Question 1
What were the results of the “crisis of knowledge” in western universities? Using the slide show and readings, use specific examples—such as the development of interdisciplinary programs of study or the establishment of new modes of inquiry through post-modernism, feminism, post-colonialism, queer theory, etc.—to demonstrate how traditional disciplines and theories were challenged beginning in the 1950s onward. Although you are not expected to include all of the examples presented to you for this response, be sure to discuss at least TWO in a minimum of 100-words.
Question 2
In this unit you gained some experience in thinking about curiosity collections and museum displays and the stories they tell about the past. Museums—and more specifically, the discipline of history—were also impacted by the new intellectual revolution that first gained momentum in the mid-20th century and continues to challenge and rethink disciplinary cannons of literature and forms of inquiry. The chapter entitled “The New History in an Old Museum” offers a concrete example of how the discipline of history has undergone an evolution of its own. In a minimum of 100-words, discuss the following:
• How did the history of Colonial Williamsburg undergo reconsideration and revision?
• What factors were taken into account?
• What obstacles did historians, museum curators, and administrators face?
Question 3
Theory borrowing is one of the many tools in the interdisciplinary process. It involves taking a theory or analytical technique used in one discipline or context and applying it to another discipline or context.
Choose TWO of the theories listed below and develop at least TWO different ways that each theory can be applied outside of its originally intended context. Be as specific as possible in how this application can be done. If you find it difficult to find alternative ways to apply these theories, consider other arenas such as education, religion, personal relationships, business environments, consumerism, politics, warfare, and so on.
1)STAGES OF CHANGE-ADDICTION RECOVERY MODEL (Psychology): This model is based on the Theory of Addiction Recovery. It has five steps in which the manner of counseling shifts to suit the mental state that a patient is in within the process of recovery. 1) Pre-contemplation: a consciousness-raising stage where a patient may approach the process with some degree of denial. They may state: “my father smoked his whole life and never died from it. I don’t see why I can’t do the same”; 2) Contemplation: the stage where a patient suddenly becomes emotionally aware of his/her problem and begins to think that change is possible; 3) Planning: a patient begins to set goals or consider steps toward changing. He or she identifies what needs to be done and commits to the notion that improvement is possible; 4) Action: the patient begins to modify his/her behaviors and tries out new tactics to overcome the addiction; and 5) Maintenance: this is the last step in which the patient works to sustain efforts to break the addiction by setting new goals, shifting values and looking towards a healthy future.
2) COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY (Psychology): A psychological state that refers to the uncomfortable feeling between what one wants to believe is true and what one knows to be true. It describes conflicting thoughts or beliefs that often cause people to perform actions that are opposite to one’s experiences. It also causes people to filter or ignore compelling information that challenges what they want to be true. This theory was first proposed in 1957 when Leon Festinger studied the actions and beliefs of a UFO doomsday cult after their leader’s prophecy failed. The cult leader’s failed message of the earth’s destruction by aliens increased the dissonance (or conflict) between cognitions. Instead of abandoning the cult doctrine, devotees attempted to lessen the dissonance by accepting a new prophecy: that the aliens had spared earth for their sake.
3) DARK TOURISM THEORY (Tourism): This is based on the premise that people are fascinated with destruction and disaster. As a result, thousands of people flock to battle sites where many people lost their lives, as well as areas hit by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes.
4) CRITICAL RACE THEORY (Law): This theory is often applied to the analysis of court cases. The basic argument is that institutionalized oppression of racial minorities has been sustained by the legal system. Legal judgments are often about preserving power instead of adhering to the pressures of shifting societal norms.
5) PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE THEORY (Marketing): The product life cycle concept suggests that a product passes through four stages of evolution: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. As a product evolves and passes through these four stages, profit is affected and different strategies have to be employed to ensure that the product is a success within its market (LearnMarketing.Net).
6) SOCIOEMOTIONAL SELECTIVITY THEORY (Human Communication): This theory examines human interactions based on peoples’ awareness of how much time they have left to live. This awareness affects their emotions and actions. For example, when people perceive their future as open-ended, they exhibit behaviors that are focused on pursuing abstract goals, career planning, and the development of new relationships. When faced with mortality, people shift their behaviors and tend to pursue present-oriented goals and focus on developing deeper relationships with those people already in their lives.
Here is an EXAMPLE of how to approach this essay using a theory from the field of Mass Communication:
AGENDA SETTING THEORY: “Agenda setting describes a very powerful influence of the media – the ability to tell us what issues are important. It is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media. Two basic assumptions underlie most research on agenda-setting: (1) the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it; (2) media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues (“University of Twente Theory Clusters”).
RESPONSE: How can this theory be applied outside of the context of the media? In other words, who else sets agendas that help to shape the way people think? Agenda Setting Theory can easily be applied to politics, religion and education. Politicians, religious leaders and teachers all make decisions about the issues they address. They often shape the terms of a conversation or debate, rally people behind issues that they deem important and filter out information that they wish to de-emphasize.
Question 4
Using one of the autobiographical readings from this unit as an example, consider how a social scientist may be inspired to further inquire or develop a study to explore a particular issue. For example, in Alice Walker’s “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self”, she describes her siblings’ jealousy when she was chosen to go to the fair with her father.
This story might inspire studies of the following issues:
• the role of gender and birth order within large families
• Are younger children often favored by the fathers? In what contexts and why?
This study could involve the following research methods:
• surveying a large sample of people
• case study investigations of several families
• close readings of diaries written by individuals who were part of large families.
Your essay can focus on any issue related to identity. You must include the following:
• indicate which reading you are using
• refer specifically to the types of research methods you would use (it may help to revisit the previous unit to refresh your memory on different modes of social science modes of inquiry). (100-word minimum)
