QUALITATIVE INQUIRY UNDER FIRE

Book excerpt: This collection of recent works by Norman K. Denzin provides a history of the field of qualitative inquiry over the past two decades. As perhaps the leading proponent of this style of research, Denzin has led the way toward more performative writing, toward conceptualizing research in terms of social justice, toward inclusion of indigenous voices, and toward new models of interpretation and representation. In these 13 essays—which originally appeared in a wide variety of sources and are edited and updated here—the author traces how these changes have transformed qualitative practice in recent years. In an era when qualitative inquiry is under fire from conservative governmental and academic bodies, he points the way toward the future, including a renewed dialogue on paradigmatic pluralism.