Frankenstein Social Theory

A meta-theoretical framework that builds explanations of society from heterogeneous, often incompatible sources—Marxism, functionalism, symbolic interactionism, poststructuralism—without demanding logical consistency. It rejects the idea that a good theory must be unified. Instead, it stitches together concepts, methods, and ontologies from different traditions to address specific problems. Like Frankenstein’s monster, this theory is assembled from parts that weren’t meant to go together, yet it can illuminate aspects of social reality that purist theories miss. It is pragmatic, anti-dogmatic, and comfortable with contradiction.

Example: “Her Frankenstein Social Theory used Bourdieu for class, Foucault for power, and rational choice for markets—an ugly patchwork that explained the housing crisis better than any single framework.”

Frankenstein Social Theory by Dumu The Void May 26, 2026