ABSTRACT
In this wide-ranging interview Berth Danermark discusses several things. First, his route into realism via community activism, an interest in the theory and practice of Marx and Engels and the philosophy of Mario Bunge, and inspiration drawn from Herman Hesse. Second, the formation of the Nordic Network for Critical Realism and realism's enduring foothold in Scandinavia. Third, the career trajectory that took him from research on urban planning to the formation of the Swedish Institute for Disability Research (SIDR). He discusses how the well-known introduction to critical realism and applied social science, Explaining Society, came to be written, some misconceptions regarding critical realism and methods, the challenges involved in undertaking disability research and the development of and influences for his work of concepts such as interdisciplinarity and critical methodological pluralism, as well as issues related to transdisciplinary research and professional collaboration. The interview concludes with some advice for researchers.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
3 Explaining Society was first published in Swedish in 1997 with a Swedish revision in 2001 and 2018. The English version was revised in 2019. The book has also appeared in Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Turkish.
4 See Danermark and Jacobson (Citation1989), Danermark, Ström-Sjölund and Borg (Citation1996), Borg et al. (Citation1999), Borg et al. (Citation1999), Danermark, Antonson, and Lundström (Citation2001), Danermark and Gellerstedt (Citation2004a, Citation2004b), Bhaskar and Danermark (Citation2006), Möller and Danermark (Citation2007), Boman, Danermark, and Boman (Citation2014), Danermark et al. (Citation2014).
5 For a sense of his range see also, Söderfeldt, Danermark, and Larsson (Citation1988, Citation1989), Danermark and Ekström (Citation1990, Citation1991), Ekström and Danermark (Citation1993), Danermark, Ekström, and Bodin (Citation1996), Danermark and Möller (Citation2008), Germundsson, Hillberg, and Danermark (Citation2011), Danermark and Hanning (Citation2012), Germundsson and Danermark (Citation2012), Danermark et al. (Citation2013); Bickenbach and Danermark (Citation2019).
7 See also in this series Archer and Morgan (Citation2020), Rescher and Morgan (Citation2020), Porpora and Morgan (Citation2020), Norrie and Morgan (Citation2021), Lawson and Morgan (Citation2021a, Citation2021b), Jessop and Morgan (Citation2022), Elder-Vass and Morgan (Citation2022), Sayer and Morgan (Citation2022), Alderson and Morgan (Citation2023), Groff and Morgan (Citation2022), Little and Morgan (Citation2022), Patomäki and Morgan (Citation2023a, Citation2023b).
9 In addition to previous notes see, for example, Lundqvist, Elander, and Danermark (Citation1990), Yilmaz et al. (Citation2008), Jerlinder, Danermark, and Gill (Citation2009), Hillborg, Svensson, and Danermark (Citation2010a, Citation2010b), Gustafsson, Peralta, and Danermark (Citation2014), Manchaiah et al. (Citation2015).
11 Note from Berth: see the discussion later related to the claim ‘Nothing about us without us’.
14 Note from Berth: in the Interdisciplinarity book, we also refer to the concept of a ‘necessarily laminated system’ and found this useful.
15 Note from Jamie: for further work on the application of critical realism and applied work drawing on critical realism, see Brönnimann (Citation2022), Fryer (Citation2022), Bukowska (Citation2021), Wiltshire and Ronkainen (Citation2021), Ritz (Citation2020), Jagosh (Citation2020), Arroyo and Åstrand (Citation2019), Price and Martin (Citation2018), Fletcher (Citation2017), Steffansen (Citation2016).
Morgan, J. 2021. “Critical Realism for a Time of Crisis? Buch-Hansen and Nielsen’s Twenty-First Century CR.” Journal of Critical Realism 20 (3): 300–321. doi:10.1080/14767430.2021.1958280 Danermark, B., and T. Jacobson. 1989. “Local Housing Policy and Residential Segregation.” Scandinavian Housing and Planning Research 6 (4): 245–256. doi:10.1080/02815738908730206 Danermark, B., L. Ström-Sjölund, and B. Borg. 1996b. “Some Characteristics of Mainstreamed Hard-of-Hearing Students in Swedish Universities.” American Annals of the Deaf 141 (5): 359–364. doi:10.1353/aad.2012.0269. Borg, E., B. Danermark, E. Samuelsson, H. Wästlund, and J. Rönnberg. 1999. “Communicative Ability in an Audiological Perspective. Theory and Application to Post-Secondary School Students.” Scandinavian Audiology (Supplement) 50: 1–36. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10810771/. Borg, E., B. Danermark, E. Samuelsson, H. Wästlund, and J. Rönnberg. 1999. “Communicative Ability in an Audiological Perspective. Theory and Application to Post-Secondary School Students.” Scandinavian Audiology (Supplement) 50: 1–36. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10810771/. Danermark, B., S. Antonson, and I. Lundström. 2001. “Social Inclusion and Career Development ( Transition from Upper Secondary School to Work or Post-Secondary Education.” Scandinavian Audiology 30 (2): 120–128. doi:10.1080/010503901750166880. Danermark, B., and L. Gellerstedt. 2004a. “Hearing Impairment, Psychosocial Work Environment and Health.” International Journal of Audiology 43 (7): 383–389. doi:10.1080/14992020400050049 Danermark, B., and L. Gellerstedt. 2004b. “Social Justice: Redistribution and Recognition – a Non-Reductionist Perspective on Disability.” Disability & Society 19 (4): 339–353. doi:10.1080/09687590410001689458 Bhaskar, R., and B. Danermark. 2006. “Metatheory, Interdisciplinarity and Disability Research — A Critical Realist Perspective.” Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 8 (4): 278–297. doi:10.1080/15017410600914329 Möller, K., and B. Danermark. 2007. “Social Recognition, Participation and the Dynamics Between the Environment and Personal Factors of Students with Deafblindness.” American Annals of the Deaf 152 (1): 42–55. doi:10.1353/aad.2007.0012 Boman, T. Kjellberg, A. Danermark, and E. Boman. 2014. “Can People with Disabilities Gain from Education? Similarities and Differences Between Occupational Attainment among Persons with and Without Disabilities.” Work 49 (2): 193–204. DOI:10.3233/WOR-131718. Danermark, B., U. Englund, P. Germundsson, and P. Ratinaud. 2014. “French and Swedish Teachers’ Social Representations of Social Workers.” European Journal of Social Work 17 (4): 491–507. doi:10.1080/13691457.2013.829803 Söderfeldt, B., B. Danermark, and S. Larsson. 1988. “Income Redistribution Effect of the Swedish Sickness Allowance Insurance in a Comparison of Two Concepts of Social Class.” Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine 16 (4): 227–232. doi:10.1177/140349488801600407 Söderfeldt, B., B. Danermark, and S. Larsson. 1989. “Class Inequality in Health: A Methodological Study of Two Measures of Social Class in Relation to Sickness Insurance Diagnoses.” Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine 17 (2): 207–215. doi:10.1177/140349488901700212 Danermark, B., and M. Ekström. 1991. “The Study of Power Mechanisms – an Interactive and Generative Approach to a Case of Swedish Urban Renewal.” Scandinavian Housing and Planning Research 8 (3): 153–170. doi:10.1080/02815739108730269 Ekström, M., and B. Danermark. 1993. “Migration Patterns and Migration Motives Among the Elderly. Swedish Data in a Comparative Perspective.” Scandinavian Housing and Planning Research 10 (2): 75–89. doi:10.1080/02815739308730325 Danermark, B., M. Ekström, and L. Bodin. 1996a. “Effects of Residential Relocation on Mortality and Morbidity Among Elderly People.” European Journal of Public Health 6 (3): 212–217. doi:10.1093/eurpub/6.3.212. Danermark, B., and K. Möller. 2008. “Deafblindness, Ontological Security, and Social Recognition.” International Journal of Audiology 47: S119–S123. doi:10.1080/14992020802307388. Germundsson, P., H. Hillberg, and B. Danermark. 2011. “Interagency Collaboration in Vocational Rehabilitation for Persons with Mental Disability: The Perspective of the Service Users and the Professionals.” Disability & Society 26 (6): 699–713. doi:10.1080/09687599.2011.602862 Germundsson, P., and B. Danermark. 2012. “Vocational Rehabilitation, Interagency Collaboration and Social Representations.” Work 42 (4): 507–517. doi:10.3233/WOR-2012-1382 Danermark, B., S. Granberg, S. Kramer, C. Möller, and M. Selb. 2013. “The Creation of a Comprehensive and a Brief Core Set for Hearing Loss Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).” American Journal of Audiology 22 (2): 323–328. doi:10.1044/1059-0889(2013/12-0052). Bickenbach, J., and B. Danermark. 2019. “Interdisciplinarity and Rehabilitation Research.” In New Dynamics of Disability and Rehabilitation. Interdisciplinary Perspectives, edited by I. Harslöf, I. Poulsen, and K. Larsen, 293–312. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Archer, M. S., and J. Morgan. 2020. “Contributions to Realist Social Theory: An Interview with Margaret S. Archer.” Journal of Critical Realism 19 (2): 179–200. doi:10.1080/14767430.2020.1732760 Rescher, N., and J. Morgan. 2020. “Philosophical Purpose and Purposive Philosophy: An Interview with Nicholas Rescher.” Journal of Critical Realism 19 (1): 58–77. doi:10.1080/14767430.2019.1695085 Porpora, D. V., and J. Morgan. 2020. “American Sociology, Realism, Structure and Truth: An Interview with Douglas V. Porpora.” Journal of Critical Realism 19 (5): 522–544. doi:10.1080/14767430.2020.1782708 Norrie, A., and J. Morgan. 2021. “Realism, Dialectic, Justice and Law: An Interview with Alan Norrie.” Journal of Critical Realism 20 (1): 98–122. doi:10.1080/14767430.2021.1881274 Lawson, T., and J. Morgan. 2021a. “Cambridge Social Ontology, the Philosophical Critique of Modern Economics and Social Positioning Theory: An Interview with Tony Lawson, Part 1.” Journal of Critical Realism 20 (1): 72–97. doi:10.1080/14767430.2020.1846009 Lawson, T., and J. Morgan. 2021b. “Cambridge Social Ontology, the Philosophical Critique of Modern Economics and Social Positioning Theory: An Interview with Tony Lawson, Part 2.” Journal of Critical Realism 20 (2): 201–237. doi:10.1080/14767430.2021.1914904 Jessop, B., and J. Morgan. 2022. “The Strategic-Relational Approach, Realism and the State: From Regulation Theory to Neoliberalism via Marx and Poulantzas, an Interview with Bob Jessop.” Journal of Critical Realism 21 (1): 83–118. doi:10.1080/14767430.2021.1995685 Elder-Vass, D., and J. Morgan. 2022. “‘Materially Social’ Critical Realism: An Interview with Dave Elder-Vass.” Journal of Critical Realism 21 (2): 211–246. doi:10.1080/14767430.2022.2028233 Sayer, A., and J. Morgan. 2022. “A Realist Journey Through Social Theory and Political Economy: An Interview with Andrew Sayer.” Journal of Critical Realism 21 (4): 434–470. doi:10.1080/14767430.2022.2049078 Alderson, P., and J. Morgan. 2023. “Realist by Inclination, Childhood Studies, Dialectic and Bodily Concerns: An Interview with Priscilla Alderson.” Journal of Critical Realism 22 (1): 122–159. doi:10.1080/14767430.2022.2068261. Little, D., and J. Morgan. 2022. “Understanding Society: An Interview with Daniel Little.” Journal of Critical Realism, doi:10.1080/14767430.2022.2134617. Patomäki, H., and J. Morgan. 2023a. “World Politics, Critical Realism and the Future of Humanity: An Interview with Heikki Patomäki, Part 1.” Journal of Critical Realism. forthcoming. Patomäki, H., and J. Morgan. 2023b. “World Politics, Critical Realism and the Future of Humanity: An Interview with Heikki Patomäki, Part 2.” Journal of Critical Realism. forthcoming. Lundqvist, L., I. Elander, and B. Danermark. 1990. “Housing Policy in Sweden – Still a Success Story?” International Journal for Urban and Regional Research 14 (3): 445–467. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2427.1990.tb00150.x. Yilmaz, M., S. Josephsson, B. Danermark, and A.-B. Ivarsson. 2008. “Participation by Doing: Social Interaction in Everyday Activities among Persons with Schizophrenia.” Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 15 (3): 162–172. doi:10.1080/11038120802022102. Jerlinder, K., B. Danermark, and P. Gill. 2009. “Normative Approaches to Justice in Physical Education for Pupils with Physical Disabilities – Dilemmas of Recognition and Redistribution.” Disability & Society 24 (3): 331–342. doi:10.1080/09687590902789495 Hillborg, H., T. Svensson, and B. Danermark. 2010a. “Towards a Working Life? Experiences in a Rehabilitation Process for People with Psychiatric Disabilities.” Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 17 (2): 149–161. doi:10.1080/11038120902906303. Hillborg, H., T. Svensson, and B. Danermark. 2010b. “Expectations, Visions and Sense of Empowerment: In the Face of a Rehabilitation Process for People with Psychiatric Disabilities.” Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 12 (2): 109–124. doi:10.1080/15017410903478931 Gustafsson, J., J. Peralta, and B. Danermark. 2014. “The Employer's Perspective: Employment of People with Disabilities in Wage Subsidized Employments.” Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 16 (3): 249–266. doi:10.1080/15017419.2013.785976 Manchaiah, V., B. Danermark, T. Ahmadi, D. Tomé, K. Rajalakshmi, F. Zhao, Q. Li, and P. Germundsson. 2015. “Social Representation of ‘Hearing Loss’: Cross-Cultural Exploratory Study in India, Iran, Portugal and United Kingdom.” Clinical Interventions in Aging 10: 1857–1872. doi:10.2147/CIA.S91076. Scambler, G. 2020. “The Fractured Society: Structures, Mechanisms, Tendencies.” Journal of Critical Realism 19 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1080/14767430.2020.1712545 Carter, B., and C. New, eds. 2004. Making Realism Work: Realist Social Theory and Empirical Research. London: Routledge. Olsen, W., and J. Morgan. 2005. “A Critical Epistemology of Analytical Statistics: Addressing the Skeptical Realist.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 35 (3): 255–284. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5914.2005.00279.x Lipscomb, M. 2006. “Review Essay: Realist Theory in Research Practice.” Journal of Critical Realism 5 (2): 362–379. doi:10.1558/jocr.v5i2.362 Morgan, J., and W. Olsen. 2007. “Defining Objectivity in Realist Terms. Objectivity as a Second-Order ‘Bridging’ Concept Part I: Valuing Objectivity.” Journal of Critical Realism 6 (2): 250–266. doi:10.1558/jocr.v6i2.250 Morgan, J., and W. Olsen. 2008. “Defining Objectivity in Realist Terms. Objectivity as a Second-Order ‘Bridging’ Concept Part II: Bridging to Praxis.” Journal of Critical Realism 7 (1): 107–132. doi:10.1558/jocr.v7i1.107 Brönnimann, A. 2022. “How to Phrase Critical Realist Interview Questions in Applied Social Science Research.” Journal of Critical Realism 21 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1080/14767430.2021.1966719. Fryer, T. 2022. “A Critical Realist Approach to Thematic Analysis: Producing Causal Explanations.” Journal of Critical Realism 21 (4): 365–384. doi:10.1080/14767430.2022.2076776 Bukowska, M. 2021. “Critical Realism: One of the Main Theoretical Orientations of the Social Sciences in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries.” Journal of Critical Realism 20 (4): 441–447. doi:10.1080/14767430.2021.1975212 Wiltshire, G., and N. Ronkainen. 2021. “A Realist Approach to Thematic Analysis: Making Sense of Qualitative Data Through Experiential, Inferential and Dispositional Themes.” Journal of Critical Realism 20 (2): 159–180. doi:10.1080/14767430.2021.1894909 Ritz, B. 2020. “Comparing Abduction and Retroduction in Peircean Pragmatism and Critical Realism.” Journal of Critical Realism 19 (5): 456–465. doi:10.1080/14767430.2020.1831817 Jagosh, J. 2020. “Retroductive Theorizing in Pawson and Tilley's Applied Scientific Realism.” Journal of Critical Realism 19 (2): 121–130. doi:10.1080/14767430.2020.1723301 Arroyo, I., and J. Åstrand. 2019. “Housing Recovery Outcomes After Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines: A Critical Realist Perspective.” Journal of Critical Realism 18 (2): 142–168. doi:10.1080/14767430.2019.1605667 Price, L., and L. Martin. 2018. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Applied Critical Realism in the Social Sciences.” Journal of Critical Realism 17 (2): 89–96. doi:10.1080/14767430.2018.1468148 Fletcher, A. 2017. “Applying Critical Realism in Qualitative Research: Methodology Meets Method.” International Journal of Social Research Methodology 20 (2): 181–194. doi:10.1080/13645579.2016.1144401 Steffansen, R. 2016. “Critical Realist Methodology Guiding Theory Development: The Case of the Norwegian Second Home Ownership Paradox.” Journal of Critical Realism 15 (2): 122–141. doi:10.1080/14767430.2016.1148375 Additional information
Notes on contributors
Berth Danermark
Berth Danermark was until recently Professor emeritus, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, School of Health Sciences, Örebro University, Sweden. He is the author of numerous books and articles. Additional detail is given in the interview.
Jamie Morgan
Jamie Morgan is Professor of Economic Sociology at Leeds Beckett University. He co-edits the Real-World Economics Review with Edward Fullbrook. He has published widely in the fields of economics, political economy, philosophy, sociology and international politics.
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