Volda 17th – 20th March 2025
Creativity and theorizing – within and beyond PhD research
In his 2016 article “Before theory comes theorizing or how to make social science more interesting", sociologist Richard Swedberg presents a line of argumentation that carries (at least) two implications for PhD candidates’ research: 1) The theory used in one's research should not be viewed as static, but dynamic. The theory generators must have generated the theory with the help of some empirical material, and in this process, even prominent theory generators could be (partly) wrong. Thus, PhD candidates should not be required simply to ‘obey’ established theoretical concepts as authoritative objects from the “great men of theory” (to use a phrase from grounded theory founders Glaser and Strauss), but should be allowed to engage with and criticize existing theory within their respective fields of research. 2) Depending on how the concept of theory is defined, PhD candidates should be encouraged to theorize creatively on their own, at least if they have the drive and ambition to do so. However, as Swedberg has pointed out, for most researchers, theorizing requires the training of theorizing skills.
Following this line of thinking, during the PROFRES Spring symposium in Volda 17-20 March 2025, we will examine prospects for theorizing within the PhD and beyond. A second topic for the symposium is supervision in the PhD trajectory and the supervisor-candidate relationship. Both topics will be highlighted in lectures, group discussions and practical tasks.
Programme
MONDAY 17 MARCH 2025
- 11:30 Bus from the hotel to campus
- 12:10 Bus from the airport to campus
- 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch in the canteen
- 13.00 – 13.15 Welcome and introduction by Director of PROFRES, Birgitta Haga Gripsrud, Professor UiS. Room: Vekselstrøm.
- 13.15 – 14.45 How to survive as a Ph.D. student by Silje Fekjær, Professor OsloMet. Room: Vekselstrøm. In Norwegian.
- 14.45 – 15.00 Coffee break
- 15.00 - 16.00 Methods of theorizing: On the role and practice of theorizing in social science by Mikael Carleheden, Professor, Københavns Universitet. Room: Vekselstrøm.
- 16.00 Bus to the hotel
- 17.30 – 18.45 Philosophical salon with PROFRES Chairman James McGuirk, Professor VID, in the hotel lobby
- 19.00 Dinner at the hotel Ivar Aasen
TUESDAY 18 MARCH 2025
- 08.30 Transport to campus
- 09.00 – 12.00 Theorizing and the PhD by Mette Andersson, Professor UiO, and Anders Vassenden, Professor UiS. Room: Vekselstrøm (coffee break included). In Norwegian.
- 12.00 – 13.00 Lunch in the canteen
- 13.00 – 15.45 Abductive Analysis in Action: Theory, Method and Engagement in Qualitative Research by Iddo Tavory, Professor New York University. Room: Vekselstrøm (coffee break included). Online.
- 16.00 Bus to the hotel
- Dinner suggestions Ørsta: Tandoori Mix, Tik Café and Restaurant, Det Lille Napoli.
- Dinner Suggestions Volda: Brør bar og bistro, Tredet.
- Suggestions for physical activity: Swimming in Voldabadet 17-20 or indoor climbing in Ørstahallen 17-21.
WEDNESDAY 19 MARCH 2025
- 08.30 Transport to campus
- 09.00 Introduction to Work in progress by Birgitta Haga Gripsrud. Room: Folkelivet.
- 09.15 – 12.15 Work in progress. Seminar rooms: HS339 Samspelet, HS359 Erfaringa, HS114 Fornufta, HS183 Grupperom, SAA178 Røynda, SAA179 Kjelda, SAA180 Drona, SAA181 Linsa, BK220 Møterom, BK287 Møterom.
- 12.15 – 13.00 Lunch in the canteen
- 13.00 – 14.00 After Work in progress / own work. Recommended rooms: Folkelivet, Tilskodaren.
- 14.00 – 14.15 Coffee break
- 14.15 – 15.15 Candidates’ corner. Room: Skildringa. / Staff meeting. Room: Granskinga.
- 15.30 Bus to the hotel
- 16.50 Bus departure from the hotel to dinner venue
- 18.15 Dinner at Hotel Union Øye
THURSDAY 20 MARCH 2025
- 08.30 Transport to campus
- 09.00 – 11.45 Research and discussion on supervision in the PhD by Rune Johan Krumsvik, Professor UiB. Room: Vekselstrøm (coffee break included). In Norwegian.
- 11.45 - 12.00 Summary of the symposium by Birgitta Haga Gripsrud
- 12.00 Grab and go
Keynote: Silje Fekjær
How to survive as a Ph.D. student
What is your role as a PhD student? What can you expect from your supervisor, and what can your supervisor expect from you? How should you prioritize your time? And how can you combat the ever-threatening fear of being exposed as an impostor?
Bio
Silje Fekjær is vice-rector of education at OsloMet and professor at the Centre for the study of professions (SPS). She is the author of the book “Ph.D. En veiviser” and has long experience as supervisor and academic coordinator for the Ph.D. program at SPS.
Keynote: Mikael Carleheden
Methods of theorizing: On the role and practice of theorizing in social science
My point of departure will be that today there is more or less a “post-empiricist” consensus in the philosophy of social science. The consensus says that facts are theory-dependent, but not theory-determined. Such an epistemological standpoint implies that the validity any kind of scientific research presupposes both theoretical and empirical work. These two parts of scientific work are to be understood as different, but interdependent. I will in my talk focus on the theoretical part. The epistemological consensus implies that theoretical work has a “surplus value”, which cannot be replaced by or reduced to empirical work. Theory cannot be constructed inductively by adding observation to observation. The main topic of my talk will then be the art or method of theorizing. How do we as scientific researchers handle this unavoidable surplus value in a valid and professional way?
Bio
Mikael Carleheden is Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen. His research interests include how to theorize and how to criticize, i.e., theoretical questions on method in the context of social theory, social science, and normative critique. More specifically, his work focuses on (1) social change and structural transformation, (2) democracy and the structural development of the civil society, (3) discourses on freedom and diagnosis of social pathologies, and (4) theorizing in the age of the Anthropocene.
Recent publications
- Unchain the beast! Pluralizing the method of theorizing In Die Praxis soziologischer Theoriebildung Hrsg. Fabian Anicker & André Armbruster Springer Wiesbaden 2024
- How to theorize structural transformation: Diagnosis of the times or theory of society? In Singularität: Im Interdisziplinären Gespräch mit Andreas Reckwitz, Hrsg. Michael Kühnlein Nomos Verlag, Forthcoming 2025
Keynote: Mette Andersson
Theorizing and the PhD
Bio
Mette Andersson is professor of sociology at the University of Oslo. Her interests are within cultural and political sociology, focusing on themes such as migration, ethnicity/race, racism, social movements, public spheres and theorizing. She currently teaches courses in theorizing, political sociology, and social movements.
Keynote: Anders Vassenden
Theorizing and the PhD
Bio
Anders Vassenden is Professor of Sociology at the University of Stavanger. His research interests include cultural sociology, social class, ethnic relations, ethno-racial stigmatization, national identities, qualitative methods, child welfare, and housing studies. His research on these topics is inspired by microsociological theory, particularly the work of Erving Goffman. At UiS, Vassenden teaches cultural sociology (BA) and qualitative methods (PHD). He is head of the researcher group The Interactionist Cultural Sociology Group.
Keynote: Iddo Tavory
Abductive Analysis in Action: Theory, Method and Engagement in Qualitative Research
Over the past decade, the abductive approach that Stefan Timmermans and myself have developed has extended from sociology across the social sciences and beyond. This talk will focus on some of the core theoretical-methodological assumptions that abductive analysis makes, rooted in American pragmatism, and then spell out some ways in which the approach can be leveraged in the practice of qualitative research. I will then discuss two examples—one in the sociology of culture, the other in the sociology of medicine—to illustrate the practical work of abductive analysis.
Bio
Iddo Tavory is Professor of sociology at NYU. He is broadly interested in the interactional and experiential patterns through which people come to construct and understand their lives across situations. His books have explored questions of methodology, religion and culture. Iddo is currently writing a theoretical manuscript on culture and interaction, as well as writing a book based on an ethnography of an advertising agency in New York. Among other awards, Iddo has received the Lewis A. Coser Award for theoretical agenda setting in sociology.
Keynote: Rune Johan Krumsvik
Research and discussion on supervision in the PhD
Bio
Rune Johan Krumsvik is a professor, dr.philos of Education at the University of Bergen and an adjunct professor at Volda University College. He has served as the head of department for seven years. He is the founder/research group leader for Digital Learning Communities, and founder/research school leader of WNGER II.
Rune Johan Krumsvik is a researcher within doctoral education, with a focus on academic writing of the extended summary (kappe) in article-based dissertations, PhD supervision, artificial intelligence in doctoral supervision, quality assurance of PhD programs, and the experiences of PhD candidates. More information: https://www.uib.no/fg/dlc/44291/doctoral-education
Organizing Committee:
Professors Silje Louise Dahl, Kjartan Leer-Salvesen and Ådne Meling, Volda University College, Norway
Administrative advisors:
Camilla Melhuus Line, Øyvind Nystøl, University of Stavanger and University of Agder