Concept 2: Writing Speaks to Situations through Recognizable Forms (original) (raw)
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Anthropological Theory, 2005
Those of us in the 'social sciences' who take theory 'seriously' have been taught to treat ideas as ideas. The history of theory is thus the history of ideas as they have evolved from or in contradistinction to other ideas. Some disciplines even have 'classical' theory, a wellspring of concepts and frames of mind that have served to produce more contemporary ones. Theory may be seen as a special form of discourse in the sense that most authors appear to attach a certain degree of belief in the factual content of theory or theoretical explanation. At least, I do not know anyone who takes his theory seriously who would at the same time admit that it is a deliberate fiction or imagined narrative. On the contrary, I wish to argue that theories in the first instance are precisely that: imagined relations that are grounded in mindsets and experiences, which are socially and historically constituted. Moreover, I argue that these mindsets and experiences are unconsciously constituted in the context of changing institutions that have directly conditioned the subjectivity of theorists as agents. Academics in particular like to think that their writing is 'free' from strictures that define its form or content. I think this is an illusion that has ramifications, most of all for 'theory'.
Introduction to Volume 2, Emerging Theoretical and Pedagogical Practices
The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado eBooks, 2024
The Perspectives on Writing series addresses writing studies in a broad sense. Consistent with the wide ranging approaches characteristic of teaching and scholarship in writing across the curriculum, the series presents works that take divergent perspectives on working as a writer, teaching writing, administering writing programs, and studying writing in its various forms. The WAC Clearinghouse and University Press of Colorado are collaborating so that these books will be widely available through free digital distribution and low-cost print editions. The publishers and the series editors are committed to the principle that knowledge should freely circulate and have embraced the use of technology to support open access to scholarly work.