What Is Theorizing?

Abstract

The distinction between “theory” and “theorizing,” according to Swedish sociologist Richard Swedberg (2016), offers a simple lesson in Grammar 101. Whereas theory is a noun (or theories, a plural noun), theorizing functions as a verb. Theorizing is an action, a process, a dynamism whether by trial-and-error or accident, which produces a heightened or enlightened interpretation of a phenomenon under study (i.e., a theory). Swedberg’s attention to theorizing for the purposes of generating a theory is as much an intellectual exercise as it is a pedagogical one. “I use the term ‘theorizing’,” he (2016: 6) explains, “as a short-hand for a better understanding of how a theory is put together; how it is handled in empirical research–and how it can be taught in an effective manner.” To theorize properly, he continues, one must: observe; identify empirically supported facts; name the phenomenon indicated by those facts; draw on or develop a concept to aid in analysis of the named phenomenon; fine-tune the concept by introducing metaphors, analogies, or typologies; and craft an explanation. In this book, and with Swedberg’s how-to in mind, I theorize bioarchaeology.