DOCSLIB.ORG

Framing University Small Group Talk: Knowledge Construction Through Lexical Concepts

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Framing University Small Group Talk: Knowledge Construction Through Lexical Concepts FRAMING UNIVERSITY SMALL GROUP TALK: KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION THROUGH LEXICAL CONCEPTS YUN PAN Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Integrated PhD in Educational and Applied Linguistics Newcastle University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences November 2017 i ii DECLARATION I hereby certify that this thesis is based on my original work. All the quotations and citations have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that this thesis has not been previously or currently submitted for any other degree at Newcastle University or other institutions. Name: Yun PAN Signature: Date: 22/11/2017 iii ABSTRACT Knowledge construction in educational discourse continues to interest practitioners and researchers due to the conceptually “natural” connection between knowledge and learning for professional development. Frames have conceptual and practical advantages over other units of inquiry concerning meaning negotiation for knowledge construction. They are relatively stable data-structures representing prototypical situations retrieved from real world experiences, cover larger units of meaning beyond the immediate sequential mechanism at interaction, and have been inherently placed at the semantic-pragmatic interface for empirical observation. Framing in a particular context – university small group talk has been an under- researched field, while the relationship between talk and knowledge through collaborative work has been identified below/at the Higher Educational level. Involving higher level cognitive activities and distinct interactional patterns, university small group talk is worth close examination and systematic investigation. This study applies Corpus Linguistics and Interactional Linguistics approaches to examine a subset of a one-million-word corpus of university small group talk at a UK university. Specifically, it provides a detailed examination of the participants’ framing behaviours for knowledge construction through their talk of disciplinary lexical concepts. Analysis reveals how the participants draw upon schematized knowledge structures evoked by particular lexical choices and how they invoke expanded scenarios via pragmatic mappings in the ongoing interaction. Additionally, it is demonstrated how the framing moves are related to the structural uniqueness of university small group talk, the contextualized speaker roles and the institutional procedures and routines. This study deepens the understanding of the relationship between linguistically constructed knowledge and the way interlocutors conceptualize the world through institutionalized collaboration, building upon the existing research on human reliance upon structures to interpret reality at both the conceptual and the action levels. The study also addresses interaction research in Higher Educational settings, by discussing how the cognitive- communicative duality of framing is sensitive to various contextual resources, distinct discourse structures and task procedures through the group dynamics. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Adam Brandt and Dr Christopher Leyland. I am grateful to have had their guidance and support. Thanks too to Professor Steve Walsh, Dr Dawn Knight and Dr Rachelle Vessey for their academic guidance. My thanks also go to the NUCASE research group in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences. Thanks to the group members Qi Chen, Kazuki Hata, Khadija El-Wakai, Cihat Atar and Michael Grez for their warm support and precious friendship. Thanks are due to Professor Paul Seedhouse, Dr Peter Sercombe and Professor Sue Robson for their constructive feedback in my panel sessions which has been a great help to refine my research design and evaluate the research findings. Special thanks are also due to Dr Muge Satar Coen and Dr Jane Evison for examining this thesis and for offering very constructive feedback and suggestions in the viva. Huge thanks are due to the teaching/research staff at Lancaster University for holding the Summer School for Corpus Linguistics research during the academic year 2015/16. Thanks to Professor Tony McEnery and Professor Paul Baker for the interesting discussions on the Corpus Linguistics methodology through personal communication. Special thanks to Dr Paul Rayson for generously sacrificing his weekend time to help me deal with the data cleaning issues through the interface of Wmatrix. I am grateful to my fellow students in the PGR research suite 2.41. Special thanks are due to Yuzhu Peng, Rui Zhang, Miaomiao Zuo and Yuqi Xiao for their trust, understanding and support to help me get through all the tough days. Thanks to all my good friends in China. Final thanks go to my beloved family and particularly to my parents, Jing Ji and Hongjiang Pan, for their endless support and encouragement. I will never be able to express how lucky and proud I am to be their daughter. This piece of work is dedicated to them, as a tiny tribute to their sacrifice and love. v vi Table of Contents DECLARATION.................................................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Setting the scene .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research overview ................................................................................................................ 3 1.2.1 Knowledge construction ........................................................................................................ 3 1.2.2 University small group talk ................................................................................................... 8 1.2.3 Frame and framing ............................................................................................................. 11 1.3 Research aims and research questions .............................................................................. 14 1.4 Thesis structure ................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Three dimensions of knowledge construction................................................................... 16 2.2.1 Linguistic dimension: knowledge, language, and meaning-making ................................ 18 2.2.2 Discourse dimension: knowledge forms and discourse structures .................................... 24 2.2.3 Social dimension: knowledge construction and academic disciplines .............................. 31 2.3 Frame and framing for knowledge construction.................................................................... 39 2.3.1 Frame and framing in Frame Semantics ........................................................................... 42 2.3.2 Frame and framing in motivating contexts ........................................................................ 52 2.3.3 Frame and framing in social interaction ........................................................................... 55 2.4 Knowledge construction in university small group talk .................................................. 61 2.5 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 72 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 72 3.2 Corpus Linguistics .............................................................................................................. 73 3.2.1 Corpus-based methods to approach knowledge construction............................................ 73 3.2.2 Overview of the Corpus Linguistic approach ..................................................................... 77 3.2.3 From keywords to key semantic domains ........................................................................... 80 3.2.4 USAS: the semantic tagging system ................................................................................... 83 3.2.5 WordSmith Tools: concordance lines and collocational patterns ..................................... 88 3.3 Interactional Linguistics ..................................................................................................... 91 3.3.1 Overview of the Interactional Linguistics approach .......................................................... 91 3.3.2 Ethnomethodology to approach knowledge construction .................................................. 94 3.4 Towards a methodological synergy ..................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen (2003) Metaphors We Live By
    George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen (2003) Metaphors we live by. London: The university of Chicago press. Noter om layout: - Sidetall øverst - Et par figurer slettet - Referanser til slutt Innholdsfortegnelse i Word: George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen (2003) Metaphors we live by. London: The university of Chicago press. ......................................................................................................................1 Noter om layout:...................................................................................................................1 Innholdsfortegnelse i Word:.................................................................................................1 Contents................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgments................................................................................................................6 1. Concepts We Live By .....................................................................................................8 2. The Systematicity of Metaphorical Concepts ...............................................................11 3. Metaphorical Systematicity: Highlighting and Hiding.................................................13 4. Orientational Metaphors.................................................................................................16 5. Metaphor and Cultural Coherence .................................................................................21 6 Ontological
    [Show full text]
  • Pre´Cis of the Origin of Concepts
    BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2011) 34, 113–167 doi:10.1017/S0140525X10000919 Pre´cis of The Origin of Concepts Susan Carey Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 [email protected] Abstract: A theory of conceptual development must specify the innate representational primitives, must characterize the ways in which the initial state differs from the adult state, and must characterize the processes through which one is transformed into the other. The Origin of Concepts (henceforth TOOC) defends three theses. With respect to the initial state, the innate stock of primitives is not limited to sensory, perceptual, or sensorimotor representations; rather, there are also innate conceptual representations. With respect to developmental change, conceptual development consists of episodes of qualitative change, resulting in systems of representation that are more powerful than, and sometimes incommensurable with, those from which they are built. With respect to a learning mechanism that achieves conceptual discontinuity, I offer Quinian bootstrapping. TOOC concludes with a discussion of how an understanding of conceptual development constrains a theory of concepts. Keywords: bootstrapping; concept; core cognition; developmental discontinuity; innate primitive 1. Introduction determines the content of any given mental symbol (i.e., what determines which concept it is, what determines The human conceptual repertoire is a unique phenom- the symbol’s meaning). (In the context of theories of enon, posing a formidable challenge to the disciplines of mental or linguistic symbols, I take “content” to be the cognitive sciences. How are we to account for the roughly synonymous with “meaning.”) The theory must human capacity to create concepts such as electron, also specify how it is that concepts may function in cancer, infinity, galaxy, and wisdom? thought, by virtue of what they combine to form prop- A theory of conceptual development must have three ositions and beliefs, and how they function in inferential components.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sociology of Creativity : a Sociological Systems Framework to Identify and Explain Titulo Social Mechanisms of Creativity and Innovative Developments Burns, Tom R
    The sociology of creativity : a sociological systems framework to identify and explain Titulo social mechanisms of creativity and innovative developments Burns, Tom R. - Autor/a; Machado, Nora - Colaborador/a; Autor(es) Lisboa Lugar CIES-IUL Editorial/Editor 2014 Fecha CIES e-Working Paper no. 196 Colección Teoría de sistemas; Desarrollo; Innovaciones; Creatividad; Sociología; Psicología; Temas Portugal; Doc. de trabajo / Informes Tipo de documento "http://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/Portugal/cies-iul/20161228025913/pdf_1378.pdf" URL Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Derivadas CC BY-NC-ND Licencia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.es Segui buscando en la Red de Bibliotecas Virtuales de CLACSO http://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO) Conselho Latino-americano de Ciências Sociais (CLACSO) Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) www.clacso.edu.ar CIES e-Working Paper N.º 196/2014 The Sociology of Creativity: A Sociological Systems Framework to Identify and Explain Social Mechanisms of Creativity and Innovative Developments Tom R. Burns In collaboration with Nora Machado CIES e-Working Papers (ISSN 1647-0893) Av. das Forças Armadas, Edifício ISCTE, 1649-026 LISBOA, PORTUGAL, [email protected] Tom R. Burns (associated with Sociology at Uppsala University, Sweden and Lisbon University Institute, Portugal) has published internationally more than 15 books and 150 articles in substantive areas of governance and politics, environment and technology, administration and policymaking; also he has contributed to institutional theory, sociological game theory, theories of socio-cultural evolution and social systems. He has been a Jean Monnet Visiting Professor, European University Institute, Florence (2002), Fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (1992, 1998) and the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (1985) and a visiting scholar at a number of leading universities in Europe and the USA.
    [Show full text]
  • A Conceptual System Architecture for Motivation- Enhanced Learning for Students with Dyslexia
    A Conceptual System Architecture for Motivation- enhanced Learning for Students with Dyslexia Ruijie Wang Liming Chen School of Computer Science and Informatics School of Computer Science and Informatics De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester, UK Leicester, UK [email protected] [email protected] Ivar Solheim Norsk Regnesentral Oslo, Norway [email protected] Abstract - Increased user motivation from interaction with it many psychological effects like lower academic self- process leads to improved interaction, resulting in increased esteem or frustration which affect their motivation to learn motivation again, which forms a positive self-propagating [7][8]. Most existing user models for dyslexics merely consider cycle. Therefore, a system will be more effective if the user is dyslexia types and learning difficulties. There is a lack of more motivated. Especially for students with dyslexia, it is empirical research investigating motivational determinants and common for them to experience more learning difficulties that their impact on learning behaviour. affect their learning motivation. That’s why we need to employ In this research, we examine dyslexic learners’ use of techniques to enhance user motivation in the interaction assistive learning technology to identify their specific process. In this research, we will present a system architecture characteristics regarding motivations and barriers faced when for motivation-enhanced learning and the detailed process of using a mobile learning software so that the dyslexic users’ the construction of our motivation model using ontological motivational needs can be incorporated into user modelling to approach for students with dyslexia. The proposed framework better adapt assistive learning technology to their specific of the personalised learning system incorporates our motivation needs.
    [Show full text]
  • Extensions of King: Measurable Outcomes & Expanded Nursing
    Imogene M. King, RN, EdD, FAAN: Nurse Theorist and Nursing Leader Mary B. Killeen, PhD, RN, CNAA, BC Assistant Professor, MSU, CON Objectives 1. Describe the historical background of the development of King’s framework and theory 2. Differentiate between King’s Conceptual System and Theory of Goal Attainment 3. Discuss Dr. King’s work linked to nursing- sensitive outcomes and the nursing process Biographical Sketch of Imogene M. King, EdD, RN Diploma: St. John’s Hospital, St. Louis, MO BSN & MSN: St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO Doctorate in Education: Teacher’s College Columbia University, NY Professor Emeritus: University of South Florida Staff Nurse, Nurse Educator, Nurse Administrator Induction into the ANA Hall of Fame (2004) Member, first ANA Committee, in 1965, to plan clinical conferences Southeastern representative to the ANA Code of Ethics Task Force, 2000 1996 recipient of ANA’s Jessie M. Scott Award Elected and appointed positions as a voice for the profession at international, national and state levels Origin of King’s Conceptual System: A Model During her master’s program in 1961, King developed questions about nursing: 1. What is the nursing act? 2. What is the nursing process? 3. What is the goal of nursing? 4. Who are nurses and how are they educated? 5. Who needs nursing in this society? (King, 1975a, p. 37) General System Theory (GST) General science of wholeness: systems of elements in mutual interaction” (Von Bertalanffy, 1968, p. 37). GST: The nature of human beings and their interaction with internal and external environments. Concepts in King’s Conceptual System Personal system: Individuals ◼ Perception ◼ Self ◼ Growth & development ◼ Body image ◼ Learning ◼ Time ◼ Personal space Concepts in King’s Conceptual System Interpersonal Systems: Two or more individuals in interaction ◼ Human Interactions ◼ Communication ◼ Transactions ◼ Role ◼ Stress Concepts in King’s Conceptual System Social Systems: large groups with common interests or goals.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparison of Psychoanalysis and Pragmatism
    A COMPARISON OF PSYCHOANALYSIS AND PRAGMATISM AS THEY RELATE TO INQUIRY APPROVED: Graduate Committee: ; - Major Professor f2 Minor Professor Committee Member Committee Mem Education Dean of the-Graduate School m it Hudgins, Thomas B, , Compaxisotx of Psychoanalysis and Pragmatism as They Relate to Xxquiry. Doctor of Education (Secondary Education), May, 1973, 178 pp., bibliography, 59 titles ' The problem of. the study was to effect a comparison of psychoanalysis aad pragmatism as they relate to inquiry. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate theb certain fundamental insights of psychoanalysis and pragmatism, hereto- fore seen as mutually exclusive, are, in fact, complementary, and uniquely augment, supplement, and clarify each other. .It was believed that a presentation of the rapprochement between the two theories v/ottld be a significant contribution towards the maximum release and maturation of man':.; potential to in- quire. Four constructs wh.i ch were deemed to be common and critical to each theory were isolated. Passages from the works of Dewey and Freud were selected to show how the two theories made similar or identical use of the constructs. The Evolutionary-- Naturalistic— S cienti f ic 3as e Psychoanalysis and pragmatism are both based upon a belief in the veracity of evolutionary theory. Freud used the theory to establish causal sequences and determinism, Dewey to emphasize process and change. The differences were 2 more a matter of emphasis than basic disagreement and both views, are needed for a comprehensive position. Both assume an agnostic stance based on their acceptance of a naturalistic philosophical frame of inference. All manifestations of supernatural first causes, universals, essences, or existences are repudiated by both theorists.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 9 – Number 4
    Volume 9 – Number 4 www.snrs.org “Sibling Closeness,” a Concept Explication Using the Hybrid Model, in Siblings Experiencing a Major Burn Trauma Carlee R. Lehna, PhD, ARNP-C The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston and Assistant Professor University of Louisville School of Nursing 555 S. Floyd St. Louisville, KY 40292 E-mail: [email protected] Acknowledgement: To Dr. Joan Engebretson, Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, School of Nursing, Department of Integrated Nursing Care, for her suggestions in developing and in her review of this manuscript. Abstract Little is known about siblings‟ relationships after a major burn injury. This paper used the hybrid model of concept explication to combine findings from fieldwork and synthesis of the literature in understanding close sibling relationships. Further theoretical exploration occurred with the development of different case models. Proposed key components for sibling closeness were that it is positive, warm, supportive, intimate, interconnected, and reciprocal. Siblings in a close relationship may be competitive, express rivalry and/or may be negative with each other. Findings from this project will guide future study about sibling experiences in childhood burn injury. In 2006, 3,463 children under nineteen years of age are admitted to hospitals in the United States because of their acute burn injuries.1 From these admissions, 52 children died. Children were hospitalized a mean of 1.27 days for every percent total body surface area (TBSA) burned at an average cost of $35,000 per day. In 2006, at Shriners Hospitals for Children Galveston (SHCG), 689 children were admitted because of a burn trauma.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Philosophy of Science, Network Theory and Conceptual Change
    1 Philosophy of Science, Network Theory and Conceptual Change: Paradigm Shifts as Information Cascades Patrick Grim, Joshua Kavner, Lloyd Shatkin, & Manjari Trivedi Forthcoming in Euell Elliot and L. Douglas Kiel, eds., Complex Systems in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: Theory, Method, and Application , Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press Abstract Philosophers have long tried to understand scientific change in terms of a dynamics of revision within ‘theoretical frameworks,’ ‘disciplinary matrices,’ ‘scientific paradigms’ or ‘conceptual schemes.’ No-one, however, has made clear precisely how one might model such a conceptual scheme, nor what form change dynamics within such a structure could be expected to take. In this paper we take some first steps in applying network theory to the issue, modeling conceptual schemes as simple networks and the dynamics of change as cascades on those networks. The results allow a new understanding of two traditional approaches—Popper and Kuhn—as well as introducing the intriguing prospect of viewing scientific change using the metaphor of self- organizing criticality. Introduction The attempt to understand science, its dynamics, and how it changes might call for any of various levels of analysis—and must ultimately include them all. A psychologist might approach the issue with an eye to creativity and conformity. An economist might approach the topic in terms of incentives for research, for innovation or exploitation of existing resources. A sociologist might think of the task as primarily a social study, concentrating on research communities, structures of journal communication, and academic procedures for advancement and funding. Philosophers have typically thought of particular areas of scientific research as characterized by ‘theoretical frameworks,’ disciplinary matrices,’ ‘scientific paradigms,’ or ‘conceptual schemes’ at a particular time, with scientific change to be understood as changes in those conceptual structures.
    [Show full text]
  • Systems Engineering and System Definitions
    ® Systems Engineering and System Definitions Version: 1.0 Issued on: 8 January 2019 AUTHOR TEAM Hillary Sillitto, James Martin, Dorothy McKinney, Regina Griego, Dov Dori, Daniel Krob, Patrick Godfrey, Eileen Arnold, Scott Jackson 2 COPYRIGHT INFORMATION This INCOSE Technical Product was prepared by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). It is approved by the INCOSE Technical Operations Leadership for release as an INCOSE Technical Product. Copyright (c) 2019 by INCOSE, published under Open Access. Systems Engineering and System Definitions INCOSE-TP-| 22 July 2019 ® 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Fellows Initiative on System and Systems Engineering Definitions was established in 2016, to: 1. review current INCOSE definitions of SYSTEM and SYSTEMS ENGINEERING; and 2. recommend any changes necessary to align the definitions to current practice and to the aspirations of INCOSE’s 2025 Vision. This document presents the final proposals from the initiative. It takes into account the extensive comments received during the review of the previous draft in September 2018. The review was open to all INCOSE members, and attracted over 350 individual comments and suggestions. The three key recommendations – for definitions of systems engineering, engineered system, and a general definition of system - are presented below, with a very brief contextual explanation. After the table of contents, the main body of this document provides more explanation of these definitions, and also defines other specific system types and categories that are important for the systems engineering community. Systems Engineering is a transdisciplinary and integrative approach to enable the successful realization, use, and retirement of engineered systems, using systems principles and concepts, and scientific, technological, and management methods.
    [Show full text]
  • Revealing Conceptual Systems of Places
    8 Revealing the Conceptual Systems of Places David Canter University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom The conflict between good science and effective influence on policy troubles Gabriel in his current internship with regional government. The people he works with want answers now but he knows good research takes time. So he is always on the look out for efficient procedures that will give him a useful answer that he can defend as scientifically valid. An opportunity to explore this came when a demand emerged to find outdoor recreational space for a new housing development without encroaching on protected wilderness.1 In his undergraduate degree Gabriel was very taken with the insights from human geography that places take their significance not only from their physical characteristics but also from the way their users think about them and the sorts of activities that they support. Canter’s (1977) The Psychology of Place, although published before Gabriel was born still seemed to encapsulate the simple, but pow- erful idea that places have psychological, behavioral, and physical components which all need to be explored if the meanings, use, and design of those places are to be effective. Many publications since then have developed this idea but the central recognition of the importance of how people conceptualize places has become a fundamental idea in environmental psychology. Therefore when faced with the need to explore the opportunities for outdoor recreation in a limited area around a proposed major housing development, it seemed natural to Gabriel to start by considering how potential users would make sense of the possibilities for outdoor recreation within reach of their homes.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the Authority of Conceptual Analysis in Hegelian
    1 The Authority of Conceptual Analysis in Hegelian Ethical Life [Forthcoming in An Ethical Modernity? Hegel’s Concept of Ethical Life Today – Its Limits and Potential. Eds. Tereza Matějčková and Jiři Chotaš (Brill). Please cite published version] W. Clark Wolf 1. Introduction1 There is among many philosophers a recurring attraction to the idea of philosophy as conceptual analysis: namely, that philosophy has as its aim the clear explication of the central terms governing ordinary and scientific thought. This idea can be traced back even to Plato’s Socrates, who at least initially used dialogues to draw out clearer definitions from his interlocuters of key terms such as virtue, knowledge, and justice. For Plato, at least at one stage, such explication can result in genuine and deep knowledge, even if this is only a more explicit and recollected form of a knowledge that was once merely implicit; he used the concept of forms (eidé) to say what the object of such knowledge is. For later thinkers, especially linguistically minded philosophers of the twentieth century, the attraction of the ‘conceptual conception’ of philosophy was not to credit philosophy with a distinct form of knowledge as much as to distinguish its activity from empirical science. Philosophy was to be regarded not as a first-order inquiry into a special set of rational objects, but a second-order determination of meanings in support of the claims of first- 1 The present version of this paper benefitted from comments and discussion with fellow participants at the conference in Prague. I would especially like to thank Paul Cobben, David James, and Christian Krijnen for valuable discussion.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mismeasurement of Legal Pragmatism, 4 Wash
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Washington University St. Louis: Open Scholarship Washington University Jurisprudence Review Volume 4 | Issue 2 2012 The iM smeasurement of Legal Pragmatism Douglas Lind Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_jurisprudence Part of the Courts Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Judges Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Legal History Commons, Legal Theory Commons, and the Rule of Law Commons Recommended Citation Douglas Lind, The Mismeasurement of Legal Pragmatism, 4 Wash. U. Jur. Rev. 213 (2012). Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_jurisprudence/vol4/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Jurisprudence Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Washington University Jurisprudence Review VOLUME 4 NUMBER 2 2012 THE MISMEASUREMENT OF LEGAL PRAGMATISM DOUGLAS LIND ―Pragmatism?!—is that all you have to offer?‖1 —Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead I. INTRODUCTION Legal pragmatism is much misunderstood. Critics vilify it as an ―amorphous,‖2 anti-theoretical3 and skeptical jurisprudence,4 one that Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Idaho; Faculty Member, The National Judicial College; B.A. University of Minnesota, J.D. Washington University in St. Louis, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania. Member of Missouri and Pennsylvania bars. 1. TOM STOPPARD, ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD 58 (Henry Popkin ed., 1967). 2. Richard H.
    [Show full text]