READING THEORY - Sites at USC

READING THEORY

A BRIEF GUIDE

FRANCESCA GACHO, [email protected]

WHAT IS THEORY?

Theoretical readings in graduate school typically refer to published texts that help define, establish, describe, analyze, and apply a concept, term, framework, or approach.

01Theoretical texts are often arguments for something: a way to understand a problem, a method for addressing the problem, a proposal for re-defining a common concept or idea.

02Theories are not composed in a vacuum; they are products of specific cultural contexts and eras. They are written in response to or emerging out historical social context.

03


WHY THEORY?

What’s the purpose of theory…?

¡ to explain how something works;

¡ to describe and understand phenomena;

¡ to challenge and extend boundaries of current knowledge;

¡ to predict phenomena.

… and what does it have to do with me?

¡ it can help us understand the sometimes invisibleworkings of ideas, relationships, mechanisms, etc. that make our world work.

¡ Ex. Social exchange theory helps explains to us how and why we form/maintain/conduct social relationships.

¡ it can help us make better decisions by predicting, anticipating, or imagining how something might turn out.


SOME KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

What is the problem or issue that the

theory is attempting to address?

How is this text organized?

What is the significance of this

theory?

What does this piece of writing take for

granted? Omit? Ignore?

What other theories do you know that

you can compare it to?


SAMPLE THEORY READINGGEORGE C. HOMANS’S SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AS EXCHANGE (1958)


READING THEORY

Activate Schemata.

by reading the Author(s) Name(s),

Title, Subtitle, Abstract, and Keywords

Preview.

by skimming the text for organization, subtitles, graphs,

images, etc.

Predict.

based on your skimming, what could

this text be about?

Question.

come up with a question based on the title, subtitle etc. that the reading will most

likely answer.



WHAT DO WE KNOW?

¡ 10 pages about something related to small groups: how they behave based on the idea of “exchange”

¡ 8 sections: Problems with Small Group Research, An Exchange Paradigm, The Influence Process, Practical Equilibrium, Profit and Social Control, Distributive Justice, Exchange and Social Structure, Summary.


WHAT CAN WE INFER FROM THE 8 SECTIONS?

¡ Problems with Small Group Research = problem in the field.

¡ An Exchange Paradigm = a model the author is proposing

¡ The Influence Process = how influence works

¡ Practical Equilibrium, Profit and Social Control, Distributive Justice, Exchange and Social Structure = perhaps elements that characterize social relationships?

¡ Summary = all the main takeaways


WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS INFO?

¡ These can help us identify key words or ideas that recur throughout the text. Find the definition of these terms in the text or define it yourself using context clues.

¡ Work out what the sentences with and surrounding these recurring words mean. Typically they can help you break down the most important parts of the theory.


SO WHAT IS THE QUESTION HOMANS IS ASKING AND ANSWERING WITH THIS TEXT?HIS QUESTION IS: HOW CAN WE DESCRIBE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS? HOW DO SOCIAL INTERACTIONS FUNCTION? WHAT DETERMINES OR CONDITIONS HOW WE CHOOSE TO FORM SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS?


HIS ANSWER IS: WE NEED TO THINK OF SOCIAL INTERACTION AS A KIND OF EXCHANGE.

FROM INFERENCE TO CONFIRMATION

¡ Problems with Small Group Research = problem in the field. ¡ à find a sentence or two that the author uses to “position” his study: what are his critiques of existing

research? What’s the problem he identifies?

¡ An Exchange Paradigm = a model the author is proposing ¡ à find the author’s simple definition of this paradigm then look for his extended definition (what examples

does he use? How else does he define the paradigm?)

¡ The Influence Process = how influence works ¡ à find how the author describes this process: look for language that refers to steps or relationships

¡ Practical Equilibrium, Profit and Social Control, Distributive Justice, Exchange and Social Structure = elements that characterize social relationships ¡ à find out how the author defines these terms and how they are related to each other

¡ Summary = all the main takeaways ¡ à this is where he defines his idea of social interaction as conditioned by exchange (of goods, of approval,

of prestige, etc.); argues that social relationships are a form of economy.


HOW TO MAKE THEORY ”STICK”?


Read rhetorically to figure out the structure. Does the key quote or main idea appear at the end of the

paragraph or at the beginning?

Spot where key words start changing. The last

sentence before the switch or the first sentence after

the switch can tell you how the next key word is related.

HOW TO MAKE THEORY “STICK”


Find and fully understand ONE example given in

the theory reading enough to explain to

somebody else

Try to create your own (preferably concrete)

example or analogy that will mirror this example.

If you had to text your friend or tweet a

summary of this theory, what would you say?

REMEMBER TO ASK YOUR QUESTIONS + A NEW ONE


What is the problem or issue that the

theory is attempting to address?

How is this text organized?

What is the significance of this

theory?

What does this piece of writing take for

granted? Omit? Ignore?

What other theories do you know that

you can compare it to?

What does this have to do with the

course topic/theme?

READING SECONDARY TEXTS

¡ Use secondary texts to contextualize, confirm, or correct.

¡ Read online summaries or Wikipedia entries for basic context, definition and background on theory.

¡ Summaries on theories or philosophical treatises can help you focus your reading and confirm or correct your comprehension.

¡ Be careful not to take these summaries as the final word on the text. They are products of focused readings, specific interests (of the writer), and perceived value/significance of the text that might differ from your perspective.

¡ Use them as guides, not as authoritative final word on the text.


CONNECT THE DOTS

¡ In most cases, theorists are responding (directly or indirectly) to the limitations, problems, or questions presented by other theories. As much as you can, connect what you’ve read and who’s written the theory to other theorists, schools of thought, and material you’ve read in the past (or are currently reading in another class).

¡ This will help you form a “web” of theories that can help you figure out who’s who and what’s what when it comes to your field. This can help deepen your understanding of not just this text but others related to it.

¡ Compare and contrast theories based on what they are attempting to explain, describe, or predict.


READING THEORY CHECKLIST


Did I identify the main problem or question that the text is trying

to answer?

Did I learn enough about the context

from which this piece of writing emerges?

Did I come up with one concrete example

of my own to help explain or apply the

theory?

Did I identify aspects of the theory that apply to me or my

course?

Did I identify what the theory omits, ignores, or didn’t account for?

Did I write all of this down?

SOME USEFUL RESOURCES FOR THEORY READINGS

¡ Search the USC Library for collections, anthologies, reference books on communication theories, management, sociology, etc.

¡ Consult with your subject librarian!

¡ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/index.html

¡ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://www.iep.utm.edu/


https://plato.stanford.edu/index.html

https://www.iep.utm.edu/

READING THEORY

A BRIEF GUIDE


READING THEORY - Sites at USC

Documents