In a grad program that differed greatly from my previous experiences, slowly and uncomfortably, I started to see the human element involved in knowledge construction. Perhaps my strategic word placement should indicate where I stand now.
A question has been posed in many of my grad classes that at once interests and troubles me: Does knowledge exist in the world, waiting for someone to discover it? Clearly, this is a philosophical question, but in trying to answer it I have discovered what I believe about knowledge and the formal process of constructing it.
Have I said it yet? I think knowledge is socially constructed. Boom. And I particularly like how Creswell stresses the importance of understanding in the moment, the situation one is in.
I also hope that my research is pragmatic. As a new writing teacher, I am constantly thinking of questions about effective teaching methods. In that way, then, I would hope to find more effective methods in the classroom.
Lots of knowledge is socially constructed but, I don't believe the fundamentals of epistemology are. I had a similar experience coming from undergrad. I've enjoyed learning how little we know, how loose our definitions actually are. It's unsettling. Perhaps that is why I have become so dedicated to those things that I believe we can know. Lets discuss over a beer. Or is beer one of those things you haven't tried yet?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan. Beer I do quite well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Christian's idea that peeling back layers of meaning is sometimes unnerving. Trying to get my undergrads to think about that is an aim of some writing exercises and readings I assign, but it is often a bit difficult to dig as deep as you'd like to--the rare class will take it and run with it, though.
ReplyDeleteSorry, that was kind of rambling! See you in class--L