1. Reflecting on Grounded Practical Theory Robert T. Craig University of Colorado at Boulder International Communication Association Montreal, Quebec May 24, 2008

2. Grounded Practical Theory (GPT)  “The grounded description, critique, and theoretical reconstruction of communication problems, techniques, and situated ideals…” (Craig & Tracy,1995, p. 250) Alternative to scientific theory – addresses normative (ought) questions Grounded in empirical description & critique Weak normativity – reasoned arguments potentially useful for practical reflection and deliberation

3. Philosophical Sources  Aristotle (praxis, phronesis)  Pragmatism (Dewey – theory of inquiry; Schön – reflection in action)  Hermeneutics (Gadamer – understanding as application)  Critical Theory (Habermas – critique as discursive reflection)  Practical Discipline (Craig, 1989; communication studies as cultivation of communication as a social practice)

4. Aristotle’s Organization of the Sciences THEORETICAL SCIENCES PRACTICAL SCIENCES PRODUCTIVE SCIENCES SUBJECT MATTERS (Material Cause) Natural substances (ta physei) Actions (ta prakta) Artifacts (ta poieta) METHODS (Formal Cause) Induction & deduction Deliberation about variables and opinions Techniques of construction COGNITIVE FACULTY (Efficient Cause) Intuitive reason (nous) & know- ledge (episteme) Practical wisdom (phronesis) Art (techne) AIM (Final Cause) To knowTo act wellTo make things Adapted from Levine, 1995, p. 111.

5. Outline of GPT Method  Specifying a practice (unitizing, naming, positioning)  Empirical data collection (contextual background, samples of situated discourse and metadiscourse illustrating key problems and practices)  Theoretical reconstruction (generalization and idealization of selected elements “such that values and principles implicit in the practice are made explicit and a reasoned basis for ‘good practice’ and critical judgments of practice is constructed”)

6. A Problem-Centered Ideal Model  GPT reconstructs a practice on three interrelated levels: Problem: Dilemmas typically encountered Technical: Repertoire of strategies for problems Philosophical: Reasoned principles to govern the use of techniques

7. Selected Applications  Academic colloquia (Tracy, 1997)  Feminist organizing (Ashcraft, 2001, 2006)  GDSS facilitation (Aakhus, 2001)  “The issue” (Craig & Tracy, 2005)  Crisis negotiation (Agne, 2007)  International NGOs (Dempsey, 2007)  Dialogue (Craig, 2007)  Public meetings (Tracy, 2007)

8. Toward GPT 2.0  Addressing essential tensions in GPT: descriptive – normative (validation criteria?) theoretical – applied (practical impact?) positioning – universalizing (political stance?)  Right-sizing the scope: methodology: AIDA, ethnography, narrative inquiry, action research, etc. site-based & dispersed practices collective agents? communities of practice? non-human agents? policies vs. practices (e.g., regulatory agencies)

9. Theoretical Challenges  Design theory (Aakhus & Jackson): Can we do without a priori normative ideals? Design = the technical level of reconstruction?  Practice theory (Vygotsky, Wittgenstein, Garfinkel, Bourdieu, Lave & Wenger, Latour) Is GPT over-intellectualized? (tacit knowledge, habitus) Is the logic of practice necessarily opaque to its possessors? Is normative discourse misrecognition?  Poststructuralism (esp. Foucault) How is GPT related to big-D discourses? (problems ↔ problematization; techniques ↔ governmentality; situated ideals ↔ regimes of truth) Does GPT imply a theory of agency?

10. Further Information: http://spot.colorado.edu/~craigr/research.htm