dr. B (Brandon) Sommer

Biography

I am interested in classic debates in international political economy, including questions of structure and agency, ontology, crisis, and sociopolitical transformation. My work applies a theoretically rigorous approach to studying complexity and understanding the relationship between historical and contemporary contexts in analyses of different countries.

A distinctive feature of my research is my contribution to methodological discussions, particularly in rethinking the qualitative-quantitative divide through an ontological lens. I argue that robust analysis requires transcending traditional methodological boundaries to capture complex socioeconomic phenomena. To this end, I employ a diverse methodological toolkit including historical and time-based approaches, qualitative interviews, text analyses, and statistical methods.

My PhD exemplified this integrated approach by examining China's socio-economic transformation from the 1960s to the present day. By bridging methodological divides, I was able to reveal the complex interplay between structural forces and agential responses that characterized China's development trajectory.

Currently, I am working on a project to further develop this approach to bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide. This research aims to establish a more cohesive methodological framework that acknowledges the ontological foundations of different research traditions while creating productive dialogues between them, ultimately enhancing our ability to analyze complex political economic phenomena.

Erasmus University College

Lecturer | Department of Economics and Business
Email
sommer@euc.eur.nl

More information

Work

News regarding dr. B (Brandon) Sommer

Rethinking Methods in interdisciplinary teaching - an ontological approach

⏳ I CLI Fellow Brandon Sommer (EUC) examines an alternative ontological based approach to methods training.
Brandon Sommer

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