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6916:2020:the_practice_of_social_theory [2020/02/11 23:04] – external edit 127.0.0.16916:2020:the_practice_of_social_theory [2020/02/11 23:16] – Ryan Schram (admin)
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 When dominant groups in society interpret the world, they necessarily change it to suit their interests; Double-consciousness, “two-ness” (ibid.), or alienation from oneself, is the result for everyone else. While Du Bois says that double-consciousness is “not true self-consciousness” (ibid.), I would like to argue that the experience of “two-ness” can also be the basis for another kind of social theory. This would mean, of course, that we can potentially find new insights into how societies work outside of the usual institutional locations for this activity, namely the university and academe. Instead, people’s own everyday lives and practices can be seen as the basis for theoretical conceptual tools. Rather than seeking to transcend its conditions, theories coming from below are also accountable to the ways in which a theory can change the world.—Ryan Schram, July 2018 (updated February 2020) When dominant groups in society interpret the world, they necessarily change it to suit their interests; Double-consciousness, “two-ness” (ibid.), or alienation from oneself, is the result for everyone else. While Du Bois says that double-consciousness is “not true self-consciousness” (ibid.), I would like to argue that the experience of “two-ness” can also be the basis for another kind of social theory. This would mean, of course, that we can potentially find new insights into how societies work outside of the usual institutional locations for this activity, namely the university and academe. Instead, people’s own everyday lives and practices can be seen as the basis for theoretical conceptual tools. Rather than seeking to transcend its conditions, theories coming from below are also accountable to the ways in which a theory can change the world.—Ryan Schram, July 2018 (updated February 2020)
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 Du Bois, W. E. B. 1903. “Of Our Spiritual Strivings.” In //The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches//, 1–12. Chicago: A. C. McClurg. http://books.google.com?id=11SMCwAAQBAJ. Du Bois, W. E. B. 1903. “Of Our Spiritual Strivings.” In //The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches//, 1–12. Chicago: A. C. McClurg. http://books.google.com?id=11SMCwAAQBAJ.
6916/2020/the_practice_of_social_theory.txt · Last modified: 2020/03/22 01:47 by Ryan Schram (admin)