CANS 406 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Critical Discourse Analysis, Democratic Peace Theory, Knowledge
22 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
IR and Feminist Methodologies
Dr. Sharlene Hesse-Biber Interview:
-What is unique about feminist research is the perspective, not the methods
-Commitment to social change/justice
-Feminist perspectives have been thought to be qualitative
-Feminist research gets at information that wasn’t there before, asking questions no one else asks
-Reflexivity is critical in feminist research
-It’s basically impossible to be objective in research
-Methods = “technique for gathering and analyzing evidence” (Tickner)
-Ethnography, statistics, polls, interviews, oral histories, case studies, process tracing,
focus groups, critical discourse analysis
-No singular or unique feminist research method
-Methodology = “an intellectual process guiding reflections about the relation between
epistemology, ontology, choice of method, and ethics” (Ackerly, Stern and True)
-Not just one theoretical framework, but bringing together several concerns in a holistic
manner
-Methodology = “a theory and analysis of how research does or should proceed”
-Methodology is a process, something that evolves
-Tickner argues that there is a distinct feminist methodology that fundamentally challenges
masculine biases in how knowledge has been constructed
-Weldon on methodology = “our approach to developing knowledge”
-Who gets to participate?
-Methodology has been understood too narrowly/individualistically
-How do we develop knowledge through a collective process?
-US National Academy of Sciences: “the judgments scientists make about interpretation or
reliability of data…the decisions scientists make about which problems to pursue or when to
conclude an investigation…the ways scientists work with each other and exchange information”
(Harding)
-Theory is more concerned with tackling normative issues
-They may have empirical implications, but not always
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-Theory generally accepted as something that provides a general explanation for something
-E.g.: democratic peace theory
-Social science theory can help us explain or predict certain issues
-Many feminist researchers are skeptical of this endeavor – theories are abstractive for the sake
of parsimony (aiming for an elegant/simple explanation that is applicable)
-The fact that a theory doesn’t map on too all situations/realities or simplifies them isn’t a failing,
but it is a problem if a theory oversimplifies
-Could misinterpret the nature of the problem, nuances
-Tickner is reacting to conventional social science – this is a methodology in and of itself, a
methodology of positivism
-In conventional social science, the point is to “make a conjecture about causality” (Tickner)
-Formulate that as a hypothesis that is consistent with established theories (building on)
-Specify the observable implications of the hypothesis
-Test for whether those implications obtain in the real world, quantitative data to see to
which extent the hypothesis holds
-Reporting of findings, making it replicable to other members of the community
-Keohane: “the best way to convince non-believers of the validity of the message that feminists
are seeking to deliver” is for feminists to get on board with this conventional social science
methodology
-Many feminist researchers already engage with this methodology in a strategic manner
-Reductive? Too accommodating of already patriarchal methods?
-Cox: “Theory is always for someone, and for some purpose”
-True: “All perspectives on international relations are inherently normative, whether consciously
or not:”
-Building on insights from Cox’s critical anti-imperialist strand of IR
-Positivism = research paradigm connected to physical sciences/experiments
-Dominant school of thought for centuries
-Analysis of data from outside/objective/reliable perspectives
-Minimize bias, impersonal, seek authority not opinion
-Systematic, organized, mostly quantitative data, focus on measured,
verifiable/generalizable outcomes, with focus on prediction/causal analysis
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
What is unique about feminist research is the perspective, not the methods. Feminist perspectives have been thought to be qualitative. Feminist research gets at information that wasn"t there before, asking questions no one else asks. It"s basically impossible to be objective in research. Methods = technique for gathering and analyzing evidence (tickner) Ethnography, statistics, polls, interviews, oral histories, case studies, process tracing, focus groups, critical discourse analysis. Methodology = an intellectual process guiding reflections about the relation between epistemology, ontology, choice of method, and ethics (ackerly, stern and true) Not just one theoretical framework, but bringing together several concerns in a holistic manner. Methodology = a theory and analysis of how research does or should proceed . Tickner argues that there is a distinct feminist methodology that fundamentally challenges masculine biases in how knowledge has been constructed. Weldon on methodology = our approach to developing knowledge .
