wealth and welfare, publically owned goods,
- cultures and ways of being, but also the planet itself. That monster is
- the untamed capitalism resurgent since the early 70s, now in a full blown
- expansionist phase. I still see much of the postmodernist tradition as a
- fashionable diversion that engages with this at the wrong level altogether
- - that of the particular, often at the level of the word, rather than at
- the level of social relations.
- Mark Buron
- > I have been a lurker on the list for a few months, but have enjoyed some
- > of the fascinating recent contributions, and I have at last been moved
- > to contribute a thought, despite my possible lack of qualifications :-)
- >
- > I found myself thinking a great deal about Mark Burton's interesting
- > posting on 'being critical' and enjoyed David and Paul's recent
- > comments, amongst others.
- >
- > Mark's posting reflected a (useful) tension that was apparent at the
- > Newcastle conference. Both the idealism of modernity and the iconoclasm
- > of post-modern thinking were represented at various stages of the
- > conference and are apparent in the literature. If I remember correctly,
- > David Smail referred to Habermas and the Frankfurt School in his
- > presentation at conference, as he does in his book 'Power Interest and
- > Psychology'. He is also critical of elements of post-modern approaches
- > to therapy, especially Narrative Therapy which (if I have understood) he
- > calls 'psychotic', the apotheosis of 'magic-voluntarism'(p.7)*.
- >
- > On the other hand, much hay has been made by explicitly applying the
- > thinking of post-modern types such as Derrida and Foucault by, for
- > example, Ian Parker (eg 'Deconstructing Psychotherapy'). This work is
- > also of value for community psychology, and it has much to say about
- > 'being critical', not in a destructive way, but in a restless attempt to
- > identify, unsettle and unbalance entrenched power structures.
- >
- > It is therefore this paragraph in Mark's posting that I want to comment
- > on:-
- >
- > "Another use of 'critical', however, seems to come from the lay notion
- > of the 'critic'. At its worst (and most post-modern) that can mean 'say
- > what you like', and 'pose around as the most critical voice of all'.
- > There is no method, just individual opinion. The process is destructive
- > not constructive. It is part of the 'society of the spectacle', of
- > consumerism, of capitalism itself."
- >
- > It reminded me of the sensationalist rhetoric of Alex Callinicos in
- > "Against Postmodernism". I am not sure it is helpful to try and ensnare
- > the multiplicity of post-modern thinking, or post-modern methods, in a
- > bi-polar construct 'capitalism versus Marxism', right versus left wing:-
- > post-modern thinking is diverse. There is also a danger that we
- > underplay the influence of post-modern thinkers on the development of
- > 'reflexive modernity' which still binds strongly to Marxist roots.
- >
- > In fact, my attitude to what it means to be 'critical' was heavily
- > influenced by Lyotard, "a critique can only ever be reformist and is
- > eternally trapped in the sphere of the criticised (1974, Libidinal
- > Economy)". To be revolutionary we need to be able to turn our backs on
- > entrenched polarities and look away.**
- >
- > I think we have much to learn from post-modern thinking and indeed, much
- > of the language in this mailing list echoes that of some of the most
- > interesting post-modern writers such as Foucault "The individual is the
- > product of power. What is needed is to "de-individualize" by means of
- > multiplication and displacement, diverse combinations. The group must
- > not be the organic bond uniting hierarchised individuals, but a constant
- > generator of de-individualization" (From "Introduction to the
- > Non-Fascist Life").
- >
- > I don't think community psychology needs to take shelter under any of
- > the great movements (Marxism, The Frankfurt School, Post-modernism) or
- > any of the great egos that dominate much of modern thought, be it
- > Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard....Habermas or Marx! But we must be careful
- > not to parody useful post-modern methods and thought as nihilistic, or
- > capitalist. There are lots of useful ways of being critical.
- >
- > I've enjoyed the provocative postings on the list; a little corner of
- > the non-fascist life!
- >
- >
- > Grant Jeffrey (possibly protesting too much ;-)
- >
- >
- >
- > *(Interestingly, in their book 'Anti-Oedipus',1983, the post-modern
- > writers Deleuze and Guattari make a virtue of the very psychosis that
- > David Smail identifies with their alternative to psychoanalysis -
- > 'schizo-analysis'!)
- >
- > **(Nietzsche (1887, Aphorism 276) "I do not want to wage war against
- > what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse
- > those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. All in all
- > and on the whole, some day I wish to be only a Yes-Sayer.")
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- >
- > This message is intended for the addressee(s) only and should not be read,
- > copied or disclosed to anyone else outwith the University without the
- > permission of the sender.
- > It is your responsibility to ensure that this message and any attachments
- > are scanned for viruses or other defects. Napier University does not
- > accept liability for any loss
- > or damage which may result from this email or any attachment, or for
- > errors or omissions arising after it was sent. Email is not a secure
- > medium. Email entering the
- > University's system is subject to routine monitoring and filtering by the
- > University.
- >
- > ___________________________________
- >
- > COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK.
- > To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
- > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
- > For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
- > [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
- >
- --
- From Mark Burton
- Manchester UK
- ___________________________________
- COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK.
- To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
- http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
- For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
- Petra M Boynton, PhD
www.psypress.co.uk/boynton
- Lecturer in Health Services Research
- Department Primary Care and Population Sciences, UCL.
- Open Learning Unit, Archway Campus
- 4th Floor, Holborn Union Building, Highgate Hill
- London, N19 5LW.
- Tel: 0207 288 3325
Mob: 07967 212925
- The Research Companion Messageboard - share your experiences and get support here!
- ___________________________________
- COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK. To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
The University of Stirling is a university established in Scotland by charter at Stirling, FK9 4LA. Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message. If you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not disclose, copy or deliver this message to anyone and any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. In such case, you should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply email. Please advise immediately if you or your employer do not consent to Internet email for messages of this kind.
___________________________________
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK. To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK. To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]