Working with Critical Realism

Working with Critical Realism: Stories of Methodological Encounters (Routledge, 2022) is an international and interdisciplinary collection that gathers stories from researchers and research students about their methodological encounters with critical realism. Whether the contributors are experienced or novice researchers, they are predominantly new to critical realism. For various reasons, as the contributors' detail, they have all been drawn to critical realism. It is well known that critical realism can be bewildering and even overwhelming to newcomers, especially to those unfamiliar with language of, and without a grounding in, philosophy. While there are now numerous and important introductory and applied critical realist texts that make critical realism more accessible to a broader audience, stories from newcomers have been absent - especially as part of a single collection. The significance and uniqueness of this collection lies in its documentation of first-hand reflective insights on the practical use and implementation of critical realism. The contributors feature critical realist inspired research journeys in Australia, England, Scotland, Belgium, Sweden, and Spain. The hope of this book is that the stories and accounts presented in it will inspire - or at least sufficiently arouse - the curiosity of others to explore critical realist possibilities, which we believe offer enormous value to serious researchers across and within all disciplines and subjects who are interested in rigorous intellectual work with a socially progressive purpose. 

Books and resources mentioned in the episode

• Critical Realism Network —useful general hub with introductory materials, library, workshops, videos, interviews and links into the wider CR community, 
• Roy Bhaskar, ed. Gary Hawke, The Order of Natural Necessity: A Kind of Introduction to Critical Realism 
• Mervyn Hartwig, Up From Midnight: Fathoming the Depths of Reality with Ram Roy Bhaskar 
• Andrew Collier, Critical Realism: An Introduction to Roy Bhaskar’s Philosophy 
• Roy Bhaskar edited by Gary Hawke - The Order of Natural Necessity: A Kind of Introduction to Critical Realism
• Grant Banfield, Critical Realism for Marxist Sociology of Education 
• Alpesh Maisuria, ed., Encyclopaedia of Marxism and Education