Methodologies for critical theories
The idea that knowledge and discourse are neither neutral nor a priori emancipatory is now commonly accepted in social sciences and International Relations. It is, for example, a core premise of the body of theories often referred to as ‘critical theories’.
This theoretical posture, however, raises a practical challenge that has not been given due attention: considering the invisible social dimensions of knowledge, how can we ensure that the knowledge we produce is not only empirically valid and theoretically coherent but also challenges rather than reproduces the issues we aim to oppose? Indeed, while denouncing the harmful socio-political effects of knowledge in general, critical scholars exclude the knowledge they produce from the scope of their scrutiny. This runs the risk that these theories reproduce in an even more insidious way the phenomena they aim to challenge, precisely because they present themselves as challengers of the socio-political order, as highlighted by a growing body of literature (Allen 2017; Duzgun 2018; Kapoor 2017; Alejandro 2018).
This research project aims at transforming the concerns regarding the mismatch between critical theories and research practices into a methodological programme and addressing it with practical solutions.
Example of events organised around this project include:
This theoretical posture, however, raises a practical challenge that has not been given due attention: considering the invisible social dimensions of knowledge, how can we ensure that the knowledge we produce is not only empirically valid and theoretically coherent but also challenges rather than reproduces the issues we aim to oppose? Indeed, while denouncing the harmful socio-political effects of knowledge in general, critical scholars exclude the knowledge they produce from the scope of their scrutiny. This runs the risk that these theories reproduce in an even more insidious way the phenomena they aim to challenge, precisely because they present themselves as challengers of the socio-political order, as highlighted by a growing body of literature (Allen 2017; Duzgun 2018; Kapoor 2017; Alejandro 2018).
This research project aims at transforming the concerns regarding the mismatch between critical theories and research practices into a methodological programme and addressing it with practical solutions.
Example of events organised around this project include:
- Organisation of the workshop: ‘Performing Utopia: Discourses of Love, Compassion and More in International Relations’, Queen Mary University of London, May 2018.
- Co-organisation of the workshop ‘The World at the Door: When the Local and Everyday are International’ with Ellie Knott (LSE), London School of Economics, November 2017.