People who are more cognitively complex will be more successful communicators because they possess the ability to create customized and sophisticated messages that pursue multiple communication goals. Standpoint Feminism and Discourse Poststructuralist theorist critique standpoint theory as a, knowledge project that correctly produced knowledge will lead to the adoption of the best political strategies. Research that begins from a dualistic perspective fails to consider the complexity of human interaction and leads to false and narrow conclusions that further devalue marginalized groups. From their class standing, or standpoint, going to college is presented as the norm. Face Negotiation Theory highlights conflict style differences between collectivist and individualistic cultures. Groupthink is when groups make faulty decisions because they fail to critically analyzing their options and weigh alternatives.
But the theory also claims that those who are lower on the social ladder tend to have a greater understanding of the social whole, rather than those higher up. Communication Accommodation theorists argue that during communication, people will try to accommodate or adjust their style of speaking to others. American sociologist in her book Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment 1990 proposed a form of standpoint theory that emphasized the perspective of women. Conceived thus, objectivity is not a goal that is easily achievable. Because of this, each person views the social climate from a different vantage point, which only provides a small look at the social whole.
The implicit requirement that a woman suppress part of herself in order to acquire any professional credibility is one reason, Rose argues, why women scientists were, and in some disciplines remain, comparative rarities. It states that instead of using traditional logic, we are more open to judging the credibility of a speaker through narrative logic, which analyzes if their stories are well put together coherence and sound true fidelity. Nevertheless, it is not impossible for those who occupy non-marginalized perspectives to become part of the process of helping reach a shared critical consciousness with respect to the effects of power structures on epistemic production. Victoria Robinson and Diane Ricardson Eds New York: New York University Press. For the feminist standpoint theorist, an alternative to these strategies is to attempt to remain within the contradictory contexts, and to do so critically. Women also have different criteria than men for evaluating expert knowledge.
Divergence is often used by groups with strong ethnic or racial pride. Aspects of those theories that attract controversy both within and outside of the intellectual conversations in which feminist standpoint theories have been developed and employed are also briefly discussed. This route creates smaller shifts in attitude. Narrative logic allows those who are not educated in oratory and persuasion to make judgments; therefore, allowing for a more democratic system. In the 1970s feminist writers inspired by that Marxist insight began to examine how inequalities between men and women influence knowledge production. In turn, this stronger understanding has flowed into social and political discourses to the extent that, at least in some parts of the world, violence is no longer considered acceptable or part of the normal dynamics of a marriage or partnership. This is because they fear they will be isolated by the majority and suffer social rejection.
Therefore, both an actor and a network are responsible for achieving these outcomes. Bowell Email: University of Waikato New Zealand. Episteme 3 1 : 80-95. Muted Group Theory Muted Group Theory maintains that language serves men better than women and perhaps European Americans better than African Americans or other groups. Nevertheless, Standpoint Theory has been extremely valuable in drawing attention to the communication behaviors of various social groups, enriching our understanding of human interaction. This results in partial and distorted accounts of reality, which thereby fail to live up to modernistic standards of impartiality, neutrality and universality associated with a commitment to epistemic objectivity. New developments in feminist thought have expanded on that premise to assert women as central to the production of knowledge through our standpoint, as subjects, rather than accepting the traditional masculine bias that pushes women's knowledge to the periphery.
These structures, in turn, create social systems in an organization. Although their genealogy begins in the Hegelian and Marxist traditions, some current feminist standpoint theories are also located squarely within an empiricist tradition in epistemology. For example, Cultivation Theory suggests that people who would be defined as heavy television viewers see the world as more violent that it actually is. Cultural Studies Theorists in cultural studies maintain that the media represents ideologies of the dominant class in a society. Further, meaning is created in the language that people use both with others and in private thought. The Caucasians were thought to be of royal blood because their fair skin could clearly show their veins.
People view themselves belonging to a social hierarchy defined by riches, gender preference, culture, social competence and other biases. Humans are all different and can share similar situations. Second Assumption: Feminist Standpoint Theory assumes that all standpoints are partial, but those of the ruling class can actually harm those of the subordinate group. This is how they interpret how women can be. Theorists such as Collins and Harding recognize identity markers such as race and class as important to gender in the process of identity construction.
At the same time, standpoint theorists acknowledge the limitations class position places on understanding social relations for both marginalized and privileged individuals. Standpoint theory, a theoretical perspective that argues that knowledge stems from social position. Convergence occurs when there is a strong need for social approval, frequently from powerless individuals. Women and Computer-Based Technologies: A Feminist Perspective. London and New York : Routledge Clough, Patricia, Ticineto.
That is, a speaker who is interested in persuading his or her audience should consider three rhetorical proofs: logical, emotional, and ethical. The theory looks at how networks are formed and how these networks contribute to these successes. In becoming occupants of a standpoint, they also become knowing subjects in their own right, rather than merely objects that are known by others. Cultural Studies theorists, therefore, are concerned with media influence and how power plays a role in the interpretation of culture. For example, one can like a person, but disapprove of their habits. Sandra Harding explains the point thus, Only through such struggles can we begin to see beneath the appearances created by an unjust social order to the reality of how this social order is in fact constructed and maintained.
She argued that it is easy for those at the top of social to lose sight of real human relations and the true nature of social reality and thus miss critical questions about the social and natural world in their academic pursuits. The theory emerged from the argument that people from an oppressed class have special access to knowledge that is not available to those from a privileged class. Individualistic cultures place value on the individual and in an attempt to protect self-face, they adopt a dominating conflict style. Spiral of Silence Theory Theorists associated with Spiral of Silence Theory argue that due to their enormous power, the mass media have a lasting effect on public opinion. In society people interpret and see things in different views.