Dang Cao, on Saturday, May 6, 2000, wrote about the need for theory: "I was reading your writing about "Theory and why we need it". I agree that we all use theory in some way. For example, when I put a lot of time in studying for a subject I will get a certain grade. There would be a direct relation between time spent on studying and the grade that one gets."

On Sunday, May 7, 2000, jeanne responded: "Well, Dang, theoretically there should be a direct relationship, but sometimes structural violence intervenes and then in practice, some students who work very hard do not get good grades. Why do we need theory then?"

For further information read The Uses of Theory

1. How does theory provide social distance, and why does that matter?

   One Plausible Answer

   Theory provides critical distance from the immediate transaction. When someone has just stepped on your toe, and it hurts, you are not likely to consider immediately that the other person may have tripped, accidentally stepped on you, been in a hurry and just ignored that you were standing there, etc. It hurts; you howl. But if your training in theory has been good, you will recognize all the theoretical possibilities as to why the harm occurred, and be more willing to consider the many alternatives before lashing out at the other. Critical distance in this case means being able to step back from the actual incident long enough to begin to think clearly and consider the transaction from perspectives other than the immediate pain.

   Consider Dang's example. He studies hard; he gets an A. All is well. Dang is happy. But what happens if he studies hard, and he gets a C? Dang is not happy. The C hurts. It suggests to him that the teacher thinks he did not study. He could simply howl. We do not recommend that. He could angrily accuse the teacher of being wrong. We do not recommend that either. We do not recommend either of these reactions because they remain rooted in the actual incident. Dang is hurt, and if he was sincere in his work, probably angry. Those emotions, hurt and anger, cloud his judgment and make it unlikely that he will take the teacher's perspective. Simply expressing anger (howling) or accusing another, thus invoking the other's defenses, stays at the highest level of affect. Retreating to the formal level, at which we invoke rules (Dang might say "you assigned three essays and I wrote them.") reduces the affect a little, but runs into the problems of structural violence in that sometimes the rules don't affect all fairly. So there's still affect at the formal level as we try to interpret the rules fairly.

   If we retreat to the technical level, and look in detail at how the teacher came to his conclusion, and how Dang came to the conclusion that he had earned a higher grade, then we might begin to see ways of resolving the issue. That is called critical distancing. One reason we begin to see more is that we have removed some of the affect that goes with harm and accusation in the actual incident. Our theoretical understanding that an impasse may be created when people approach the same problem from very different perspectives helps us reach a technical level in our discourse.

   If Dang has learned to step back, gain a little critical distance, then he is less likely to respond in a way that will escalate the affect and make a peaceful solution likely.

2. What does it mean that "structural violence intervenes"?

   One Plausible Answer

   Generally, when rules don't work the way they were intended, it is because some of the underlying assumptions were not valid. Dang speaks English as a second language. What if . . . teacher wanted essay in standard English and Dang made grammatical mistakes? What if . . . Dang wrote essays, with reasonable answers, but didn't show creativity? What if . . . this were a class in Advanced English Literature, and seven other students wrote better stories than Dang's?

   Notice that in each of these different social contexts the teacher would probably have different standards, be looking for different criteria in the work. So movement to the technical level would first involve gathering information of which social context and standards the teacher would be using. Perhaps if it were the first instance, mistakes in English, Dang could point out that English is his second language, and he and the teacher might then acknowledge that she should use a different standard for English grammar in his case.

   When we say that "structural violence intervenes," we mean here that apply general rules, such as mastery of English grammar, can have unintended effects when the student speaks English as a second language. Rules don't ask how long the student has been exposed to English, under what circumstances, and how much writing experience the student has had. It is structurally violent when we assume that all students have had similar experiences with the English language, with no regard to individual differences. This structural violence intervenes to produce unwarranted results when that structure underlies the measurement and is not openly acknowledged.

3. Should studying have a direct and causal relationship to the grade received?

   One Plausible Answer

   Well, certainly a general discussion of theory would suggest that studying and grade achieved should be directly and causally related. But then how should we define studying?

   One can read the same paragraph over 47 times and still not get very much from it. At a high level of concentration one could skim a whole chapter and get the primary ideas of the chapter. Wouldn't the level of concentration, the general habits of study, the peace and quiet one had, and perhaps one's general stress level figure into the understanding of "studying?"

   Here, as in legal reasoning, we need to be very picky about the accurate use of words. Our hypotheses and measures will be no more reliable than the accuracy with which we have used the language to describe them. Notice that in Dang's example, he would have to be much more rigorous in what he means by "studying."

4. What does it mean, "direct relationship?"

   One Plausible Answer

   A direct relationship is one in which as one variable increases, so does the other, or as one variable decreases, so does the other. As educational level increases, so does income. As age increases, so does income. As I study more, my grades are better. As my immune system gets stronger, the incidence of my illness decreases. As I try to gain critical distance, the less affect I experience.

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   Figurine by Rudiger Appel. Notice that you can see three effects in the animation. Either the Variation on the Kandinsky figurine appears to turn in a clockwise direction, or in a counterclockwise direction, or it appears to open and close. Can you see all three effects? Try. Fascinated? Link to Appel's site and then link to the background he provides. Scroll down until you find a link to background.

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   Chantessy's Page Chantessy's Mardi Gras Alphabet was originally used on this page. We changed it because it was too distracting as eye candy. Chantessy was the first contributor to our Kids' Site when we began Dear Habermas. Visit her page. Check out the sliders puzzles on her fun page. Or check out her candy box and send a friend a posty. Non-violent ways to respond to structural violence in the academy! It's great fun.