Skip to main content

‘Just Because I’m from Africa, they Think I’ll want to do Narrative’

Problematising Narrative Inquiry

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Studies in Professional Life and Work ((SPLW,volume 6))

Abstract

Narrative inquiry is undoubtedly a seductive methodological approach for many people, in particular because storytelling is a universal practice; the ways that stories are told and listened to—and those considered to be legitimate—differ, however, from place to place. All narratives are rooted in context and this rootedness has to be taken account of so that stories are interpreted according to the local knowledge of that context. We are troubled that many of our doctoral researchers who have rarely encountered qualitative research previously, let alone narrative, are using it in their research even though it is either totally unknown in their own context or, if it is known, is criticised for not being ‘real research’.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Andrews, M. (2007). Exploring cross-cultural boundaries. In D. J. Clandin (Ed.) Handbook of narrative inquiry, 489–511. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, M., Squire, C., & Tamboukou, M. (2011). Interfaces in teaching narratives. In S. Trahar (Ed.) The learning and teaching of narrative inquiry: Travelling in the borderlands, 15–32. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalisation. Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clandinin, D. J., & Roziek, J. (2007). Mapping a landscape of narrative inquiry: Borderland spaces and tensions. In D. J. Clandin (Ed.) Handbook of narrative inquiry mapping a methodology, 35–75. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cortazzi, M. (1993). Narrative analysis. London: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2008). Introduction: Critical methodologies and indigenous inquiry. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln & L. Tuhiwai Smith, (Eds.) Handbook of critical and indigenous methodologies, 1–20. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dilley, R. (1998). The problem of context. New York: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diversi, M., & Moreira, C. (2009). Betweener talk: decolonizing knowledge production, pedagogy ad praxis. Walnut Creek, Ca: Left Coast Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyotard, J. F. (1984). The post-modern condition: A report on knowledge. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manathunga, C. (2007). Intercultural postgraduate supervision: Ethnographic journeys of identity and power. In D. Palfreyman & D. L. McBride (Eds.) Learning and teaching across cultures in higher education, 93–113. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odora Hoppers, C. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and the integration of knowledge systems: Towards a philosophy of articulation. South Africa: New Africa Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillion, J., & He, M. F. (2008). Multicultural and cross-cultural narrative inquiry in educational research. Thresholds in education, XXXIV, (1 & 2), 2–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Said, E (1999). Orientalism, New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheman, N. (2011). Narrative, complexity, and context: Autonomy as an epistemic value (forthcoming). In H. Lindemann & M. Verkerk (Eds.) Naturalized bio-ethics: Towards responsible knowing and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, D. (2009). Qualitative research in international settings: A practical guide. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomaselli, K. G., Dyll, L., & Francis, M. (2008). ‘Self’ and ‘other’: Auto-reflexive and indigenous ethnography. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln & L. Tuhiwai Smiyh (Eds.) Handbook of critical and indigenous methodologies, 347–372. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trahar, S. (2011). Developing cultural capability in international higher education: A narrative inquiry. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuhiwai Smith, L. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Stephens, D., Trahar, S. (2012). ‘Just Because I’m from Africa, they Think I’ll want to do Narrative’. In: Goodson, I.F., Loveless, A.M., Stephens, D. (eds) Explorations in Narrative Research. Studies in Professional Life and Work, vol 6. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-988-6_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics