Fulbright Labyrinths

Book excerpt: In this provocative work, Virginia Milhouse demonstrates how autoethnography combines creative and analytical practices to help bring to consciousness some complex social and political agendas hidden in narratorial writings. It demonstrates how an arts-based qualitative research method (narrative inquiry) can be fused with a scientific-based quantitative method (DMIS-IDI) and compliment, support and or correct each other. It also demonstrates how "writing as a method of inquiry" can be a viable way for researchers to learn about themselves and their research, as well as features standards for evaluating creatively and analytically constructed text. Further, the author's examination of the aesthetics of "inner-readiness" and "in-betweeness" will be very helpful to people doing this kind of self-reflexive fieldwork. The reader will also appreciate this author's recognition of the importance of combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies--something not many writers can do with great success. Also, this book will be a real contribution to sojourners and others traveling or living abroad. The work is very smart; and, is, beautifully and clearly written. The 'labyrinth' quote at the beginning of her work is very fitting and certainly promises to illustrate those words.