Suchergebnisse

Ethnografie und Diskursanalyse werden in den Sozialwissenschaften zunehmend kombiniert. In diesem Beitrag wird zunächst ein Überblick gegeben über das entstehende Feld der mit den Epistemologien und Methoden der Ethnografie und Diskursanalyse arbeitenden Forschung. Im zweiten Schritt werden zentral Aspekte eines neuen, computergestützten Ansatzes zur ethnografischen Diskursanalyse vorgestellt. Dieser mikroanalytische Ansatz bietet die Möglichkeit, Erkenntnisse über das Ringen um Deutungsmuster und Hegemonien in der heutigen Wissensarbeit zu gewinnen. Anhand eines Fallbeispiels werden die Charakteristika dieses Ansatzes erläutert. Das Fallbeispiel untersucht die Produktion eines Nachrichtentextes zur Gaslieferung in Frankreich und zeigt auf, wie die diskursiven Praktiken – in diesem Falle journalistische Schreibpraktiken – Russland subtil als Bedrohung (be)schreiben.

Abstract
This critical study concentrates on action-theoretical aspects of the Davidsonian philosophy of social science given in Macdonald/Pettit 1981. It questions the relevance to social science of developing Davidson's semantic "principle of charity" into a "principle of humanity", discusses specific formulations of assumptions of behavioural and attitudinal rationality in the explanation of action, and joins issue with the causal account given of the latter suggesting that its metaphysical motivation is of no concern to social science.

"This article presents an overview of 'Performative Social Science,' which is defined as the deployment of different forms of artistic performance in the execution of a scientific project. Such forms may include art, theater, poetry, music, dance, photography, fiction writing, and multi-media applications. Performative research practices are in their developmental stage, with most of the major work appearing in the last two decades. Frequently based on a social constructionist metatheory, supporters reject a realist, or mapping view of representation, and explore varieties of expressive forms for constructing worlds relevant to the social sciences. The performative orientation often relies on a dramaturgical approach that encompasses value-laden, emotionally charged topics and presentations. Social scientists invested in social justice issues and political perspectives have been especially drawn to this approach. Performative social science invites productive collaborations among various disciplinary Fields and between the sciences and arts." (author's abstract)

"In the discussion of the sociological and political science research on the unification of Germany the positions range from the view that intra-German transformation has been successful on the whole and that it has begun to stabilize to contentions that eastern Germany has been colonized by western German actors and that Germany's unification has failed. Between these two poles lie arguments calling attention to newly emerging differences between eastern and western Germany. Critically reviewing assessments of German unification, the author comes to four conclusions. First, the social science discussion about the topic is divided into two debates. One of them is centered on the controversy between the modernisation thesis and assertions by skeptics and critics. The other debate is focused on the problems of controling intra-German transformation. Second, the discussion is largely isolated from research on transformation underway in eastern and central Europe at large. Third, the evaluation of the process, impacts, and perspectives of German unification is affected by the theoretical position of the researchers and the methodological design of their studies. Fourth, the future development of social science research on German unification is being determined by two trends, internationalization and regionalization." (author's abstract)