Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Local Politics in Developing Countries
Responsible: Laurids Lauridsen, Eric Komlavi Hahonou, Paul Stacey, Tina Maria Jensen and Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde, Graduate School of International Development Studies, Roskilde University
From: 2010/05/05 to: 2010/05/07
Place: Bymose Hegn, Helsinge
Fee: 400 Euro
Link to full program: here
ECTS (Get approval from your own department!!!): 4 points
Short description: The workshop concerns approaches to issues such as authority and question of legitimacy, in locations where political tension is perhaps quite high, where corruption is endemic, where informants contradict each other and where testimony may be based on local translators. How can one best approach such a ‘messy field’? It attempts to raise awareness of how to theoretically and methodologically approach studies of local politics in developing countries through discussion, feedback and active participation,evaluate and bring to the fore the specific role of method and theory in a dissertation, make explicit the relationships between theory, method and empirical material and incorporate the received inputs into strong method chapters.
Lecturers: Thomas Bierschenk, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany. Carola Lentz, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany. Sten Hagberg, Uppsala University, Sweden. Giorgio Blundo, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales, Marseille, France. Jesse Ribot, University of Illinois, USA. Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales, Marseille, France.
Further information: inge@ruc.dk
Roskilde University
(Denmark) May 5-7, 2010 Call for Applications Organisers: Laurids Lauridsen, Eric Komlavi Hahonou, Paul Stacey, Tina Maria
Jensen and Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde, Graduate
School of International Development Studies, Roskilde University Participants: Open to all PhD students. Maximum number of
participants: 20 It
is intended that the workshop will be of value to all PhD students, in
various
stages of their projects, who are completing or plan to undertake field
work
for the study of local politics. Course
venue: Bymose Hegn, Helsinge (5-7 May 2010) www.bymosehegn.dk ETCS: 4
points. The
workshop
develops and discusses the theoretical and methodological aspects of
studying
local politics in developing countries with the aim of covering a wide
range of
social science issues, among others decentralisation, democratisation,
resources
access and control, conflict occurrences, migrations, border issues and
the configuration
of local powers. Common to all these themes are how a good researcher
strives
to produce worthy, original and insightful work where there is perhaps
already
an abundance of existing literature. There
are
three elements of concern. First is to share tested theories and
methods.
Second is to make known some common pitfalls researchers may fall into
during
the project process. Third is to move beyond the tried and tested and
write
solid and hopefully innovative, inspiring work. We expect discussions
to deal
with a variety of issues such as analytical frameworks of local
politics;
political economy vs. historical sociology; domination or negotiation;
government, governance, and governmentality and clashes of institutions
or
friction in local politics. The
methodological aspect of a dissertation concerns the question of how one actually investigates the
research question. This element of the workshop concerns approaches to
issues
such as authority and question of legitimacy, in locations where
political
tension is perhaps quite high, where corruption is endemic, where
informants
contradict each other and where testimony may be based on local
translators.
How can one best approach such a ‘messy field’? Overall
the
workshop’s primary concern is to take a critical look at established
theoretical and methodological approaches to studies of local politics
and to
provide scholarly support for students in their dissertations. These
objectives
will be achieved through discussions regarding concept use, theory
application
and methodological styles. Here, the invited speakers will comment on
the
students’ submitted papers. The workshop thus gives the participants
access to
expert comments on their own approaches, aiming to improve students’
ability to
critically reflect on applied methods. Moreover, the workshop allows an
exchange of theoretical ideas, methodological insights and empirical
knowledge
at the forefront of contemporary research and provides students an
opportunity
to both discuss and receive productive feedback in an open and informal
atmosphere. Taken as a whole, the intention is that all will leave the
course
with better understandings of their own strong and weak points
regarding
studies of local politics. The
key note
speakers will address: On
the one
hand the theoretical and methodological framework will be provided by
the
invited speakers, who each select a required reading that serves as a
common
background for a general academic debate during the discussions of the
key note
speakers’ presentations. On the other hand the students will receive
feedback
on their own method papers in the afternoon sessions where these will
be discussed.
This makes the paper to be presented by each participant an important
part of
the preparation for the workshop. The
course
requirements also include participation, engagement and preparation.
The
students are expected to read the required readings submitted by the
keynote
speakers beforehand. A compendium containing the required reading and
students
papers will be sent to all participants by April 1st, 2010.
It is
our experience that a successful course is best achieved in an
atmosphere of
open, frank and friendly discussions with active participation and
constructive
criticism from all. It is intended that a central aspect of the
workshop will also
be the key speakers’ discussion and presentation of their tried,
trusted as
well as failed experiences concerning uses of theory and methodological
approaches. PhD-student’s
application for the course is to be sent to inge@ruc.dk
including name, address, institutional affiliation, telephone number,
and email
by November 1st, 2009, including an abstract of a maximum of
500
words for the PhD-paper. Participants will be selected on the basis of
their
abstract, as themes are expected to relate to the overall theme of this
workshop. Notice
of
acceptance will be sent by December 1st, 2009. Deadline
for the
PhD method paper, of a maximum of 6000 words, is March 1st 2010.
The
paper is to be sent to the same address, together with a half page
abstract of the
research project. Fee
for the
participation in the workshop is 400 Euro, payable after the notice of
acceptance. This includes food, and accommodation (5-7May). The fee is
not
refundable. Participation
in the workshop earns the student 4 ECTS points.PhD Workshop on
Theoretical
and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Local Politics in
Developing
Countries
Invited
speakers (confirmed):
Background
Workshop
Objectives
The
relationship between utilised theoretical frameworks and applied
methodologies is additionally vital for good research, although in
practice,
theory positions in dissertations may range from the explicit to the
virtually
absent. Here the aim is to raise concrete understandings of what
explicit or
implicit relations there should be between use of theory and analysis
of
empirical data from field work. How much or how little may empirical
material
be manipulated to fit suitable
concept construction? What is ‘enough’ data
Another
important consideration to address is how much theory should one take
into the
field and how, in practice, does the researcher find the correct
balance
between theoretical parsimony and undue or unwarranted categorisation
and
classification?
Learning outcomes
Workshop principles and structure
The
role of
the lecturers will be twofold:
Invited
speakers’ lectures
Lecture: Elusive
boundaries, negotiable identities: researching Northern Ghanaian
ethnicities in historical perspective
Lecture:A theory of access
Lecture:The politics of field work
Lecture: ECRIS: Rapid Collective Inquiry
for the Identification of Conflicts and Strategic Groups (with
tentative confirmation)
Lecture:Making Multisited and Multiscalar
Ethnographies: Methodological challenges in studying political practice
in West African municipalities
Lecture:Investigating corruption:
describe the hidden (with tentative confirmation)Requirements
Fee
Credits