Thinking about 'Thinking Like a Brick'
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| Title: | Thinking about 'Thinking Like a Brick' |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Luke Bennett (ORCID |
| Source: | Qualitative Research Journal. 2026 26(3):281-292. |
| Availability: | Emerald Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: emerald@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emerald.com/insight |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 12 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Teacher Workshops, Online Courses, Qualitative Research, Teacher Researchers, Social Science Research, Research Projects, Holistic Approach, Humanism, Constructivism (Learning), Interdisciplinary Approach |
| Geographic Terms: | Australia |
| DOI: | 10.1108/QRJ-02-2025-0058 |
| ISSN: | 1443-9883 1448-0980 |
| Abstract: | Purpose: The article is submitted at the invitation of the organisers of the Australian Association for Research in Education's Qualitative Research Methodologies Special Interest Group's series of online workshops on 'Decentring the Human in Qualitative Research', to which I presented reflections on the origins and arguments of my 2016 essay in March 2024, for a Special Issue reflecting on how online workshops can develop collective and individual insights. Design/methodology/approach: This article is a reflective self-analysis setting out a contextual account of how I came to write the essay 'Thinking Like A Brick: Posthumanism and Building Materials', which was published in 2016 in Carol A. Taylor and Christina Hughes' edited collection, Posthuman Research Practices in Education (Bennett 2016). Findings: I situate my 2016 essay's positionality within the context of my own intellectual journey, as enabled by a confluence of a variety of strands of "new materialism" scholarship emerging to prominence in the early 2010s across a variety of social science disciplines. I identify in particular the impact of this upon my socio-legal research projects and my move from a pure social constructionist stance to a more holistic perspective, which sought to fully acknowledge the importance of thingly relations within human projects rather than to seek to embrace a fully posthuman positionality. Research limitations/implications: Whilst firmly located within a humanistic mode, in which the evolution of lines of thought is accorded a primacy for interpreting a (human) chosen scenario, this article shows how (and why) a thingly attentiveness can be fostered and deployed within research which is primarily concerned with understanding the logics and practices of human projects. Practical implications: My research projects concerned the intersection of a variety of situated knowledges as they strove to make sense of and apply to local situations both abstract legal codes and the affordances and resistances of "awkward objects" (such as trees, gravestones and quarry stone). As such, my reflections show how allowing a consideration of thingly relations can aid practical place management challenges, such as those relating to accident prevention. Social implications: My reflections also show how people and their social relations cannot be sensibly erased from considerations of materiality in the social sciences. Originality/value: The originality lies in my candid self-analysis of the circumstances of the generation of my 2016 essay, taking care to show the contingencies of how my arguments and approach developed iteratively. As such, it exemplifies John Law's, 2004 call for social researchers to show (rather than to hide) the "mess" of their research. Originality also lies in how the article shows the interaction between my published research across a variety of disciplines (law, geography, education) and how my intellectual journey in one domain came to subtly influence my approach in others. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1508264 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: EJ1508264 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Thinking about 'Thinking Like a Brick' – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Luke+Bennett%22">Luke Bennett</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6416-3755">0000-0001-6416-3755</externalLink>) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Qualitative+Research+Journal%22"><i>Qualitative Research Journal</i></searchLink>. 2026 26(3):281-292. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Emerald Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: emerald@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emerald.com/insight – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 12 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Evaluative – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Workshops%22">Teacher Workshops</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Online+Courses%22">Online Courses</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+Research%22">Qualitative Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Researchers%22">Teacher Researchers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Science+Research%22">Social Science Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+Projects%22">Research Projects</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Holistic+Approach%22">Holistic Approach</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Humanism%22">Humanism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Constructivism+%28Learning%29%22">Constructivism (Learning)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interdisciplinary+Approach%22">Interdisciplinary Approach</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Australia%22">Australia</searchLink> – Name: DOI Label: DOI Group: ID Data: 10.1108/QRJ-02-2025-0058 – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 1443-9883<br />1448-0980 – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Purpose: The article is submitted at the invitation of the organisers of the Australian Association for Research in Education's Qualitative Research Methodologies Special Interest Group's series of online workshops on 'Decentring the Human in Qualitative Research', to which I presented reflections on the origins and arguments of my 2016 essay in March 2024, for a Special Issue reflecting on how online workshops can develop collective and individual insights. Design/methodology/approach: This article is a reflective self-analysis setting out a contextual account of how I came to write the essay 'Thinking Like A Brick: Posthumanism and Building Materials', which was published in 2016 in Carol A. Taylor and Christina Hughes' edited collection, Posthuman Research Practices in Education (Bennett 2016). Findings: I situate my 2016 essay's positionality within the context of my own intellectual journey, as enabled by a confluence of a variety of strands of "new materialism" scholarship emerging to prominence in the early 2010s across a variety of social science disciplines. I identify in particular the impact of this upon my socio-legal research projects and my move from a pure social constructionist stance to a more holistic perspective, which sought to fully acknowledge the importance of thingly relations within human projects rather than to seek to embrace a fully posthuman positionality. Research limitations/implications: Whilst firmly located within a humanistic mode, in which the evolution of lines of thought is accorded a primacy for interpreting a (human) chosen scenario, this article shows how (and why) a thingly attentiveness can be fostered and deployed within research which is primarily concerned with understanding the logics and practices of human projects. Practical implications: My research projects concerned the intersection of a variety of situated knowledges as they strove to make sense of and apply to local situations both abstract legal codes and the affordances and resistances of "awkward objects" (such as trees, gravestones and quarry stone). As such, my reflections show how allowing a consideration of thingly relations can aid practical place management challenges, such as those relating to accident prevention. Social implications: My reflections also show how people and their social relations cannot be sensibly erased from considerations of materiality in the social sciences. Originality/value: The originality lies in my candid self-analysis of the circumstances of the generation of my 2016 essay, taking care to show the contingencies of how my arguments and approach developed iteratively. As such, it exemplifies John Law's, 2004 call for social researchers to show (rather than to hide) the "mess" of their research. Originality also lies in how the article shows the interaction between my published research across a variety of disciplines (law, geography, education) and how my intellectual journey in one domain came to subtly influence my approach in others. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1508264 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1508264 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1108/QRJ-02-2025-0058 Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 12 StartPage: 281 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries Type: general – SubjectFull: Teacher Workshops Type: general – SubjectFull: Online Courses Type: general – SubjectFull: Qualitative Research Type: general – SubjectFull: Teacher Researchers Type: general – SubjectFull: Social Science Research Type: general – SubjectFull: Research Projects Type: general – SubjectFull: Holistic Approach Type: general – SubjectFull: Humanism Type: general – SubjectFull: Constructivism (Learning) Type: general – SubjectFull: Interdisciplinary Approach Type: general – SubjectFull: Australia Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Thinking about 'Thinking Like a Brick' Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Luke Bennett IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 1443-9883 – Type: issn-electronic Value: 1448-0980 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 26 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Qualitative Research Journal Type: main |
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