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Douglas Kline
Senior Lecturer in Anthropology
Department of Anthropology and Sociology
Douglas Kline
Senior Lecturer in Anthropology
Department of Anthropology and Sociology
My doctoral research focused on cultural models of conflict and conflict management amongst Quakers in Scotland. By investigating social organization and embedded cultural values that promote Quaker dispositions, this study explored non-violent forms of conflict and its management. The analysis shows that legal models are too specific for understanding the wide range of behaviors available in conflict situations. Cultural tradition outside the domain of law is favored when managing or inciting conflict.
Turning from Quakers to religion more broadly in Scotland, I am currently investigating religion and political activism in Scotland. Political voices seeking to influence national and international policy had a new forum with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, in 1997. The relationships among these voices, the Scottish Parliament, Westminster, and the European Union are being negotiated as the Scottish Parliament develops. Specifically, I research the role of religion in this emergent political field, by investigating the practices of non-violent, direct-action activism.
I have conducted pilot work to develop research into the topic of political subjectivity amongst Scottish activist. This research design will address the flow of capital (economic, social, and political) in this population to see how political agency gets encouraged and supported. I will assay those who are viewed to have greater access to economic resources, prestige, and influence within activist networks.
Finally, in 2016 I conducted brief fieldwork in Edinburgh surveying religious architecture, documenting buildings that are transitioning from religious to secular purposes to document the increasing shift toward secularism in Scottish society. These data will result in a paper contributing to both cultural anthropology and archaeology.
Turning from Quakers to religion more broadly in Scotland, I am currently investigating religion and political activism in Scotland. Political voices seeking to influence national and international policy had a new forum with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, in 1997. The relationships among these voices, the Scottish Parliament, Westminster, and the European Union are being negotiated as the Scottish Parliament develops. Specifically, I research the role of religion in this emergent political field, by investigating the practices of non-violent, direct-action activism.
I have conducted pilot work to develop research into the topic of political subjectivity amongst Scottish activist. This research design will address the flow of capital (economic, social, and political) in this population to see how political agency gets encouraged and supported. I will assay those who are viewed to have greater access to economic resources, prestige, and influence within activist networks.
Finally, in 2016 I conducted brief fieldwork in Edinburgh surveying religious architecture, documenting buildings that are transitioning from religious to secular purposes to document the increasing shift toward secularism in Scottish society. These data will result in a paper contributing to both cultural anthropology and archaeology.