Experience Of Contradiction Research Articles

Crossroads of Culture: Christianity, Ancestral Spiritualism, and the Search for Wellness in Northern Malawi, by Eric Lindland.

<i>Crossroads of Culture: Christianity, Ancestral Spiritualism, and the Search for Wellness in Northern Malawi</i>, by Eric Lindland.

Sober Intoxication: Institutional Contradictions and Identity Work in the Everyday Life of Four Religious Communities in Italy

This study explores how organization members manage institutional contradictions in their everyday life without aiming at change-oriented agency. Drawing on interviews, observations, and archival data from four religious communities in Italy, we find that when organization members experience institutional contradictions between two logics that provide conflicting identity prescriptions but to which they are emotionally attached, they engage in identity work that helps them ameliorate – but not eliminate – tensions that surface when identity elements do not align. More specifically, identity work proved integral to reaching a temporary identity truce, or reconciliation of experienced contradictions, through distancing from illegitimate others and embedding of one’s identity within an established tradition. These findings draw attention to the role of contradictions in institutional maintenance, extending theory that has tended to focus on the experience of contradictions as a source of institutional change. We discuss implications for managing institutional contradictions in everyday organizational life.

The evolution of the modern revolutionary tradition: a phenomenological reading of Hannah Arendt's On revolution

This paper offers a reading of Hannah Arendt's On revolution through a phenomenological lens. It treats Arendt's text as a study of the evolution of the modern revolutionary tradition and the experiences of acute conflict and contradiction to which it has given rise. First, I address difficulties in conceiving of On revolution exclusively as political theory and affirm the helpfulness of bringing it into relation to sociology. Second, I draw attention to the triadic structure of Arendt's work in this case, its organisation in terms of the French, American, and ‘lost treasure’ moments of the modern revolutionary tradition. Third, I discuss Arendt's conceptual analysis of the modern idea of revolution, its differences from traditional ideas of revolution and the tensions involved in holding together its manifold and conflicted determinations. Fourth, I explore the different moments of the revolutionary tradition Arendt identifies, the experience of contradiction that arises at every stage, and the sense of normative evolution that comes from exploring the tradition as a whole. Finally, I propose that On revolution contains echoes of the idea of ‘rebellion as moderation’ earlier put forward by Albert Camus in The Rebel and that there is much to be gained from reading Arendt's text in this light. Overall, the paper argues for a reading of Arendt's text both as a substantive contribution to our understanding of the modern revolutionary tradition and as a methodological contribution to our ways of understanding modern political life.

From the Saltmarsh and the Deershelter

AbstractWhen we think about approaches to teaching and learning in art and design education the diverse and complex role of the teacher soon becomes apparent. Teachers often find themselves working through situations which require them to shift between subject‐ and learner‐centred approaches, where they negotiate authority and freedom in their teaching relationships. On closer inspection the tensions found in these negotiations reveal contradictions for teachers, where they try to do one thing but cannot avoid doing another. The article explores these perplexing and contradictory experiences as possible encounters where we can speculate about ourselves as teachers and discover powerful opportunities for learning. It aims to do this through the critical lens of Tubbs's (2005) ‘Philosophy of the teacher’. Tubbs's analysis provides an opportunity to closely examine the tensions in teaching approaches, and proposes the possibility of their contradiction as educational. In addition, the article explores Henri Lefebvre's ‘moments of presence’, suggesting that encounters in our lives, which appear to exist at the intersection of one thing and another, where we find ourselves experiencing a contradiction, offer exciting possibilities for teaching and learning. The article builds its ideas around landscape encounters, from the saltmarsh and the deer‐shelter. It uses these encounters with landscapes to locate experiences of contradiction, and to work out how a teacher could respond.

From a Politics of Transgression Toward an Ethics of Reflexivity

Perhaps one day [transgression] will seem as decisive for our culture... as the experience of contradiction was at an earlier time for dialectical thought. Michel Foucault (1977, p. 33)

Glass Ceilings and Stone Walls: Employment equity for women in Ontario school boards

Women continue to be underrepresented in administrative positions within the education system in Ontario, Canada, despite the existence of employment equity policy for women for 20 years. However, while government reports present statistical data to monitor policy progress, little research has been conducted into how women administrators experience employment equity policy in their everyday lives. This paper uses data from interviews with female administrators to examine their perceptions of gender relations within the context of the provincial policy. First, the memories of these women, as they entered and achieved administrative positions, are presented. Second, I discuss their experiences of contradiction with respect to the policy in practice. Finally, I identify the ways in which these women construct themselves as agents of resistance and change. The paper concludes by arguing that existing relations and practices within the education system constitute an 'invisible policy', which must be acknowledg...