The Routledge International Handbook of Positioning Theory

by Mary B. McVee (Editor), Luk Van Langenhove (Editor), Cynthia H. Brock (Editor), Bo Allesøe Christensen (Editor)

Overview

This handbook is the first of its kind to explore Positioning Theory. Taking inspiration from the groundwork set by Rom Harré and collaborators such as Bronwyn Davies, Fathali Moghaddam, Luk Van Langenhove, and others the book explores the emergence, historical context, and disciplinary applications of Positioning Theory and its basic precepts as a social psychological theory.

This volume encompasses over 20 chapters across four sections, assimilating cross-disciplinary insights that try to understand the theoretical underpinnings, methodological applications, and contemporary relevance of Positioning Theory. Part 1 explores the movement of scholarly figures and their numerous works on the subject. It discusses the foundational origins and the historical contexts of the existing theories on positioning and new directions for scholarship. Part 2 examines the methodological and narrative investigations used for data analysis in positioning research, navigating through the epistemological orientations and theoretical landscapes of Positioning Theory. Part 3 explores numerous applications across disciplines to consider the reach and influence of positioning within and across multiple disciplines. Lastly, the authors contemplate the future directions for Positioning Theory.

Featuring researchers from leading research institutions from across the globe, the book is important reading for scholars interested in positioning and Positioning Theory. We recommend this handbook for graduate-level courses in social psychology, communication, discourse studies and related disciplines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040047026
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/01/2024
Series:	Routledge International Handbooks
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	488
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Mary B. McVee is a professor of literacy education, and director of the Center for Literacy & Reading Instruction (CLaRI) at the University at Buffalo, USA. Her research explores racialized positioning in teacher narratives. Her current research with teachers and multilingual children explores positioning and multimodal interactions in the context of engineering design.

Luk Van Langenhove is Emeritus professor at the Brussels School of Governance of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium and honorary professorial fellow at the University of Warwick, UK. He has published widely on regional integration, social sciences theory, positioning theory, and psychology.

Cynthia H. Brock is a professor at the University of Wyoming where she holds the Wyoming Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chair in Literacy Education. Brock’s scholarly research agenda centers on studying the literacy learning opportunities of elementary children from diverse backgrounds and the pre- and in-service teachers with whom they work.

Bo Allesøe Christensen is an associate professor and co-director of the Center for Cultural Psychology at Aalborg University, Denmark. His research interest explores and develops the theoretical and methodological background of positioning theory within 20th century linguistic philosophy and microsociology.

Table of Contents

Part One: Conceptual Foundations and Explorations 01 An Introduction to Positioning Theory Past and Present 02 Positioning, Narrative Practices, and Positioning Theory 03 Positioning theory, speech acts and normative orders–the background of Ordinary Language Philosophy and influence of Austin, Ryle and Strawson 04 Positioning and personhood 05 Positioning and Goffman 06 Positioning theory and Dialogicality 07 Pragmatism and Positioning Theory 08 Positioning Theory and the proposals of Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari: A tool for analysing micro-political resistances Part Two: Methods and Analytic Frameworks 09 Examining Varieties of Positioning: Considerations from the Past to the Present and into Future 10 Positioning Theory, Narrative, and Narrative Analysis 11 Conversation Analysis and Positioning Theory 12 Positioning Theory and Interactional Ethnography: Complementary approaches to examining positions and positioning processes 13 Toward Integrative Methodological Frameworks of Positioning Theory, Social Semiotics, and Multimodality Part Three: Applications Across Disciplinary Topics 14 Positioning Theory as design principle to negotiate rights and duties and center equity in literacy research 15 Positioning as praxis, developed in mathematics education contexts 16 Positioning in Science Education 17 Positioning, preschool children, and cultural psychology 18 Positioning Theory in online environments 19 Using strategic communication discourse processes in positioning practice 20 How Positioning Theory and the capability approach to welfare economy supplement one another 21 Positioning and Masculinity 22 Positioning theory in the context of intergroup peace and conflict 23 Positioning, emotions, and emotional positioning Part Four: Future Directions and Reflections 24 Positioning Theory: Reflections and future directions

Editorial Reviews

"This Handbook is a precious pearl in amidst the ever-increasing flow of empirical papers all claiming adherence to the Positioning Theory. Often these empirical studies do not go beyond locating the assumed positions in a societal or personal matrices, failing to analyze their dynamic interdependencies and transformations in time.  This Handbook stands out among the multitude of uses of the Positioning Theory in its thorough analysis of the dynamic side of the positions as these generate change in the mind and society.  The contributions in the Handbook innovate the theory and leads to new alleys for its use. The collective of authors in this Handbook is living up to their duty to revolutionize the social sciences not letting their discourses become shallow reflections of everyday language use, and they fully exercise their right for deep penetration into the intricacies of social and personal psychological phenomena in their search for general principles of psychology and sociology."

Jaan Valsiner, Aalborg University, and Editor, Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Sciences

From the Publisher