#margaretarcher — Public Fediverse posts

📚Reading the Archers: an intensive summer 2026 reading group

From June through to September I’ll be rereading what Frédéric Vandenberghe once called ‘the Archers’ from start to finish. I’ll be hosting a weekly zoom meeting for anyone who wants to join me, likely with 2-3 chapters per week. I’ll post a schedule in advance so people can drop-in for particular sections. There’s no expectation to attend them all – come for particular books or particular sections. I’ll also be blogging about each week’s reading to support participation.

If you’re interested in taking part please get in touch.

#archer #margaretArcher #MorphogeneticApproach

I’m getting preoccupied by the parallels between the design theorist Christopher Alexander’s metaphysics of form and Margaret’s Archer morphogenetic approach. The best critique of Archer I’ve read is Mouzelis arguing that she systematically prioritises time over space, leading her to neglect the spatialised exercise over power. I’m increasingly wondering if Alexander’s (somewhat power-blind, it seems to me) architectural theory of morphogenesis as a spatialised process, could be integrated into Archer’s morphogenetic approach.

From Christopher Alexander’s The Process of Creating Life, pg 509:

Why is freedom associated with the morphogenetic character of social processes? Because it is the shape-creating, organization-generating, aspect of process which ultimately allows people to do what they want, what they desire, what they need, and what is deeply adapted to life as it is lived and to experience as it is felt. The humanity of the environment comes about only when the processes are morphogenetic, are whole-seeking, are placed in a context that gradually allows people to work towards a living whole in which each person plays a part. If this point is not clear from what you have read in this book, please read Book 1, chapter 10, to understand more fully what I mean.

I believe we may take on this task, collectively, and can gain effective, instrumental knowledge of our generative system, and thus some measure of awareness and control over the system of processes that generates the world. I choose to define society as that system which creates the human world, and say that its primary ongoing function, and the criterion we should use to judge it by, is its capacity to create and re-create a living world for us.

https://markcarrigan.net/2024/11/08/why-is-freedom-associated-with-the-morphogenetic-character-of-social-processes/

#ChristopherAlexander #margaretArcher #morphogenesis

I’m getting preoccupied by the parallels between the design theorist Christopher Alexander’s metaphysics of form and Margaret’s Archer morphogenetic approach. The best critique of Archer I’ve read is Mouzelis arguing that she systematically prioritises time over space, leading her to neglect the spatialised exercise over power. I’m increasingly wondering if Alexander’s (somewhat power-blind, it seems to me) architectural theory of morphogenesis as a spatialised process, could be integrated into Archer’s morphogenetic approach.

From Christopher Alexander’s The Process of Creating Life, pg 509:

Why is freedom associated with the morphogenetic character of social processes? Because it is the shape-creating, organization-generating, aspect of process which ultimately allows people to do what they want, what they desire, what they need, and what is deeply adapted to life as it is lived and to experience as it is felt. The humanity of the environment comes about only when the processes are morphogenetic, are whole-seeking, are placed in a context that gradually allows people to work towards a living whole in which each person plays a part. If this point is not clear from what you have read in this book, please read Book 1, chapter 10, to understand more fully what I mean.

I believe we may take on this task, collectively, and can gain effective, instrumental knowledge of our generative system, and thus some measure of awareness and control over the system of processes that generates the world. I choose to define society as that system which creates the human world, and say that its primary ongoing function, and the criterion we should use to judge it by, is its capacity to create and re-create a living world for us.

https://markcarrigan.net/2024/11/08/why-is-freedom-associated-with-the-morphogenetic-character-of-social-processes/

#ChristopherAlexander #margaretArcher #morphogenesis

Following our recent symposium we are inviting short blog posts (750-1500 words) reflecting on the intellectual legacy of Margaret Archer. These will be published on the Critical Realism Network blog. Here are some examples of themes these posts could address:

1. Archer’s Place in Sociological Theory:  the ways in which Archer’s ideas have been received, challenged, and transformed within the discipline. 
2. Archer’s Work within the Larger Dialogues of Critical Realism: the ways in which Archer’s ideas have contributed to and challenged the critical realist tradition. 
3. The Global Reception of Archer’s Work: the ways in which Archer’s ideas have been received, interpreted and adapted in different places. We want to explore both Archer’s role in the internationalization of British sociology, as well as the reception of her work in different countries of the Global North and Global South.
4. Archer’s Work Beyond Critical Realism: the ways in which Archer’s work has been influenced by and has influenced traditions, debates and issues beyond critical realism, such as pragmatism, moral philosophy and the philosophy of science.

We welcome submissions from scholars at all stages of their careers, including graduate students and early-career researchers. We also encourage interdisciplinary perspectives and contributions from scholars working in related fields, such as philosophy, anthropology, and political science.

If you’re interested in submitting a post, please contact Mark Carrigan with your idea initially.

https://markcarrigan.net/2024/08/08/%f0%9f%93%8dcall-for-blog-posts-the-legacy-of-margaret-archer/

#criticalRealism #margaretArcher #MorphogeneticApproach #socialMorphogenesis #socialRealism

August 3rd, 10am-5pm at the University of Warwick

Margaret Archer’s work has had a profound impact on social theory, challenging and reshaping our understanding of agency, structure, culture and their interplay in producing social change. Her contributions to the discipline have been wide-ranging, from critical interventions in conceptual debates to discussions about the nature of our times. Archer’s engagements with other thinkers, both within and outside the critical realist tradition, have shaped contemporary sociological debates.

Karim Knio – The Immanent Causality Morphogenetic Approach (TBC)

Juan David Parra – Archer’s Morphogenesis and the Political Economy of Education Systems

Krzysztof Wielecki – The presence of Margaret Scotford Archer in Polish sociology

Lakshman Wimalasena – Reflexivity in Practice: Advancing the Working Experience through a Reflexive [Co-Design] Intervention

Richard Remelie – Measuring reflexivity

Ka Lok Yip – Archerian Realism and Phenomenology: Friends or Foes?

Anzhela Popyk – Structure and Agency: Transnational and School Transitions of Ukrainian Forced Migrant Adolescents in Poland

Catherine Hastings – Developing critical realist empirical research using Archer’s explanatory framework

https://markcarrigan.net/2024/07/18/%f0%9f%93%8djoin-us-on-august-3rd-to-celebrate-the-intellectual-legacy-of-margaret-archer/

#criticalRealism #margaretArcher #MorphogeneticApproach #socialRealism

It should be accessible to most universities via the Cambridge University Press website.

https://markcarrigan.net/2024/04/02/%f0%9f%93%8dout-now-margaret-archers-morphogenesis-answers-its-critics/

#criticalRealism #margaretArcher #MorphogeneticApproach

Tickets available here: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events/one-day-symposium-on-the-legacy-of-margaret-archer/ abstract submission details below:

We are delighted to announce a one-day symposium dedicated to exploring and celebrating the legacy of Margaret Archer, one of the most influential sociological thinkers of our time. The aim of the symposium is to engage with and critically assess Archer’s contributions to social theory, her influences and engagements outside critical realism, the global reception of her work, and her place within the larger tradition of critical realism.

Margaret Archer’s work has had a profound impact on social theory, challenging and reshaping our understanding of agency, structure, culture and their interplay in producing social change. Her contributions to the discipline have been wide-ranging, from critical interventions in conceptual debates to discussions about the nature of our times. Archer’s engagements with other thinkers, both within and outside the critical realist tradition, have shaped contemporary sociological debates.

We invite papers that critically engage with Archer’s work on the following themes:

1. Archer’s Place in Sociological Theory: 

We encourage papers that explore the ways in which Archer’s ideas have been received, challenged, and transformed within the discipline. 

1. Archer’s Work within the Larger Dialogues of Critical Realism:  

We invite papers that critically assess the ways in which Archer’s ideas have contributed to and challenged the critical realist tradition. 

1. The Global Reception of Archer’s Work: 

We encourage papers that explore the ways in which Archer’s ideas have been received, interpreted and adapted in different places. We want to explore both Archer’s role in the internationalization of British sociology, as well as the reception of her work in different countries of the Global North and Global South.

1. Archer’s Work Beyond Critical Realism: 

We welcome papers that explore the ways in which Archer’s work has been influenced by and has influenced traditions, debates and issues beyond critical realism, such as pragmatism, moral philosophy and the philosophy of science.

We welcome submissions from scholars at all stages of their careers, including graduate students and early-career researchers. We also encourage interdisciplinary perspectives and contributions from scholars working in related fields, such as philosophy, anthropology, and political science.

The conference will take place on August 3rd, 2024, at The University of Warwick. The deadline for submission of 300 word abstracts is April 30th, and notifications of acceptance will be sent out by May 15th.

Please note we will seek to accommodate online talks but there will be a limited number of places available for this. Specify in your application if you want to participate remotely. If we don’t receive this notification we will assume you intend to present in person.

We look forward to welcoming you to this exciting conference and to engaging in lively discussions about the legacy of Margaret Archer’s work.

To contact the organisers (Sebastian Raza and Mark Carrigan) or to submit your abstracts please use this form. Please note this is not a registration form for the event. It will be a ticketed event advertised through the British Sociological Association website from May onwards.

https://markcarrigan.net/2024/02/26/call-for-papers-one-day-symposium-on-the-legacy-of-margaret-archer-august-3rd-university-of-warwick/

#criticalRealism #margaretArcher #MorphogeneticApproach