Wearing a Postmodernist Lens in Viewing Your Potential Topic

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Researchers have studied and written about the topic of spirituality extensively. In social work, spirituality is a crucial factor to consider when working with clients, families, communities, and organizations. In their article, Hodge and Derezotes (2008) take a topic—spirituality—and analyze how spirituality is conceptualized and studied from an empiricist (logical positivist) perspective and how it contrasts with a postmodernist perspective. Similarly, in this Discussion, you put on a postmodernist lens to see how your potential doctoral capstone topic will look. Remember that the ontological, axiological, and epistemological assumptions you hold will then influence how you go about studying the topic.

To prepare:

Review the following resources from your Learning Resources this week:

  • The article, “Postmodernism and Spirituality: Some Pedagogical Implications for Teaching Content on Spirituality” from the Journal of Social Work Education.
  • Chapter 5, “Feminist Theory” from the text Contemporary Human Behavior Theory: A Critical Perspective for Social Work.
  •  ASC success strategies: Microsoft Office: Microsoft PowerPoint from the Walden Academic Skills Center.

Review the remaining required resources from your Learning Resources this week, and cite at least one additional resource in your posts.

 

Post a response to the following:

  • Using the same doctoral capstone topic or problem from last week, in 3–4 sentences, analyze the ontological, axiological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions when viewing your topic from a postmodernist lens.
  • Explain how your approach to studying this topic from a postmodernist lens compares to a logical positivist lens.
  • Explain how one advantage and one disadvantage of using a postmodernist lens affects the study of your topic or problem.