Dorothee Bohn

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Literature suggestions

The literature that I selected unites my philosophy of science perspective (critical realism) and my field of study (geographical political economy). In their short paper, Bob Jessop and Ngai-Ling Sum (2016) outline an eight-step approach to critique. Their model appeals to me because it combines a critical interrogation of discourses and practices with the proposition of emancipatory and reformatory alternatives. Such an approach invites us not only to demystify naturalized assumptions and socioeconomic patterns but also to employ social sciences constructively. Andrew Sayer’s (2015) book ‘Why we can’t Afford the Rich’ offers a practical example of how to realize such multilayered critique. He discusses the grave and far-reaching effects of the accelerating concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few individuals and corporations. The widening gap between the rich and the poor destabilizes social relations and ultimately defers sustainable development. My third pick is Pertti Pelto’s work ‘The Snowmobile Revolution: Technology and Social Change in the Arctic’ published in 1973. This book provides an interesting historical account of how the introduction of the snowmobile altered reindeer herding. Read against present-day representations of the Arctic, Pelto’s ethnography allows us to critically ponder on the time and space-specific nature of depicting others and ourselves in social science research.

Jessop, B., & Sum, N.-L. (2016). What is critical? Critical Policy Studies, 10(1), 105–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2015.1129352

Pelto, P.J. (1973). The Snowmobile Revolution: Technology and Social Change in the Arctic. Cummings.

Sayer, A. (2015). Why we can’t Afford the Rich. Policy Press.

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