The Methods Studio: Interpretivism and Epistemic Politics

Session Submission Type: Pre-conference Short Course Half Day

Session Description

Tuesday, September 8
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MST (10:00 a.m. — 2:00 p. m. EDT)
Virtual/online

The Methods Studio Short Course has two parts: a workshop and a “crit,” described below. The focus of this year’s workshop (Part I) is “Interpretivism and Epistemic Politics.” Following that, the “crit” (Part II) will entail focused discussion of interpretive methods in works in progress.

Part I [8.00-9.30a MST (10.00-11.30a EDT)]
Workshop: “Interpretive Discourse Analysis”

In order to introduce a way of studying epistemic politics, Dr. Marcos Scauso (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Quinnipiac University) will begin by discussing a methodological difference within interpretivism. At the center of this debate, some post-structuralist scholars point out that approaches should further renounce foundational assumptions, even beyond ideas of “intersubjectivity” and/or “social reality,” to study how discourses include diverse epistemic assumptions of their own. From this methodological move, interpretation aims to include more dynamic understandings of meaning, but it can also create at least two problematic tendencies. On one side, interpretation can unfold onto a generalization of deconstruction due to the emphasis of the domination that emerges from foundationalisms and universalizations. In turn, this can be problematic if we seek to respect some forms of action, praxis, construction, and transformation. On the other hand, the construction of an approach to analyze epistemic politics can lead towards the introduction of the researcher into an equalitarian dialogue with the discourses, intellectuals, and political projects that are interpreted. If the study of epistemic politics generalizes this relationship of equality, however, how is it possible to make assertions about interpretations?

Dr. Scauso found much of his work trapped in this dilemma while deploying a particular understanding of genealogy and archival research to analyze colonial, anti-colonial, and decolonial discourses in the Andes. Hence, the workshop will discuss this difference among some interpretivists, analyzing the implications that the dilemma entailed in the study of Andean discourses and proposing a way of using this experience fruitfully in the interpretivist study of epistemic politics.

References and planned course readings
(Participants can receive PDF copies in advance of the short course by emailing the organizer, Rina.Williams@uc.edu.)

Marcos S. Scauso. “Interpretivism: Definitions, Trends, and Emerging Paths.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia, International Studies. 2020.

Wynter, Sylvia. 1995. “The Pope Must Have Been Drunk, The King of Castile a Madman: Culture as Actuality, and the Caribbean Rethinking Modernity.” In Reordering of Culture: Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada in the Hood, by Alvina Ruprecht, 17–42. Ottawa: Carleton University Press.

9.30-9.45a MST (11.30-11.45a EDT)
Break

Part II [9.45-11.45a MST (11.45a-1.45p EDT)]
“Crit”: Exploring research projects
Three researchers will present their projects, focusing on questions about the research methods they are using and/or the ways they have written their methods sections. For each researcher, an assigned respondent, who has read the work in advance, will lead off discussion to draw in comments and questions of others in attendance such that the discussion serves to educate all. The crit enables more prolonged engagement with each research project and emphasizes supportive critique with an eye toward publication and reviewers’ reactions.

Crit presentations

Aaron Stanley, PhD student, Graduate Center, City University of New York: Compares how communities conceptualize and perceive political legitimacy in Somalia through focus groups that integrate the participant-driven research methods of indicator development and photovoice, and with list and endorsement survey experiments. The research aims to understand the factors that influence communities conferring or withholding political legitimacy on individuals and institutions.
• Respondent: Dr. Crystal Whetstone, Sam Houston State University

Ariel G. Mekler, PhD Candidate, Graduate Center, City University of New York: Examines how LGBTI transnational advocacy networks consequently reinforce certain rights and identities using participant observation, archival, discourse, and interview data to better understand how LGBTI mainstreaming impacts United Nations policy formation and program initiatives addressing sexual minority rights.
• Respondent: Dr. Laura Sjoberg, Royal Holloway University of London

Bryant Harden, PhD Student, University of Florida. Analysis of the Peace Corps’ development practices in Mongolia by analyzing the institutional discourses, polities and practices alongside interviews from volunteers and host country nationals. Examines the extent to which these activities implement a complex web of governance that support a civilizing mission.
• Respondent: Dr. Samantha Majic, John Jay College/CUNY

Sub Unit

• APSA Panels and All Meetings and Receptions

Chairs

• Rina Verma Williams University of Cincinnati

• Marcos Sebastian Scauso Quinnipiac University