At the turn of the 21st century, after decades of resisting the quantitative imperative, qualitative psychology and the psychological humanities seemed to have found some respite. However, the sense of stability was soon disrupted by the posthuman and postqualitative critique of humanism and the conventional assumptions and practices of qualitative research. How have (qualitative) psychologists responded to this? For the most part, they have chosen to either sweep the ‘posts’ under the rug or to carelessly dismiss them as faddish folderol. This collection supports a more grounded response, not by persuading readers that ‘post inquiry’ is good and should be accepted, but by helping them evaluate its claims thoughtfully. This is one of the first collections to address questions such as:
- What is post qualitative inquiry and where did it come from?
- What does posthumanism mean for our understanding of ourselves as persons?
- What should we make of the ‘critical’ in critical posthumanisms?
- Are qualitative and postqualitative inquiries incommensurable?
- What might the ‘posts’ mean to phenomenology and ethnography?
This volume includes contributions from leading voices such as Elisabeth St.Pierre, Svend Brinkmann, and Vivienne Bozalek, as well as emerging scholars who were introduced to research in a period characterised by multiple competing paradigms. This book was originally published as a special issue of Qualitative Research in Psychology.
This volume examines how (qualitative) psychologists have responded to the posthuman and postqualitative critique of humanism and the conventional assumptions and practices of qualitative research.
The critical posthumanities and postqualitative inquiry in psychology:
an introduction
1. A primer for post qualitative inquiry
2. Persons in a
posthuman world
3. Experience without essentialism: on posting
phenomenology
4. Failing ethnographies as post-qualitative possibilities:
reflections from critical posthumanities and critical disability studies
5.
Critical posthumanisms, postqualitative inquiry, and conventional qualitative
research: some interrogations and contemplations on their entangled
identities and futurities
6. Making the universe together: Baradian
inspirations for the future of qualitative psychology
7. Psychology, the
posts, and qualitative research: a conclusion
Javier Monforte is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at the University of València, Spain.
Brett Smith is a professor in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Durham University, UK.
