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Interpretation and its Others
Citation
Rhodes, RAW and Bevir, M, Interpretation and its Others, Australian Journal of Political Science, 40, (2) pp. 169-187. ISSN 1036-1146 (2005) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
The definitive published version is available online at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: doi:10.1080/10361140500129974
Abstract
An interpretive approach to political science provides accounts of actions and practices that are interpretations of interpretations. We develop this argument using the idea of 'situated agency'. There are many common criticisms of such an approach. This paper focuses on nine: that an interpretive approach is mere common sense; that it focuses on beliefs or discourses, not actions or practices; that it ignores concepts of social structure; that it seeks to understand actions and practices, not to explain them; that it is concerned exclusively with qualitative techniques of data generation; that it must accept actors' own accounts of their beliefs; that it is insensitive to the ways in which power constitutes beliefs; that it is incapable of producing policy-relevant knowledge; and that it is incapable of producing objective knowledge. We show that the criticisms rest on both misconceptions about an interpretive approach and misplaced beliefs in the false idols of hard data and rigorous methods.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Research Division: | Human Society |
Research Group: | Political science |
Research Field: | Political theory and political philosophy |
Objective Division: | Law, Politics and Community Services |
Objective Group: | Government and politics |
Objective Field: | Government and politics not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Rhodes, RAW (Professor Rod Rhodes) |
ID Code: | 58623 |
Year Published: | 2005 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 47 |
Deposited By: | Government |
Deposited On: | 2009-10-16 |
Last Modified: | 2010-07-20 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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