Space and Theory
Alright! I haven't been on here for awhile, but this is my attempt to get back on and become active in the blogosphere! So for all of you sophomores and juniors out there, I suppose you are beginning to think about what paper or project you want to do senior year? Well, I'm one of those losers, and I'm thinking that I need to connect my two majors of Poli Sci and Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies somehow. So, here are my ideas: space and theory. I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now, but space can be political space, personal space, emotional space, and literal space. What are the connections between places and spaces and how do they connect between the poilitical and feminist spaces? Or do they? Are they too difficult to connect? I'm also considering theory. There are about a million different definitions of theory out there. For example:
"A theory is a set of related propositions that help explain why events occur the way they do. A theory is an abstract, conjectural or speculative representation of reality. Thus, one does not ask of a thoery whether it is true or false; rather, one asks whether it is enlightening. To theorize is to speculate with an intention to understand or explain" (Knutsen 1997, 1).
This definition comes from one of my course textbooks entitled, "A History of International Relations Theory." I know, boring. Anyways, moving from bell hooks to Audre Lorde to Knutsen and even to Baumgartner & Richards, all hold their own definitions of theory. What are these great differences and how do they affect the theories that each author offers? Or perhaps I will do some combination of space and theory and how they relate to each other. I'm not sure. Let me know what you guys think...
Also, what is the difference between real and belief? Is real what you imagine real to be, which would make it closer to belief, or is real a set of facts and nothing else? hmm...perhaps I will save this question for another day.