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Interviews

Applying critical realism in an interdisciplinary context: an interview with Berth Danermark

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Pages 525-561 | Published online: 28 Mar 2023
 

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

1 For information on Professor Danermark’s work and related activity, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berth_Danermark

2 See Sayer (Citation1992), Collier (Citation1994), Archer et al. (Citation1998), Buch-Hansen and Nielsen (Citation2020), Morgan (Citation2021).

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).

10 Note from Jamie: for a recent example of his work, see Scambler (Citation2020). For some general discussion of method/methodology and application, see Carter and New (Citation2004), Olsen and Morgan (Citation2005), Lipscomb (Citation2006), Morgan and Olsen (Citation2007, Citation2008).

11 Note from Berth: see the discussion later related to the claim ‘Nothing about us without us’.

13 Note from Jamie: Broken Promises (1989); Extraordinary People (1991); No Limits: The Thalidomide Saga (2016). Visit https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0953508/fullcredits?ref_=m_nmfm_1

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).

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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