Theories in Arts and Social Sciences___Broad definitions
The book Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research by Mats Alvesson and Kaj Skoldberg has given me the idea that it may be a very good thing to give brief definitions of some of the prevalent theoretical frameworks in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Alvesson and Skoldberg conduct their analysis of these distinct theoretical approaches through separate chapters in their book, which can be read online here. Their objective in conducting such a study is to set the context for a further/novel framework for qualitative research, namely a "reflexive methodology."
Although some may claim that the concerns of creative practices stand outside these theoretical canons, I would strongly argue against such a notion since we (and by extension our work) are always influenced by the particular Zeitgeist that we live under; and these ideologies will have permeated our ways of thinking almost through osmosis, regardless of whether we are aware of this or not. So, a closer look at some of the major contemporary trends of Arts and Social Sciences theories should not be all too amiss:
Grounded theory is a systematic methodology in the social sciences involving the discovery of theory through the analysis of data. It is mainly used in qualitative research, but is also applicable to quantitative data. This is a research approach which operates almost in a reverse fashion from traditional social science research. Rather than beginning with a hypothesis, the first step is data collection, through a variety of methods. From the data collected, the key points are marked with a series of codes, which are extracted from the text. The codes are grouped into similar concepts in order to make them more workable. From these concepts, categories are formed, which are the basis for the creation of a theory, or a reverse engineered hypothesis. This contradicts the traditional model of research, where the researcher chooses a theoretical framework, and only then applies this model to the phenomenon to be studied.
Hermeneutics is the study of the interpretation of written texts, especially texts in the areas of literature, religion and law. A type of traditional hermeneutic is biblical hermeneutics which concerns the study of the interpretation of the Bible. Modern hermeneutics encompasses everything in the interpretative process including verbal and nonverbal forms of communication as well as prior aspects that affect communication, such as presuppositions, preunderstandings, the meaning and philosophy of language, and semiotics. Philosophical hermeneutics refers primarily to the theory of knowledge initiated by Martin Heidegger.
Critical theory is a school of thought that stresses the examination and the critique of society and culture, by applying knowledge from the social sciences and the humanities. As a term, critical theory has two meanings with different origins and histories: The first originated in sociology where it is used and applied as an umbrella term that can describe a theory founded upon critique - in so far as it seeks "to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them." The second, critical theory in literary studies, is ultimately a form of hermeneutics, i.e. knowledge via interpretation to understand the meaning of human texts and symbolic expressions—including the interpretation of texts which are themselves implicitly or explicitly the interpretation of other texts. Critical social theory is, in contrast, a form of self-reflective knowledge involving both understanding and theoretical explanation to reduce entrapment in systems of domination or dependence, obeying the emancipatory interest in expanding the scope of autonomy and reducing the scope of domination.
Postmodernist theory is based on the position that reality is not mirrored in human understanding of it, but is rather constructed as the mind tries to understand its own personal reality. Postmodernism is therefore skeptical of explanations that claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person. In the postmodern understanding, interpretation is everything; reality only comes into being through our interpretations of what the world means to us individually. Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, arguing that the outcome of one's own experience will necessarily be fallible and relative, rather than certain or universal.
Postmodernism postulates that many, if not all, apparent realities are only social constructs and are therefore subject to change. It claims that there is no absolute truth and that the way people perceive the world is subjective and emphasizes the role of language, power relations, and motivations in the formation of ideas and beliefs. In particular it attacks the use of sharp binary classifications such as male versus female, straight versus gay, white versus black, and imperial versus colonial; it holds realities to be plural and relative, and to be dependent on who the interested parties are and the nature of these interests. Postmodernist approaches therefore often consider the ways in which social dynamics, such as power and hierarchy, affect human conceptualizations of the world to have important effects on the way knowledge is constructed and used. Postmodernist thought often emphasizes constructivism, idealism, pluralism, relativism, and skepticism in its approaches to knowledge and understanding.
Closely related to postmodernist theory is also post-structuralism which tends to connect observations and references from many, widely varying disciplines into a synthetic view of knowledge and its relationship to experience, the body, society and economy - a synthesis in which it sees itself as participating. Generally, post-structuralists emphasize the inter-determination and contingency of social and historical phenomena with each other and with the cultural values and biases of perspective. Such realities are not to be dissected as a system of facts that could exist independently from values and paradigms but to be understood as both causes and effects of each other.