Re: [xmca] lave in mca

[mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>]

For those with extra reading time, check out

http://www.soc.washington.edu/users/brines/booth.pdf

On Sat, Jul 14, 2012 at 11:04 AM, Greg Thompson
<greg.a.thompson@gmail.com>wrote:

> As an asides (but sufficiently noteworthy to send to all), consider also
> Wayne Booth's book The Craft of Research.
>
> Lovely discussion here, just wish I had more time to read/participate.
>
> -greg
>
> On Tue, Jul 10, 2012 at 9:25 AM, Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The discussion of research as *craft* and an apprenticeship has been
> > explored.
> > I want to turn to the openning of the article where Lave says the
> relation
> > of person and world is continually being reconsidered in our research.
> > I want to take a passage from Karen Barad's book,
> >
> >
> http://books.google.ca/books/about/Meeting_the_Universe_Halfway.html?id=4qYorOpfB6EC&redir_esc=y
> >
> > as a response to how to understand the research process. Karen is
> > discussing the process of writing a book but I am going to substitute
> > *research* where she uses *book* to unveil what may be the key to
> > understanding research.
> >
> > "There is no single point in time that marks the beginning of this
> > *research* nor is there an "I" who saw the project through from beginning
> > to end, nor is *research* a process that any individual "I's" can claim
> > credit for. In an important sense, it is not so much that I have written
> > this *research*, as that it has written me.  Or rather, "we" have
> > "INTRA-actively written each other ("intra-actively rather than the usual
> > "inter-actively" since *research* is not a unidirectional practice of
> > creation that flows from author to *methods*, but rather the practice of
> > *research* is an iterative and mutually constitutive working out and
> > reworking of *research* and *author*)  Which is not to deny my own AGENCY
> > (as it were) but to CALL INTO QUESTION the nature of agency (and its
> > presumed localization WITHIN individuals (whether human or nonhuman).
> > Furthermore, entanglements are not isolated binary co-productions as the
> > example of an author-*research* pair might suggest.  Friends, colleagues,
> > students, and family members, multiple academic institutions,
> departments,
> > and disciplines, the forests, streams, and beaches of the eastern and
> > western coasts, the awesome peace and clarity of early morning hours, and
> > much more were a part of what helped constitute this *research* and its
> > *author*.
> >
> > I hope this poetic licence [linking research to writing] gives a flavour
> of
> > how I read the QUESTIONs Jean Lave is proposing.  Her conversation was
> > directed at a particular audience of *researchers* and she is challenging
> > th binary formal/informal. I hope Karen Barad's answer [vented through my
> > response] contributes to a generative CON-versation, or dialogue.
> >
> > Larry
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Jul 8, 2012 at 8:43 AM, mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I am attaching a pdf of an article by Ole Dreier which provides a kind
> of
> > > precis of his book that Jean refers to.  The links to
> > > the references to Gibson in her article in part draw upon Ingold, but
> > Ole D
> > > has book out on objects with Allan Costall that
> > > make those links even clearer.
> > >
> > > I am seeking help on finding English language work by Gomes that Jean
> > sites
> > > with approval; its from a book in Portuguese which makes it a little
> > > inaccessible to most of us.
> > >
> > > And for those of us who wonder what all of this has to do with CHAT,
> > > consider the non-coincidence that Alexander Zaporozhets,
> > > mentor to VP Zinchenko and part of the circle that included LSV, Luria,
> > and
> > > Leontiev, interacted considerably with the Gibsons.
> > >
> > > 6 degrees of separation?
> > >
> > > mike
> > >
> > > On Sun, Jul 8, 2012 at 7:40 AM, Forman, Ellice A <ellice@pitt.edu>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > I agree with Mike. After reading Lave's article in MCA, I realized
> > that I
> > > > needed to read her new book to understand her position better. Lave,
> J.
> > > > (2011). Apprenticeship in critical ethnographic practice. Chicago:
> > > > University of Chicago Press. I'm just getting started reading it but
> > I'm
> > > > glad her article led me to it. She makes it clear that critical
> > > > ethnographic practice does not pit writing against activism, as Mike
> > > claims
> > > > here. Here's one early salient quote:
> > > >
> > > > "Critical ethnography certainly is engaged in social criticsm and an
> > > > integral concern for social justice . . . But critical ethnography
> has
> > > > other entailments and layers of meaning as well. It involves a
> > > relational,
> > > > historical worldview and metaphysics that question a number of
> > > commonsense
> > > > understandings. It envisions ethnographic research as a long struggle
> > to
> > > > illuminate social life, challenge commonplace theories and their
> > > political
> > > > implications, and change theoretical practice in the process. This
> book
> > > > pursues a more ample consideration of what we mean by critical
> > > ethnographic
> > > > practice." (p. 10)
> > > >
> > > > Right now I'm in the midst of exploring how Lave's early research on
> > > > tailoring in Liberia led her to pursue these broader and deeper
> > > > investigations of her own apprenticeship in critical ethnographic
> > > practice.
> > > >
> > > > ________________________________________
> > > > From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
> > > Behalf
> > > > Of mike cole [lchcmike@gmail.com]
> > > > Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2012 12:54 PM
> > > > To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > > > Cc: Jean Lave
> > > > Subject: Re: [xmca] lave in mca
> > > >
> > > > Lave: Changing Practices
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I think it would be a pity if xmca-ites settled for Peter’s
> > > > characterization of Jean Lave’s article as a call to activism, and as
> > > > pitting writing against activism. I did not interpret Jean’s comments
> > as
> > > a
> > > > call to march in anti-war-de-jour activities, or join an occupy
> protest
> > > to
> > > > slow down corporate greed.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Peter commented, in part:
> > > >
> > > >  *Scribner took it to the streets, marching in the marches and such,
> > and
> > > > bully for her. I've got to weigh things differently, I suspect. If I
> go
> > > > protest la guerre-du-jour, holding my sign at the campus gates, is
> > this a
> > > > cost-effective action? Or is getting my writing done more important,
> > > > especially the public pieces that are read widely, if not terribly
> > > > influentially, at least in terms of current policies? (but then,
> > standing
> > > > at the campus gates with a sign protesting wars or monied interests
> > > > probably has limited payoff as well.) And in my very conservative
> area,
> > > I'd
> > > > no doubt pay an additional cost, such as the outcry against my
> activism
> > > for
> > > > causes that go against the grain of popular opinion.*
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Firstly, the general silence she identified (correctly or not, people
> > who
> > > > were there should comment, but it rings true enough to me) was the
> > > absence
> > > > of  “historical specificity and political analysis.”  She then linked
> > her
> > > > ideas to those of Gramsci in the following way:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > *Gramsci’s political account of learning and education (and
> everything
> > > > else) grew out of*
> > > >
> > > > *his analysis of the “absolute historicism” of philosophy of praxis.
> He
> > > > pointed to the central engagement of state and private institutions
> of
> > > > education in inculcating and defending dominant hegemonic relations
> of
> > > > consent. That is not all that is going on in our complex
> contradictory
> > > > world, of course. But because virtually all ISCAR participants do the
> > > work
> > > > of these institutions, we also need to carry out the political
> analysis
> > > > that our positions call for.*
> > > >
> > > > * *
> > > >
> > > > None of Jean’s examples of the kind of changes in practice that she
> > > > advocates focused on marching in the streets or challenging the
> guerre
> > > (S!)
> > > > du jour. They did, however, focus on a number of examples (Drier,
> > Ingold,
> > > > Gomes, Holland, and her own) all of which involve the scholar, as
> > > scholar,
> > > > engaging in critical analyses of current research practices within
> the
> > > > professions of which they are a part.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Overall, the message that I took from the talk/essay was that those
> who
> > > > adopt what locally we refer to as a CHAT perspective have commitments
> > to
> > > > grounding theory in practices that are supposed to put our theories
> to
> > > the
> > > > test. Her recommendation that we worry about educating the educators,
> > > whose
> > > > practice is education, seems to me completely uncontroversial. Her
> > > positive
> > > > cases seem uncontroversial as recognizable lines of scholarly
> research
> > > some
> > > > of which has been discussed in this forum (we should “take  seriously
> > the
> > > > understanding of research as craft, and of both learning and changing
> > > > identity as aspects of craftsmanship" for example).
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I do not know nearly enough about most of the examples that Jean
> holds
> > up
> > > > as potential models to follow. It seems that remedying my ignorance
> > about
> > > > those examples would be a productive place to start. For sure, the
> > > serious
> > > > problems facing all forms of education, but in the case of most of
> us,
> > > > institutionally, the problems facing higher education, are acute and
> > > > getting worse very rapidly. Jean’s summary of that situation seems to
> > > line
> > > > up with my own knowledge of events, but perhaps that is because we
> are
> > > both
> > > > present for the dismantling of what was once a great public
> university.
> > > > Much less clear are lines of theory/practice research that
> would/could
> > > make
> > > > a difference.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Anyway, there is a serious call here for a fundamental, critical,
> > > > theory/practice orientation to our work. Answering this call IS a
> > > political
> > > > as well as an academic act. It may also be a warning that the
> > privileged
> > > > lifeworlds of academics that those of us over 30 years of age have
> > > > experienced may be in danger of disappearing faster than the ozone
> > layer.
> > > >
> > > > mike
> > > >
> > > > (Ps- sorry for the funny font gyrations. Cut and pasted from a word
> > doc.)
> > > >
> > > > On Wed, Jul 4, 2012 at 6:00 AM, Peter Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu>
> > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I'm going to assume my unappointed role as discussion-launcher for
> > the
> > > > > Lave article in MCA that was voted as the feature discussion
> article
> > on
> > > > > xmca. I may not be able to stick around for long, as we're going on
> > > > > vacation Saturday in hopes that somewhere on this earth we can
> find a
> > > > place
> > > > > that's not as hot as Georgia, USA.
> > > > >
> > > > > Lave's paper is based on her plenary closing talk at ISCAR in Rome,
> > an
> > > > > even I did not attend. As an aside, as long as it's held in
> > > > mid-September,
> > > > > shortly after our fall academic semester begins, I and others like
> me
> > > > > probably won't attend. It's just too ill-timed to miss 1-2 weeks of
> > > > > classes, depending on location, right after getting the semester
> off
> > > the
> > > > > ground.
> > > > >
> > > > > Lave references several ISCAR talks she found compelling, so it's
> > nice
> > > > for
> > > > > us non-attenders to get a sense of what she found valuable in Rome.
> > > > >
> > > > > If there's an overriding theme to her paper, it might be that
> > > > > cultural-historical researchers ought to be more involved in social
> > > > > activism. I was struck while reading the paper by how she could
> > easily
> > > > have
> > > > > used Silvia Scribner as her role model for the talk, even though SS
> > > goes
> > > > > unmentioned. A month or so when I wrote to the list about my
> reading
> > of
> > > > her
> > > > > collected papers, I noted that her activism on the labor front
> > probably
> > > > cut
> > > > > into her writing time, although perhaps her career was conducted
> > before
> > > > > electronic media made expectations for writing much greater-there
> > were
> > > > > fewer journals and fewer book publishers, and writing itself was
> much
> > > > more
> > > > > laborious (a point related to the recent discussion of writing) in
> > that
> > > > it
> > > > > was often undertaken by pen, then retyped, and ultimately less
> > amenable
> > > > to
> > > > > revision than it is these days.
> > > > >
> > > > > She urges social activism, although the paper is general enough to
> > > allow
> > > > > for individuals to take that appeal up in their own ways. Academics
> > > are,
> > > > to
> > > > > some, "above" ideology, and so should avoid the fray; yet most of
> us
> > > here
> > > > > would agree with her point that all thinking is ideological, and so
> > > being
> > > > > an activist on important social issues is a natural extension of
> our
> > > > work.
> > > > > If we are all ideological in our thinking, research, and writing,
> and
> > > if
> > > > > social issues are shaped by ideology, should we not then contribute
> > to
> > > > the
> > > > > shape of  social issues through what we know via scholarship? (and
> > > how's
> > > > > that for a Western logical syllogism.)
> > > > >
> > > > > Scribner took it to the streets, marching in the marches and such,
> > and
> > > > > bully for her. I've got to weigh things differently, I suspect. If
> I
> > go
> > > > > protest la guerre-du-jour, holding my sign at the campus gates, is
> > > this a
> > > > > cost-effective action? Or is getting my writing done more
> important,
> > > > > especially the public pieces that are read widely, if not terribly
> > > > > influentially, at least in terms of current policies? (but then,
> > > standing
> > > > > at the campus gates with a sign protesting wars or monied interests
> > > > > probably has limited payoff as well.) And in my very conservative
> > area,
> > > > I'd
> > > > > no doubt pay an additional cost, such as the outcry against my
> > activism
> > > > for
> > > > > causes that go against the grain of popular opinion.
> > > > >
> > > > > I hope these concerns are not too concrete for Lave's fairly
> abstract
> > > > > call-to-peaceful-arms about social activism. For those of us in
> > fairly
> > > > > conventional academic positions (Lave's seems to allow for much
> more
> > > > travel
> > > > > than mine), activism has to be balanced against other
> considerations
> > > and
> > > > > demands on our time and local reputations. At this point, I'm more
> > > > > persuaded by the general thrust of her views than of possibilities
> > for
> > > > > real-world activism whose consequences are greater than I can
> produce
> > > > > through my writing.
> > > > >
> > > > > OK, there you go, your turn.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > __________________________________________
> > > > > _____
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> > > > >
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> > > > _____
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> > >
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> > > _____
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> > > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
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> > >
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> Sanford I. Berman Post-Doctoral Scholar
> Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition
> Department of Communication
> University of California, San Diego
> http://ucsd.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
> __________________________________________
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