Disastrous social theory: lessons from New Orleans

Loon, J van and Charlesworth, S, 2006. Disastrous social theory: lessons from New Orleans. Space and Culture, 9 (1), pp. 7-11. ISSN 1206-3312

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Abstract

Contemporary social theory struggles to deal with disasters not just because of epistemological shortcomings regarding the continued dualistic nature of its dealings with social phenomena and events, relegating disasters to the real of “extraordinary events,” but also because it has effectively foreclosed on its ability to deal with social reality. The latter is less the consequence of epistemic shortcomings but itself a social by-product of the institutionalization of social thought in the academy. Divorced from an ability to come to terms with social reality, because it lacks both an empirical grounding and a sense of urgency to understand that which lies outside the comfort zone of academic life, social theory is left rather aimlessly afloat amid a sea of debris that signals that the apocalypse has already happened.

Item Type:	Journal article
Alternative Title:	Disastrous social theory: lessons from New Orleans I: acts of God [working title]
Publication Title:	Space and Culture
Creators:	Loon, J.V. and Charlesworth, S.
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Date:	2006
Volume:	9
Number:	1
ISSN:	1206-3312
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1177/1206331205283738 DOI
Rights:	Copyright © 2006 by Sage Publications. rights reserved. No portion of the contents may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher
Divisions:	Schools > School of Arts and Humanities
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 10:47
Last Modified:	23 Aug 2016 09:12
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18259

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