The Final Cut?: The Production of pedagogy and scholarship within a society of control

Abstract

In this article, we explore the teaching of post-qualitative methodology within what Deleuze called a “Control Society.” We offer up the online video series Three Minute Theory, specifically the video What are Societies of Control? as an example of our engagement with post-qualitative theories and methodologies. We posit that post-qualitative methodology repurposes the tools of a control society and for that reason is both needed and necessary for making sense of the world we live in. We begin by providing an overview of a control society. Next, we provide “outtakes” from the video script that serves to illustrate the process of producing a pedagogical product, highlights our collaborative writing process, and provides additional examples of control societies. Then, we discuss our pedagogical considerations when making the video, including the importance of a controlling metaphor and the creation of a “writerly text” that would allow our audience/students to use as an impetus for creation rather than as a source to be reproduced. Finally, we provide examples of the ways in which post-qualitative methodologies align with control societies and the possibilities this presents for researchers.