All posts by Sandra Mathison

Summer Institute in Qualitative Research – Manchester, UK

events

SUMMER INSTITUTE IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PUTTING THEORY TO WORK
Monday 19 – Friday 23 July 2010
Education and Social Research Institute, Manchester Metropolitan
University, UK

The MMU Summer Institute in Qualitative Research will provide the
opportunity to learn about current trends in theory and methodology, in
dialogue with leading theorists.
– What are the current trends and future directions?
– How does theory engage with policy and practice?
– How can I put theory to work in my own research?
– How does theory influence methods, ethics, identity?
Summer Institute Director: Maggie MacLure, MMU

PLENARY KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Patti Lather, Ohio State University. ‘The State of Qualitative Inquiry:
Methodology 2.1’
Stephen Ball, Institute of Education, London. ‘Challenges of Policy
Analysis in Hard Times’
Neil Mercer, University of Cambridge. ‘Sociocultural Theory’
Nick Lee, Warwick University. ‘Researching Childhood, Growth and Change:
Bio-politics, Affect and Attractors’
Maggie MacLure, MMU. ‘Provocation: The Productive Offence of Theory’
Bridget Somekh, MMU. ‘Action Research’
Erica Burman, MMU. ‘Feminisms and Childhoods’
Lorna Roberts, MMU. ‘Critical Race Theory’
Ian Parker, MMU. ‘Psychoanalytic Theory’
Rachel Holmes, Liz Jones, Maggie MacLure, Christina MacRae, MMU.
‘Encounters with Art Theory’

PUTTING THEORY TO WORK
Mini-sessions on: Butler – Derrida – Irigaray – Lacan – Foucault –
Bourdieu – Deleuze (and others)

The Summer Institute will be of interest to qualitative researchers who
are looking for serious and stimulating engagements with theory. It will
be of particular interest to doctoral students and beginning researchers
in education, social sciences, and the health and caring professions.

THE EDUCATION AND SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT MMU is a leading centre
for applied social and educational research, with a world-class
reputation for the development of theory and methodology. It is one of
the top ten UK education research establishments, according to the
latest Research Assessment Exercise. Find out more about ESRI online at
www.esri.mmu.ac.uk
—————————
Standard delegate fee: £195 (including all lunches, teas & coffees, plus
wine reception).
For further details, contact the Summer Institute Administration:
SIQR@mmu.ac.uk

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negative space

image based research, importance of place

180px-sbmothNegative space is a design concept and refers to the space around and between objects ~ it is a concept that crops up mainly in art and interior design. The classic illustration is the black and white silhouette drawings.But it is an interesting idea that has many possible other uses. For example, in sports, to score a goal you have to see and aim for the negative space, that is, where the goalie is not ~ if you have played sports you will know that it is a special skill to see that space, rather than just seeing and shooting at the goalie.

When we think about humans and environment, one use of this concept might be the places humans have abandoned, spaces where once we lived, worked and played but which have failed to serve our purposes. Abandoned spaces are everywhere and there is a rich photographic record of them chronicled by hobbyists and sociologists. Much of the time they are buildings (residential or industrial) that have been abandoned, but sometimes they are simply promises of what was to come. Many years ago I spent a sabbatical in central Florida, an area dotted with planned communities that never materialized. Subdivision paved roads often with unconnected street lighting give the impression of urban crop circles.

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The Importance of Place

importance of place

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This is a new category I have added to the blog, which reflects my long standing interest in the relationship between people and their environment whether constructed or natural. As an undergraduate sociology major my primary interest was in urban sociology, and I continue to be interested in the ways in which space is created by and creates humans and their interactions. Some of the existing posts, especially related to image based research, relate to this notion of place and have been tagged accordingly.

More to come…

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Storymapping

image based research, methods, representation, research examples

Using a combination of GIS technology and social science, there are strategies being developed to connect narrative to place.

Some of this work is being supported by the Center for Digital Storytelling with a project called UR Hear that integrates urban research, storymapping, community-based service learning, and asset-based approaches to community development.

An example of using GIS for doing local history is the Cedar Cottage Virtual Walking Tour created by the high school students at Gladstone Secondary In Vancouver, BC. The project uses Google Maps to create an historical and current picture of what the Cedar Cottage neighbourhood has been and is–clicking on a marker on the Google map takes you to historical photos and descriptions of places, interviews with current residents and business owners, and results of community surveys.

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