The importance of theory
Let me take you back in time dear reader. When I was doing my PhD, I had a session with my supervisors. I had very clear ideas on what I wanted my PhD to be, and what I didn't. I wanted my PhD to be a very practical one, that wasn't bogged down by what I thought was a lot of dense and obscure theories that didn't mean very much.
However, it turns out that far from constraining the work that I was doing at the time, looking at the work I was doing through a theoretical lense actually helped me to see what was going on in a broader sense. In this way then, theories give us a way to view things, and a set of tools to view them in more detail.
Enter Foucault
So with some trepidation dear reader, I embraced theory, and in doing so, discovered the French professor called Michel Foucault. He was interested in a lot of things, and though not without his critics, is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential thinkers around.
In the context of PIP, Foucault is important as one of the things he is interested in is power, how it is used, and with what consequences.
Using some of Foucault's ideas, and those who have followed him, a much wider exploratory space is opened up, which then become about bigger questions, and helps us to find better solutions. So PIP is not seen in its own right, but as part of a broader analysis of policy and practices in relation to disabled people over time. Consideration of how power is used also brings us to consideration of how power should and should not be used.
That is where the stories come in, and why your voices are so important. Every story counts in this sense, and this is why I keep raising awareness about this and asking for more stories to be sent in. Each story received adds to the robustness of the work that is being undertaken, and makes any conclusions drawn from analysis more credible.
So what are you doing now?
Good question! There is lots of reading, coupled with the things I talked about in last week's blog. Reading Foucault is hard (his ideas are complicated, and need to be read and re read very carefully to be grasped) and a bit like a jigsaw.
The first step in a jigsaw is gathering all the pieces together. In the case of Foucault, his work is a bit fragmented and takes the form of translated lectures and interviews as well as texts. There are also many others who have been inspired to follow in the footsteps of Foucault, so this subsequent work needs to be considered too.
It is early days, but having used some of this work when I did my PhD, I know that it can be really useful in this context, and critically, will help to add depth to the understanding of what is happening in and around the PIP process.
Aside from the reading, momentum is good, with over 560 stories received at the time of writing. Each time I tweet about this work, I receive more stories from people, so it is important to keep doing so to maintain that level of awareness. More and more people are learning about this, and I'm really grateful for all the support I have had so far. A big thank you 🙂
I also have some important ideas from the stories I have received to date, which I'll share when the time is right. It is key that any work I do is as careful and considered, so this may take some time. I am keen to share these with you, but I also need to take time and care so these ideas are as good as they can be.
As my mum always said, slow and steady wins the race. Here's to continued steady progress!
If you have a PIP story that you feel able to share, please click here to do so.
