The Role and Significance of Sociological Theory within Research Traditions in Relation to the Historical Context of the Postmodern Turn

Renata Relja
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Croatia

Abstract

The paper starts from the role and meaning of sociological theory in the context of research traditions. It begins with a discussion of the positioning of theory within qualitative research approaches in the time context of the late 1980s and early 1990s during the so-called of the "postmodern turn". Given that the aim of the paper is to consider the genesis of research traditions in sociology with an emphasis on ethnographic research traditions, but it is difficult to start the discussion without grasping the essence of sociological theory. When talking about theory and ethnographic research, there are numerous forms of specific theories that ethnographers have, each of which is applicable to specific topics. The inappropriateness of the theory and the specific research topic results in a misunderstanding in relation to the main research questions. Within the work, the order of knowledge is also problematized, which is associated with ethnography on the one hand and postmodernism on the other, as well as a "reflexive" turn. The postmodern sensibility is especially visible within the reflective moment during the writing process. Postmodern ideas therefore first introduce a new level of criticality within ethnographic research and draw attention to certain topics, processes and phenomena that have not been sufficiently discussed within wider social reflection. Key words: research traditions, postmodernity, reflexivity, ethnography, theory

Presentation