Bourdieus Theorie der Praxis als alternative Perspektive für die „Geographische Entwicklungsforschung“

摘要

Within the academic field of Geography, there is an "identity crisis" facingGerman-language scholarship in Development Studies programs, particularly interms of disciplinary characteristics, epistemological aims andmethodological approaches. This critical self-reflection finds itsexpression in the use of terms like "mid-range theory" or "globalsouth", and is manifest as well in repeated calls for a re-formulation ofthe discipline. Simultaneously, an increasing number of empirical studies inthis field are informed by readings of Bourdieu, and are relying onpraxeological and corresponding relational perspectives. These studies aretranscending the prevalent actor-centered paradigms. Against such abackground this paper not only shows how Bourdieu's suggestions cancontribute to countering conceptual and discursive dichotomies, regionalizedexoticism of cultural contexts and a normative bias (especially in appliedresearch), but also indicates directions for a reformulation or alternativeinterpretation of the discipline. In order to address these issues, we focuson the key concept of relationality, which is epistemologically central tounderstanding the "social world"; academically central for a praxeologicalconcept of global social research; and methodologically central in terms ofself-reflexivity and a heuristic approach to social categories.