Phenomenological methods: Making meaning of lived experiences

When a dissertation research project exploring the impact of mind - body practices on symptoms of depression and anxiety in pregnant women with a history of miscarriage failed to yield statistically significant results, I struggled with how to demonstrate that I had gleaned knowledge from this project of nearly 3 years. When a series of parallel pregnancy losses occurred in my own life, I realized that I am heavily situated within the context of my research and need to consider my data in a different sense; one that acknowledges my own self within this process while attempting to capture the lived experiences of others. The shift to autoethnography afforded me the opportunity to demonstrate that knowledge can be generated through multiple methodologies, with one approach not being privileged over another. As this dissertation moved from an empirical study to a qualitative, autoethnographic piece, I was able to identify themes surfacing from the literature, my own experiences and participation in a pregnancy loss support group. The themes discussed include: making meaning from the experience, granting personhood status and grieving and other emotional expression.

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Transitions and Transformations: Extracts from a Duoethnographic Exploration of Gender Identities in Canada and China

Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry ◽

10.18733/cpi29373 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth McNeilly ◽

Ling Lei

Keyword(s):

Lived Experiences ◽

Research Method ◽

Life Experiences ◽

Gender Identities ◽

Making Meaning ◽

Personal Stories ◽

Learning Journey ◽

Institutional Expectations ◽

Participatory Inquiry ◽

Compare And Contrast

Employing the research method of duoethnography, two researchers participate in a co-learning journey, making meaning of their personal stories through writing, critical reflections and theoretical discussions about gender identities. By sharing narratives concerning their significant lived experiences, the researchers compare and contrast major cultural and economic influences on themselves and their families. The authors demonstrate in vivid ways how their perceptions of their identities as girls, women, and mothers have changed over time. Through this process, they create a platform to discuss ways in which their identities and life experiences have been and continue to be influenced by societal and institutional expectations. Keywords: Gender identities, participatory inquiry, extended epistemology, duoethnography

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Making Meaning of the Colonial Experience: Reading Things Falling Apart through the Prism of Alfred Schutz’s Phenomenology

Janus Head ◽

10.5840/jh201615118 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 157-177

Author(s):

Dominic Ofori ◽

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Lived Experiences ◽

Meaning Making ◽

Close Reading ◽

The Novel ◽

Making Meaning ◽

Colonial Experience ◽

Things Fall Apart

This essay offers a Schutzian reading of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, arguing that the so-called critical ambivalence in Chinua Achebe’s hermeneutic of the colonial experience makes sense if situated within his lived experiences in colonial Nigeria. Grounding its interpretation of Achebe’s meaning-making of the colonial experience in Schutz’s phenomenology, the essay begins with a close reading of the novel itself, highlighting significant areas of ambivalence. Next, it explicates Schutz’s (1967) constructs of intersubjectivity and phenomenology of literature. In the next section in which Achebe’s biography is examined, an attempt is made to show how a Schutzian reading of Achebe’s social relationships can help us understand his account of the colonial experience as represented in his first novel. Ultimately, the paper concludes by noting that the ambivalence that charactterizes Things Fall Apart reflects the author’s realism and investment in both the African and European cultures he sought to critique.

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