Narrative Inquiry: Theory and Practice

This article offers an overview of the method of narrative inquiry and explores competing trends in the use of the approach. It not only examines the theories relating to the method but also offers practical guidance on using narrative inquiry, including an exploration of what might count as a narrative and ways of analysing narrative data. The final section of the article presents two different examples of how narrative inquiry has been used. The first example is the use of narrative inquiry as a reflective learning process for students in an undergraduate curriculum. The second example is a narrative inquiry into staff experiences of role change in problem-based learning. Suggestions are also made as to how narrative inquiry might be adapted for use in geography in higher education.     

Theory and Practice As Responsibility

Abstract

Ralph Hancock's felicitous term “the responsibility of reason” opens a significant revision within political theory. It places primacy in practical reason and reminds us that theory is itself a mode of practice. He finds the deepest affirmation of this insight in Tocqueville's elevation of the art of association into the first principle of the science by which politics is comprehended. There is no science of politics apart from the exercise of responsibility itself.     

Introduction: Critical Agrarian Studies in Theory and Practice

In this introductory article we argue for renewed attention to life and labor on and of the land—or what we call the field of Critical Agrarian Studies. Empirically rich and theoretically rigorous studies of humanity's relationship to “soil” remain essential not just for historical analysis but for understanding urgent contemporary crises, including widespread food insecurity, climate change, the proliferation of environmental refugees, growing corporate power and threats to biodiversity. The article introduces an innovative and varied collection of works in Critical Agrarian Studies and also examines the intellectual and political history of this broader field.     

最大的国情与终极的关怀——《中国农村发展：理论和实践》评介

当代中国 ,农民始终占人口的绝大多数 ,这是中国最大的国情。“三农”的现代化是中国现代化的重要基础和前提 ,而实现“三农”现代化给理论界提出的重要任务之一 ,是对建国以来我国农业曲折而独特的发展道路和改革开放以来我国农民极富想像力和创造精神的农村变革与制度创新 ,做出全面而系统地总结 ,在此基础上 ,为新世纪我国农业的全面进步提出科学的理论主张和政策建议。应该承认 ,学术界已经或正在为此做出卓有成效的努力 ,并取得了可观的学术成果。然而 ,由于几十年来各学科之间的相互隔阂和学者知识结构的限制 ,学者们对当代中国“三农…     

Carl Schorske's Theory and Practice

Book reviewed in this article:
Thinking with History. Explorations in the Passage to Modernism , by Carl E. Schorske     

Trajectories for Greening in China: Theory and Practice

This edited volume argues that China's development poses the greatest ever environmental challenge for the modern world in terms of speed, size and scarcity. The volume is organized around the greening of the Chinese state and society: can the inclusion of sustainable development principles into governance, management and daily practices by social actors lead to sustainable development per se? This introduction sketches the different scholarly camps around greening and sustainable development, ranging from sceptical to radical environmentalism. The contributions demonstrate that China is showing clear signs of greening as new institutions and regulations are created, environmental awareness increases and green technologies are implemented. However, the question remains whether this is sufficient to effectuate long‐term sustainable development. The key factors here are the sheer speed of China's economic growth, the size of its population, and the relative scarcity of its natural and mineral resources. Chinese development presents compelling reasons for rethinking the viability of greening. It is necessary to move beyond both alarmist visions of an environmental doomsday, and optimistic notions that incremental changes in technology, institutions and lifestyles are sufficient for sustainability. It might be more fruitful — and not only for China — to consider ‘precautionary’ rather than ‘absolute’ limits to growth.     

The Ubiquity of Performance: Theory and Practice in Expressive Genres

Performance and performativity occupy a significant place in anthropological analytics. In this review, I examine recent publications that address, document, and analyze how different performance genres and practices, enacted across a variety of socio-cultural domains, can be productively mined to establish how pervasively they contribute to our understanding of human behavior. These publications, moreover, range across anthropological fields as well as multiple societies and historical periods, further underscoring that performance has been crucial for human cultures and in our own discipline.     

民俗的表演性:表演理论、活态传承与公共文化实践

表演理论是20世纪美国民俗学对于学界的重要贡献,其核心是"表演"和"语境"。在表演理论提出以后,民俗学经历了从关注文本向强调语境的转向,使得以差异性为基础的本真性再次成为学术研究的中心议题。然而,在随后以"语境"为中心的研究实践中,研究者们逐渐开始质疑本真性问题存在的逻辑合理性以及在实际民俗活动中的可操作性,研究重点也由此从辨析民俗事象的真伪,转变为讨论本真性背后的权力关系和文化政治。正是基于对"本真性"的祛魅,在当代非物质文化遗产保护的具体实践中,学术话语所追求的本真性与实际操作中的共享原则之间的矛盾,便因此而消解,这为当代公共民俗学实践提供了去语境化和再语境化的理论支撑和实操可能。在此,以行动认同为旨归的"表演"(形式)在"语境"(意义)的"式微"中重新凸显,实现了民俗传统的实践回归。