Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Epistemology of Violence pp 19–42Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

A New Epistemic and Methodological Approach to the Study of Violence

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 214 Accesses

Part of the book series: Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice ((CPTRP))

Abstract

This chapter presents a new epistemic and methodological framework for the study of violence. Arguing that both idealist (e.g. post-structural) and foundationalist (e.g. positivist) epistemologies are both inadequate, a new epistemic framework is presented which draws on updated early Frankfurt-School critical theory, post-Husserlian phenomenology, and Critical Realism. Key epistemic attitudes are discussed, such as a dialectical approach to ‘bracketing’ based in a more phenomenologically grounded concept of intersubjectivity and a resistance to ‘identity thinking’, as well as emphasis on the multidimensionality and processual nature of phenomena. Grounded in this epistemic framework, a methodological approach is outlined, which draws on aspects of ‘radical enquiry’ and Grounded Theory, and a compatible approach to causality. The data collection and analysis methods upon which this book is based are also outlined, which include a ‘naturalistic enquiry’ approach to participant observation and a multidimensional causal chain analysis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    As Schick (2009) states, the rationalistic, positivist ‘rush to “solve” the problem of suffering with the forward-looking articulation of an abstract, universal response skims too quickly over concrete human experience’ (p. 138).

  2. 2.

    Cf. Edkins (2002, 2003) and Zizek (2002a, b).

  3. 3.

    I will illustrate examples of this later, as indeed, the motto emblazoned on Brazil’s national flag is ‘order and progress’.

  4. 4.

    The use of the term ‘patchwork’ here is not to be taken to mean a lack of coherence, but rather a coherent framework pieced together from compatible elements of a variety of separate frameworks.

  5. 5.

    See Chap. 3 for further discussion on epistemic justice.

  6. 6.

    Remembering that I was working with a broad definition of violence that included both implicit and explicit forms of violence.

References

  • Adelman, C., Kemmis, S., & Jenkins, D. (1980). Rethinking Case Study: Notes from the Second Cambridge Conference. In H. Simons (Ed.), Towards a Science of the Singular (pp. 45–61). Norwich: University of East Anglia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adorno, T. W. (1973). Negative Dialectics. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrosino, M. V. (2012). Observation-Based Research. In J. Arthur, M. Waring, R. Coe, & L. V. Hedges (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education (pp. 165–169). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. (2012). Epistemic Justice as a Virtue of Social Institutions. Social Epistemology, 26(2), 163–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arsenault, N., & Anderson, G. (1998). Fundamentals of Educational Research. London: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashley, L. D. (2012). Case Study Research. In J. Arthur, M. Waring, R. Coe, & L. V. Hedges (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education (pp. 102–107). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhaskar, R. (1979). The Possibility of Naturalism: A Philosophical Critique of the Contemporary Human Sciences. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods (5th ed.). London: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1944). A Constant Frame of Reference for Sociometric Research: Part II. Experiment and Interference. Sociometry, 7, 40–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments in Nature and Design. London: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making Human Beings Human: Bioecological Perspectives on Human Development. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, A., & Charmaz, K. (2007). The Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clough, P., & Nutbrown, C. (2012). A Student’s Guide to Methodology (3rd ed.). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, D. (2005). From the Actual to the Possible: Nonidentity Thinking. Constellations, 12(1), 21–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cresswell, J. W. (2014). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. London: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cruickshank, J. (2003). Realism and Sociology: Anti-Foundationalism, Ontology and Social Research. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbert, M. L., & Kurth-Schai, R. (1992). Systematic Ethnography: Toward an Evolutionary Science of Education and Culture. In M. LeCompte, W. L. Millroy, & J. Preissle (Eds.), The Handbook of Qualitative Research in Education (pp. 93–160). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douven, I. (2011). Abduction. Retrieved June 17, 2016, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/abduction/.

  • Edkins, J. (2002). Forget Trauma? Responses to September 11. International Relations, 16(2), 243–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edkins, J. (2003). Trauma and the Memory of Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleetwood, S. (2013, September 20). What Is (and What Isn’t) Critical Realism? [Research Seminar]. Centre for Employment Studies, University of West England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, A. J. (2016). Applying Critical Realism in Qualitative Research: Methodology Meets Method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(2), 181–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrester, J. (1971). World Dynamics. Cambridge: Wright-Allen Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fricker, M. (1999). Epistemic Oppression and Epistemic Privilege. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 29(sup1), 191–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fricker, M. (2013). Epistemic Justice as a Condition of Political Freedom? Synthese, 190(7), 1317–1332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, B. (1998). Doing Grounded Theory: Issues and Discussions. Mill Valley: Sociology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, B. (2010). Grounded Theory Is the Study of a Concept. [Video Lecture]. Retrieved June 17, 2016, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcpxaLQDnLk.

  • Hammer, R., & McLaren, P. (1991). Rethinking the Dialectic: A Social Semiotic Perspective for Educators. Educational Theory, 41(1), 23–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harich, J. (2010). Change Resistance as the Crux of the Environmental Sustainability Problem. System Dynamics Review, 26(1), 35–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hitchcock, G., & Hughes, D. (1989). Research and the Teacher. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horkheimer, M., & Adorno, T. W. (2002). Dialectic of Enlightenment. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, S. A. (1988). Education and Grounded Theory. In R. R. Sherman & R. B. Webb (Eds.), Qualitative Research in Education: Focus and Methods (pp. 123–140). London: RoutledgeFalmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, P. (2009). Learning to Be a Person in Society: Learning to Be Me. In K. Illeris (Ed.), Contemporary Theories of Learning: Learning Theorists… In Their Own Words (pp. 21–23). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelle, U. (1995). Theories as Heuristic Tools in Qualitative Research. In I. Maso, P. A. Atkinson, S. Delamot, & J. C. Verhoeven (Eds.), Openness in Research: The Tension Between Self and Other (pp. 33–50). Assen: Van Gorcum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurki, M. (2008). Causation in International Relations: Reclaiming Causal Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leithäuser, T. (1976). Formen des Alltagsbewusstseins. Frankfurt: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichtman, M. (2006). Qualitative Research in Education: A User’s Guide. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lofland, J. (1971). Analyzing Social Settings. Belmont: Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2006). Designing Qualitative Research. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, J. A. (2012). A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mclaren, P. L. (1995). Collisions with Otherness: “Travelling” Theory, Postcolonial Criticism, and the Politics of Ethnographic Practice – The Mission of the Wounded Ethnographer. In P. L. McLaren & J. M. Giarelli (Eds.), Critical Theory and Educational Research (pp. 271–300). New York: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964). The Primacy of Perception. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M. (2012). Phenomenology of Perception. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moghaddam, A. (2006). Coding Issues in Grounded Theory. Issues in Educational Research, 16(1), 52–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, K. R. B. (2009). Causation in Educational Research. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nisbet, J., & Watt, J. (1984). Case Study. In J. Bell, T. Bush, A. Fox, J. Goodey, & S. Goulding (Eds.), Conducting Small-Scale Investigations in Educational Management (pp. 79–92). London: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norris, N., & Walker, R. (2005). Naturalistic Enquiry. In B. Somekh & C. Lewin (Eds.), Research Methods in the Social Sciences (pp. 131–137). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nurjannah, I., Mills, J., Park, T., & Usher, K. (2014). Conducting a Grounded Theory Study in a Language Other Than English. SAGE Open, 4(1), 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parr, S. (2013). Integrating Critical Realist and Feminist Methodologies: Ethical and Analytical Dilemmas. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 18, 193–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, M. Q. (1980). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearl, L. (2009). Causality. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1977). The Development of Thought: Equilibration of Cognitive Structures. New York: Viking Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redman-MacLaren, M., & Mills, J. (2015). Transformational Grounded Theory: Theory, Voice, and Action. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 14(3), 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rockmore, T. (2004). On Foundationalism: A Strategy for Metaphysical Realism. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person. London: Constable.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartre, J. P. (1956). Being and Nothingness: An Essay in Phenomenological Ontology. New York: Washington Square Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schick, K. (2009). To Lend a Voice To Suffering Is a Condition For All Truth: Adorno and International Political Thought. Journal of International Political Theory, 5(2), 138–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, D. (2007). Sartre and Adorno: The Dialectics of Subjectivity. Albany: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. C. (2011). Consciousness and Revolt: An Exploration Toward Reconciliation. Holt: Heathwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornberg, R. (2012a). Grounded Theory. In J. Arthur, M. Waring, R. Coe, & L. V. Hedges (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education (pp. 85–93). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornberg, R. (2012b). Informed Grounded Theory. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 56(3), 243–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Titchiner, B. M. (2017). The Epistemology of Violence: Understanding the Root Causes of Violence and Non-conducive Social Circumstances in Schooling, with a Case-Study from Brazil. Digital Thesis. University of East Anglia. Retrieved from https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/63644/.

  • Waring, M. (2012). Grounded Theory. In J. Arthur, M. Waring, R. Coe, & L. V. Hedges (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education (pp. 297–308). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, C. (2006). Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wider, K. (1997). The Bodily Nature of Consciousness: Sartre and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. K. (2009). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zizek, S. (2002a). For They Know Not What They Do: Enjoyment as Political Factor. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zizek, S. (2002b). Welcome to the Desert of the Real! Five Essays on September 11 and Related Dates. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwich, Norfolk, UK

    Beth M. Titchiner

Authors
  1. Beth M. Titchiner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Titchiner, B.M. (2019). A New Epistemic and Methodological Approach to the Study of Violence. In: The Epistemology of Violence. Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12911-8_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation