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At a Crossroad: Standing Still and Moving Forward

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Reading the article, “Community psychology at the crossroads: Prospects for interdisciplinary research” (Maton, Perkins & Saegert, this issue), there is a sense that community psychology is at a crossroad with regard to being an interdisciplinary field. This paper aims to offer insight and guidance to proponents of interdisciplinary research in the community psychology field by drawing on experiences in urban studies, which shares similar origins and interdisciplinary claims.

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Notes

  1. Phillips, E. Barbara. City Lights: Urban-Suburban Life in the Global Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996 (second edition), p. 33.

  2. A good overview of this issue in the field of urban planning can be found in Leoni Sandercock's Towards Cosmopolis (Wiley, 1998), which outlines the “epistemological politics” underpinning the interdisciplinary field of urban planning. She illustrates how despite the inclusion of more voices and the addition of “post-modern” theory and critiques, the scientific method continues to be privileged. Her concern is that this affects what voices are heard and who is qualified to listen and overall what is considered valid in the production of knowledge. She then offers guidance toward “an epistemology of multiplicity” that does not discard “these scientific and technical ways of knowing” but rather adds to it by offering at least six other ways of knowing: 1) knowing through dialogue, 2) knowing from experience, 3) learning from local knowledge, 4) learning to read symbolic and non-verbal evidence, 5) learning through contemplative or appreciative knowledge, and 6) learning by doing, or action planning.

Reference

  • Maton, K. I., Perkins, D. D., & Saegert, S. (this issue). Community psychology at the crossroads: Prospects for interdisciplinary research. American Journal of Community Psychology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urban Planning and Policy Program, 412 S. Peoria Street (MC348), Chicago, Illinois, 60607, USA

    Janet L. Smith

  2. Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 60607, USA

    Janet L. Smith

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  1. Janet L. Smith
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Correspondence to Janet L. Smith.

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Smith, J.L. At a Crossroad: Standing Still and Moving Forward. Am J Community Psychol 38, 23–25 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-006-9058-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-006-9058-z

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