From Problem-Solving to Meaning-Making: Reframing the Societal Relevance of Research.
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| Title: | From Problem-Solving to Meaning-Making: Reframing the Societal Relevance of Research. |
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| Authors: | Klenk, Nicole1 (AUTHOR) Nicole.klenk@utoronto.ca |
| Source: | Minerva: A Review of Science, Learning & Policy. Jun2025, Vol. 63 Issue 2, p409-422. 14p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Traditional knowledge, *Problem solving, *Religious studies, *Theory of knowledge, *Affect (Psychology) |
| Abstract: | This commentary reflects on the contributions of the special issue, Modes of Relevance in Research: Towards Understanding the Promises and Possibilities of Doing Relevance, dedicated to examining how research is made relevant in diverse epistemic and institutional contexts. It argues that the dominant framing of relevance as a problem-solving function is insufficient to capture the affective, ethical, and imaginative dimensions of knowledge-making. Building on the typology of "modes of relevance" introduced in the issue, the commentary highlights recurring tensions—between realist and performative views, curiosity-driven inquiry and applied mandates, and soft versus hard forms of relevance. It further proposes that doing relevance is a practice of meaning-making. Through examples from climate communication, Indigenous knowledge sovereignty, and research-creation in the arts, the commentary explores how experiential knowledge, emotional resonance, and narrative engagement expand the scope of what counts as relevant. It calls for a more plural, reflexive, and context-sensitive approach to relevance—one that recognizes epistemic diversity, relational ethics, and the capacity of research to resonate across temporal, affective, and political registers. Ultimately, the piece shifts the frame of societal relevance from the logic of problem-solving to an affective, ethically entangled practice of meaning-making—one that acknowledges the power of knowledge to unsettle assumptions, stir imagination, and draw us into deeper, more caring engagements with the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | This commentary reflects on the contributions of the special issue, Modes of Relevance in Research: Towards Understanding the Promises and Possibilities of Doing Relevance, dedicated to examining how research is made relevant in diverse epistemic and institutional contexts. It argues that the dominant framing of relevance as a problem-solving function is insufficient to capture the affective, ethical, and imaginative dimensions of knowledge-making. Building on the typology of "modes of relevance" introduced in the issue, the commentary highlights recurring tensions—between realist and performative views, curiosity-driven inquiry and applied mandates, and soft versus hard forms of relevance. It further proposes that doing relevance is a practice of meaning-making. Through examples from climate communication, Indigenous knowledge sovereignty, and research-creation in the arts, the commentary explores how experiential knowledge, emotional resonance, and narrative engagement expand the scope of what counts as relevant. It calls for a more plural, reflexive, and context-sensitive approach to relevance—one that recognizes epistemic diversity, relational ethics, and the capacity of research to resonate across temporal, affective, and political registers. Ultimately, the piece shifts the frame of societal relevance from the logic of problem-solving to an affective, ethically entangled practice of meaning-making—one that acknowledges the power of knowledge to unsettle assumptions, stir imagination, and draw us into deeper, more caring engagements with the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00264695 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11024-025-09583-1 |
