The problem of theory and practice: Towards a constitutive analysis

This article looks at the way the problem of theory and practice can be constructed in different ways. It develops a form of constitutive analysis in which the ‘problem’ is not assumed as a given, but seen as the product of particular ways of defining theory, practice, and their relation. In order to develop this approach I discuss several encounters between different conceptions of theory and practice, specifically Weddle’s discussion of the meeting of film theory and film-making, critical media pedagogy, the theory/funding nexus, Geuens’ discussion of the film school, and finally Wayne’s discussion of the division of theory and practice. These examples provide a way of examining the tension between different ideas of theory and practice, and also between at times divergent ideas about media educa- tion and production pedagogy.