Modalities of Theorising : An Interdisciplinary Reflection on Conspiracy Theories

Titelangaben

Philipps, Joschka ; Gillier, Aurélien:
Modalities of Theorising : An Interdisciplinary Reflection on Conspiracy Theories.
In: Vierke, Clarissa ; Seesemann, Rüdiger ; Kroeker, Lena (Hrsg.): Africa*n Relations : Modalities Reflected. - Bayreuth , 2024 . - (University of Bayreuth African Studies Online ; 11 )

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Abstract

A conspiracy theorist and a social theorist differ in their modalities of “theorizing”; a sociologist and a photographer use different modalities of “researching”. This paper revolves around these contrasts. Our aim is to tease out the added value of working with modalities as a heuristic lens. We, the sociologist and the photographer mentioned above, reflect on our quest to depict and analyze conspiracy theories from different angles and through different media, notably text and image. In Conakry, the unruly capital city of the Republic of Guinea, our respective modalities of research were tested and challenged, readapted and modified through exchanges with a growing interdisciplinary research team. Drawing from these experiences, our core argument in this article is reflexive: modalities help us highlight the partial nature of our own methodological, theoretical and epistemological approaches. They demonstrate that our tools for depicting and understanding the world around us (the camera, the notebook, the conspiracy theory, the interview, the body, etc.) structure not only what we see, but also what we ignore in the world. As such, modalities hint not only at the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue and a critical eclecticism of methods and approaches. They also call for a more self-critical approach in the study of conspiracy theories, beyond depicting them as the theoretical “other”, against which the social sciences assume their legitimacy and authority.