Wei-Wen Chung - Resume and Abstract

Name	Wei-Wen Chung
Title	Professor and Dean of College of Communication, Department of Journalism,National Chengchi University, Taiwan
Brief Introduction	Chair of Chinese Communication Society（2008.09-） Dean of college of communication（2007.08-） Chief editor of Chinese Journal of Communication Research（2007.01-） Coordinator of Creativity Center, National Chengchi University（2005.08-2007.07） Publisher of Mass Communication Research（1998.08-2001.07） Chair of Department of Journalism, National Chengchi University（1998.08-2001.07） Researches in recent 5 years The evolution of embodied experience: From face-to-face interaction to mediated activity（2008-） An International Collaboration Project for Development of Trans-media: Emotional Code（2007-2009, Co-host） Three-year plan for the construction and promotion of the platform for industrial innovation capability: Analyzing the lifestyle for technology application &designing the software of creative thinking（2006-2008） Looking for Shakespeare in the digital age: Expertise on digital tools（2005-2008） Evaluating expertise in journalism: In search of new criteria（2002-2005）
Recent Publications	Chung, W. W., Chen, P. L., & C, S. S. (2006). Craftsmanship at the digital age: An analytical framework. Chinese Journal of Communication Research, 10, 233-264. Chung, W. W., Chen, P. L., & C, S. S. (2006). From information processing to embodied cognition: Paradigm shift in expertise research. Thought and Words, 44(1), 101-130. Chung, W. W. (2004). Creativity in the play with objects: The case of communication tools. Tamkang Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences- Special Issue for Tamkang University’s 55th Anniversary, 1-16. Chung, W. W. (2002). Who is afraid of Heteroglossia? Notes on trained incapacities. Chinese Journal of Communication Research, 1, 27-40.

Abstract

The Return to Practice
Wei-wen Chung

Social scientists in the non-Western world have long felt dissatisfied with the mainstream thinking imported from the West, which, they believe may result in a distorted picture of local reality. This paper argues that Westernization may not be the real culprit. Rather it is our obsession with universality, which finds its expression in the search for rules, concepts and theory that may narrow our perspective on social reality and consequently throws into prominence the Western influence. Put differently, social research has been haunted by a longstanding epistemological myth that rules, concepts and theory are approximations to reality. To be specific, this paper argues that rules and concepts, which are believed to be the final stage of most social research, fail to account for the dynamics of social practice. Social research has to make drastic departures from our traditional approaches to research practices ranging from data gathering to representation.
This paper attempts to propose an alternative approach to reality. The first section will give a brief account of the criticisms of the traditional approach to social knowledge, with Wittgenstein being its most influential voice. Then I will proceed to lay out a framework for the analysis of social practice. The third section will illustrate the framework using news interview as an example.