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:

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