Cambridge social ontology, the philosophical critique of modern economics and social positioning theory: an interview with Tony Lawson, part 1

We offer social positioning theory (Davies and Harre 1990) as a framework for exploring the ways in which the visibility of an individual’s health status is linked to socially constructed subjectivities that can affect the individual’s information-seeking behaviour. Qualitative analysis of data from two doctoral studies (collected through participant observation and 40 semi-structured interviews) illustrates the utility of social positioning theory as a framework for studying two specific health contexts: systematic lupus erythematosus, and twin pregnancy. Adopting a ‘position’ involves the use of discursive practices which define the relations between self and others. Such practices frequently draw upon common social representations of particular phenomena (Van Langehove and Harre 1994). Our findings indicate that the visibility of health status is related to subject positioning, and that positioning theory offers insight into the mutually specifying correspondence between local discursive practices and styles of information behavior. The pregnant woman’s expanding abdomen makes her health status evident to others, often positioning her as a willing recipient of advice and information (Browner and Press 1997). Cultural assumptions associated with “twins” can both facilitate and constrain the woman’s information seeking (“Better you than me.”). However, the stock of shared cultural understandings associated with lupus is comparatively sparse (Senecal 1991). Symptoms such as hair loss, skin rash, and weight gain may therefore lead to positions which are experienced by novice patients as stigmatizing (“What’s wrong with that woman?”). Even when evident symptoms disappear, the stigmatized position can be maintained through secrecy (“No one can tell I have lupus.”). In these situations, information-seeking is relegated to the confidential encounters characteristic of expert disciplinary regimes. As a heuristic tool, then, positioning theory provides an opportunity for analysis of the means by which the information-seeking subject is configured through discursive encounters.

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Information Hippies, Google-Fu Masters, and Other Volunteer Tourists in Thailand: Information Behaviour in the Liminoid

Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS / Actes du congrès annuel de l'ACSI ◽

10.29173/cais395 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Kathleen Reed

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Research ◽

Culture Shock ◽

Technical Skill ◽

Positioning Theory ◽

Information Behaviour ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

Social Positioning ◽

Research Findings ◽

Social Positioning Theory

Using social positioning theory and the concept of the liminoid, the objectives of this qualitative research project were to 1) investigate how social positioning affects the information behaviour of volunteer tourists; 2) determine what effects culture shock, physical location, gender, technical skill, and previous intercultural education and/or experiences have on the information behaviour of volunteer tourists; and finally, 3) suggest how non-governmental organizations can use the research findings to assist volunteer tourists to successfully undertake their placements. The results emphasize the importance of developing a theory of liminoidal information behaviour, in order to explore how people in the liminoid – a place between cultures where identities are often suspended – interact with information.À l'aide de la théorie du positionnement social et du concept de la liminalité, l'objectif de ce projet de recherche qualitatif est 1) d'investiguer comment le positionnement social influence le comportement informationnel des touristes bénévoles; 2) de déterminer quels sont les effets du choc culturel, de l'emplacement physique, du sexe, des aptitudes techniques et de l'éducation ou de l'expérience interculturelle préalable sur le comportement informationnel des touristes bénévoles; et finalement, 3) de suggérer comment les organisations non gouvernementales peuvent se servir des résultats de la recherche pour aider les touristes bénévoles à mener à bien leurs activités. Les résultats insistent sur l'importance de développer une théorie du comportement informationnel liminal afin d'explorer comment les gens se trouvant dans cet état, un endroit entre les cultures où l'identité est souvent suspendue, interagissent avec l'information.

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Emergence, time and sociality: comparing conceptions of process ontology

Cambridge Journal of Economics ◽

10.1093/cje/beaa019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (6) ◽

pp. 1365-1394 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Guido Baggio

Keyword(s):

Social Ontology ◽

Multiple Selves ◽

Process Ontology ◽

Philosophical Debate ◽

Social Positioning ◽

The Social ◽

Social Account ◽

Social Realm ◽

The One ◽

Definition Of

Abstract The paper focuses on a comparison between Lawson’s and Mead’s processual ontologies and more specifically on their conceptions of emergence. The first aim of the article is to highlight elements of similarity between their conceptions of social reality. It also aims to show, on the one hand, that Mead’s bio-social account of the emergent can help to interpret the dynamic process of emergence of both the social realm and agents’ identities (as described by Lawson) from a dynamic non-reductive naturalistic perspective; on the other hand, it shows how Lawson’s category of ‘social positioning’ can complement Mead’s ontogenetic explanation of changing social positions and the definition of ‘multiple selves’. By carefully considering the key elements of Lawson’s and Mead’s projects, it is, in fact, possible to understand better the meaning of a commitment to an updated processual ontology. In considering connections with classical pragmatic authors, it can be demonstrated that there are significant overlaps regarding the respective ways of considering the emergent. This offers a chance to understand more deeply how both pragmatism and Cambridge social ontology can together become part of the wider contemporary philosophical debate. In fact, Mead’s attempted synthesis between social and physical theories would help to highlight the common and complementary aspects linking what can be defined as his and Lawson’s ‘processual ontologies’.

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Positioning, conflict, and dialogue in management teams

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management An International Journal ◽

10.1108/qrom-05-2018-1637 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 444-464

Author(s):

Pasi Hirvonen

Keyword(s):

Interaction Analysis ◽

Positioning Theory ◽

Management Teams ◽

Content Type ◽

Team Members ◽

Management Board ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Social Positioning ◽

Team Interactions ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamics of social positioning and interpersonal conflicts in management teams. This paper utilizes positioning theory to analyze team conflicts by combining microlevel interaction analysis and explicit, meso-level team research in the context of managerial work. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on an analysis of 34 conflict episodes that occurred during management board meetings conducted by two Finnish public research institutions. By analyzing naturally occurring interactions and video material, this paper presents a discursive analysis of conflict from the perspective of positioning theory, focusing on local moral orders, social positions and the construction of dialogue. Findings This study’s findings illuminate how team conflicts may be understood in terms of positioning theory, as well as how positioning is connected to managing conflicts and constructing either degenerative or generative dialogue in teams. The present study indicates possibilities for applying positioning theory as a methodological tool when studying team interactions and dialogue. Practical implications The study offers practical implications regarding team conflict management. By developing an understanding of the positioning dynamics of managers and other team members, one can help create constructive and generative dialogue in teams. Originality/value From a methodological perspective, this paper presents a novel approach to the study of team conflicts and outlines several suggestions regarding the theoretical approach in the analysis of team interaction and dynamics.

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“I Think When I Speak, I Don’t Sound Like That”: The Influence of Social Positioning on Rhetorical Skill Development in Science

Written Communication ◽

10.1177/0741088318804819 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 9-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Heather M. Falconer

Keyword(s):

Writing Instruction ◽

Low Income ◽

Women Of Color ◽

First Generation ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Skill Development ◽

Scientific Discourse ◽

Positioning Theory ◽

Learning Cultures ◽

Social Positioning

Negotiating membership within a disciplinary community is as much an exercise in rhetorical facility as it is content expertise. Where individuals reside in the hierarchy of membership is determined by not only what they talk and write about, but how. Yet, there are many factors that can impact newcomers’ acculturation into a disciplinary community on a rhetorical level. In this article, I use positioning theory and intersectional identity to examine how Anne, a woman of color participating in undergraduate research in science, learned to read and write as a scientist and the ways her social position as a woman, person of color, and low-income and first-generation student influenced her perception and adoption of the discourse as her own. I argue that social positioning influences students’ views of scientific discourse and affects their rhetorical skill development as scientific writers. Because recognition as a group insider is heavily influenced by discourse, this research has potential implications for those interested in retention and persistence of women of color in STEM, as well as for those interested in changing learning cultures and incorporating writing instruction into disciplinary arenas.

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Social positioning and Commons’s monetary theorising

Cambridge Journal of Economics ◽

10.1093/cje/beaa036 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 1137-1157

Author(s):

Stephen Pratten

Keyword(s):

Social Reality ◽

Positioning Theory ◽

Community Rights ◽

Social Positioning ◽

Modern Form

Abstract The argument of this paper is that the neglect of John Commons’s monetary theorising is in large part due to his contributions being insufficiently situated in his broader framework of analysis where community rights and duties are emphasised as essential features of social reality. It is further argued that the sophistication and significance of Commons’s account of money can be appreciated once it is recognised as a variant of the recently developed positioning theory of money. It is shown that the positioning theory of money in its modern form serves to clarify the aspects of Commons’s writings on money and can, in turn, be enriched by certain of Commons’s insights.

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Social Positioning in Teacher-Student Interactions: A Linguistic Ethnographic Investigation

International Journal of English Linguistics ◽

10.5539/ijel.v9n2p332 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 332

Author(s):

Longji Christopher Gonsum ◽

Cise Cavusoglu

Keyword(s):

Positioning Theory ◽

Social Constructionist ◽

Student Interactions ◽

Teacher Student ◽

Stimulated Recall ◽

Social Positioning ◽

Teacher Student Interactions ◽

Pragmatic Awareness ◽

Nigerian University ◽

Stimulated Recall Interviews

From a social constructionist perspective and using Positioning Theory, this study examined the interactional strategies that interactants use in establishing their social positions in interactions in a registration office. Linguistic ethnographic methods were deployed where naturally occurring interactions of 30 participants in a registration office in a Nigerian university located in North-Central Nigeria were collected through audio-recordings, which added up to 177 minutes in total. Stimulated recall interviews were also conducted with some of the interactants to refute or validate the results of preliminary analyses of their interactional strategies. Micro-discourse analysis was adopted for the analysis of both the ethnographic and discourse data in order to account for the influence of context and other nonverbal behaviours on the interactants’ choices and the discourse data. The study revealed that sociocultural expectations, knowledge and perceptions significantly influenced the choice of the interactional strategies used for the negotiation and construction of social positions by both the teachers and the students in their interactions. The study also showed the discursive variables of power relations and ages of the interactants as impacting on their use of face acts as deliberate social positioning strategies in the interactions. The study concludes that interactants’ pragmatic awareness of context is crucial in establishing their negotiated positions in meaningful and cordial interactions.

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From Derrida's Deconstruction to Stiegler's Organology: Thinking after Postmodernity

Derrida Today ◽

10.3366/drt.2020.0218 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 33-47

Author(s):

Anne Alombert

Keyword(s):

Philosophical Critique ◽

End Of History ◽

The Subject ◽

The End Of History

The aim of this paper is to question the significance of Derrida's deconstruction of the concepts of subject and history. While ‘postmodernity’ tends to be characterized by philosophical critique as the ‘liquidation of the subject’ or the ‘end of history’, I attempt to show that Derrida's deconstruction of ‘subjectivity’ and ‘historicity’ is not an elimination or destruction of these concepts, but an attempt to transform them in order to free them from their metaphysical-teleological presuppositions. This paper argues that this transformation, which begins in Derrida's and continues in Stiegler's texts, leads to the notions of ‘psycho-social individuation’ and ‘doubly epokhal redoubling’. I maintain that such notions ‘supplement’ the metaphysical concepts of subject and history by forcing a reconsideration of the technical conditions of psychic individuation and the technological conditions of ‘epochality’.

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