Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons^™

A Kierkegaardian Understanding Of Self And Society: An Existential Sociology, Chris L. Jakway

Dissertations

In examining the history and development of existential sociology, it becomes clear that in its initial phases it was not intended to oppose traditional sociological research, but to complement it. I intend to show that the contemporary chasm between the methodologies can be narrowed with a reconsideration of their common roots in the work of G.H. Mead and the symbolic interactionists. Existential sociologists today offer a practical synthesis that combines that theoretical heritage with philosophic ontology dating back to the writings of Soren Kierkegaard.

My conceptual goal is reveal how the existential philosophy of Kierkegaard, while not irrational or solipsistic, …

Refocusing On Qualitative Methods: Problems And Prospects For Research In A Specific Asian Context, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A recent issue of Area (1996, Volume 28.2) devoted space to six papers on focus groups, attesting to their increasing importance as a means of obtaining qualitative data. The papers provided interesting insights into the use of focus groups in specific research and cultural contexts, and raised three main issues in my mind. The first is a continuing misunderstanding as to the nature of knowledge, which surfaces in discussions of, and approaches to, the use of qualitative methods such as focus groups. The second is the range of related techniques that are actually involved in the qualitative method, known as …

Spinoza And Marx, Eugene W. Holland

Eugene W Holland

This essay explores what replacing Hegel with Spinoza as a philosophical source might do for contemporary Marxism.

A Critical View Of Kai Erikson's Everything In Its Path: The Current State Of Appalachian Studies, Matthew Franklin Moore

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis is a critical response to Kai Erikson’s depiction of Appalachian culture in his book, Everything In Its Path. I also survey associated writers such as Jack Weller and others. Erikson’s traditional “Culture of Poverty” model frames the research questions by “blaming the victim”. Everything In Its Path is written in a vacuum, without historical continuity. The questions that Erikson (following Welier) employs in his research methodology are poor cause and effect description in which Erikson blames the Appalachian culture for its societal differences. Erikson glosses over the social dynamics and socio-economic history of the Appalachian region. Furthermore, the …

Legal-Ware: Contract And Copyright In The Digital Age, Michael J. Madison

Articles

ProCD, Inc. v. Zeidenberg, which enforced a shrinkwrap license for computer software, has encouraged the expansion of the shrinkwrap form beyond computer programs, forward, onto the Internet, and backward, toward such traditional works as books and magazines. Authors and publishers are using that case to advance norms of information use that exclude, practically and conceptually, a robust public domain and a meaningful doctrine of fair use. Contesting such efforts by focusing on the contractual nature of traditional shrinkwrap, by relying on market principles, on adhesion theory, on commercial law concepts of usage and custom, or on federal preemption doctrine, feeds …

“Migrations Of Ethnic Unmixing In The New Europe, Rogers Brubaker

Rogers Brubaker

To the extent that ethnicity or nationality has been relevant to the study of migrations to, from or within Europe in the last century and a half, the focus has been on migration as a 'heterogenizing' process, one important consequence of which has been to introduce or increase ethnic or national heterogeneity in the receiving countries. This article addresses a different, and neglected, link between migration and ethnicity or nationality in Europe. It explores migrations of "ethnic unmixing" or "ethnic affinity."

Myths And Misconceptions In The Study Of Nationalism, Rogers Brubaker

Rogers Brubaker

No abstract provided.

Ethnic And Nationalist Violence, Rogers Brubaker, David Laitin

Rogers Brubaker

Work on ethnic and nationalist violence has emerged from two largely nonintersecting literatures: studies of ethnic conflict and studies of political violence. Only recently have the former begun to attend to the dynamics of violence and the latter to the dynamics of ethnicization. Since the emergent literature on ethnic violence is not structured by clearly defined theoretical oppositions, we organize our review by broad similarities of methodological approach: (a) Inductive work at various levels of aggregation seeks to identify the patterns, mechanisms, and recurrent processes implicated in ethnic violence. (b) Theory-driven work employs models of rational action drawn from international …