12,000
We have over 12,000 students, from over 100 countries, within one of the safest campuses in the UK
94%
94% of Lancaster students go into work or further study within six months of graduating
Depicting and Researching Disciplines: Strong and moderate essentialist approaches
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article
Forthcoming
Associated organisation
| Journal publication date | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Journal | Studies in Higher Education |
| Original language | English |
Abstract
This paper considers how the idea of ‘discipline’ can best be conceptualised, both in general and particular terms. Much previous research has employed a strong essentialist approach, a model of disciplines which exaggerates the homogeneity of specific disciplinary features and accords disciplines generative powers which they rarely possess. That approach is disabling because it closes down the appreciation of the heterogeneity within disciplines, as well as occluding the reasons for that heterogeneity. However, for researchers this oversimplified model offers the attractions of simple research questions and research designs. The consequence of using such a model is, though, that its distortions threaten the robustness of higher education research. The paper argues for a more sophisticated conceptualisation of disciplines, one which deploys a moderate form of essentialism. It applies Wittgenstein’s notion of family resemblances to the task of depicting disciplines and explores the implications for research of this more nuanced model.
Related activities
Higher Education Close Up 6
Activity: Conference participation › Participation in conference
Oxford University Talk on academic tribes and territories
Activity: Public engagement and outreach › Public lecture/debate/seminar
Mobility, Language, Literacy Symposium, Cape Town
Activity: Conference participation › Participation in conference