Abstract
Abstract
This presentation is based on my article (Un)becoming Dysfunctional: ADHD and How Matter Comes to Matter (2016). The main theme of the article is to problematize the biomedical model of the so-called neuropsychiatric disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Various neuropsychiatric disorders are a common feature today, not least in educational contexts where ADHD is a common diagnosis. The dominant perspective regarding ADHD is biomedical. This perspective has been questioned and challenged in theories where ADHD is seen as a social construction for power and social control. Theorists have also tried to see ADHD as a biopsychosocial disorder. The aim of this article is to think ADHD through quantum physicist and philosopher Karen Barad’s (2007) theory of agential realism. According to Barad, what we perceive as singular entities – or disorders – do not exist in advance. Barad pays attention to the world’s entanglements, and what we perceive as singular objects and subjects are effects of specific and various material-discursive practices acting as agential cuts. The theory of agential realism assigns performativity to matter, which highlights that ADHD is something that continuously comes into being together with human and non-human bodies. The material dimension has not previously been emphasized as a causal factor in studies on ADHD. In this article, the focus is on the agency of the book. As a conclusion, the importance of taking responsibility for every material-discursive practice with which we are always entangled is emphasized. What we think of individual diagnoses aren’t necessarily that individual as we think they are, and therefore we must challenge theoretical models that place individuals in ‘static’ and hierarchic strata.
This presentation is based on my article (Un)becoming Dysfunctional: ADHD and How Matter Comes to Matter (2016). The main theme of the article is to problematize the biomedical model of the so-called neuropsychiatric disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Various neuropsychiatric disorders are a common feature today, not least in educational contexts where ADHD is a common diagnosis. The dominant perspective regarding ADHD is biomedical. This perspective has been questioned and challenged in theories where ADHD is seen as a social construction for power and social control. Theorists have also tried to see ADHD as a biopsychosocial disorder. The aim of this article is to think ADHD through quantum physicist and philosopher Karen Barad’s (2007) theory of agential realism. According to Barad, what we perceive as singular entities – or disorders – do not exist in advance. Barad pays attention to the world’s entanglements, and what we perceive as singular objects and subjects are effects of specific and various material-discursive practices acting as agential cuts. The theory of agential realism assigns performativity to matter, which highlights that ADHD is something that continuously comes into being together with human and non-human bodies. The material dimension has not previously been emphasized as a causal factor in studies on ADHD. In this article, the focus is on the agency of the book. As a conclusion, the importance of taking responsibility for every material-discursive practice with which we are always entangled is emphasized. What we think of individual diagnoses aren’t necessarily that individual as we think they are, and therefore we must challenge theoretical models that place individuals in ‘static’ and hierarchic strata.
| Original language | Swedish |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
| Event | 45th Congress of the Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA): Learning and Education - Material Conditions and Consequences - Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark Duration: 2017 Mar 23 → 2017 Mar 25 http://nera2017.org/ |
Conference
| Conference | 45th Congress of the Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA) |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | NERA 2017 |
| Country/Territory | Denmark |
| City | Copenhagen |
| Period | 2017/03/23 → 2017/03/25 |
| Internet address |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Educational Sciences
- Pedagogy