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Document Details : Title: Embracing the Anomalies, Embracing what is Invisible Subtitle: Thomas Kuhn's Insights Opening New Perspectives to the Study of Theology and Religious Studies Author(s): VAN ROMPAEY, Jens , DE BEUKELEER, Maite , JAMES, Hannah Journal: Louvain Studies Volume: 47 Issue: 1 Date: 2024 Pages: 68-92 DOI: 10.2143/LS.47.1.3294554 Abstract : According to Thomas Kuhn in his seminal 1962 work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, paradigms determine what is rendered visible and what remains obscured. This Roundtable article investigates these dynamics of visibility and invisibility by first critically engaging with Kuhn’s theoretical framework (Jens Van Rompaey) and subsequently examining concrete approaches to the (in)visible. Anomalies play a vital role in this exploration, as they often serve as early indicators that a paradigm is approaching its limits. Theologians and scholars of religion, in particular, encounter numerous 'anomalies' that challenge prevailing norms and expectations; however, these anomalies are about people, their lives, and their experiences, not about wavelengths or particle physics. Maite De Beukeleer and Hannah James each examine what occurs when scholars turn their attention to what has been marginalized, what is difficult, or even who is rendered invisible. De Beukeleer addresses the challenges of decentering men in (church) history, while James contends that the church bears a fundamental responsibility to support the healing of abuse victims – even when doing so requires stepping beyond institutional boundaries. |
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