Writing in the Dark: Phenomenological Studies in Interpretive Inquiry

Writing in the Dark brings together a wide range of studies of relevance to qualitative researchers and professional practitioners. Each chapter is an example of how a different kind of human experience may be explored, and how the methods used for investigating phenomena may contribute to the process of human understanding. Max van Manen provides the opening and closing chapters for the book, and also an introduction to each selection. The authors are all accomplished professionals in their respective fields; they show how the challenge of doing qualitative research can be pursued through the process of inquiry, reflection and writing. The sixteen chapters offer the reader compelling insights into topics of concern to education, health science, clinical psychology, information technology, the designing arts, pedagogy, and related dimensions of everyday life. Writing in the dark is a valuable and rich resource for people who would like to learn more about phenomenological reflection and writing.

Max van Manen is emeritus Professor in Research Methods, Pedagogy and Curriculum Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta and Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria. He is the leading proponent of the practice and meaning of phenomenological inquiry in pedagogy, psychology, health science, and the human sciences. He is author of books on phenomenology and on pedagogy, including Childhood’s Secrets: Intimacy, Privacy, and the Self Reconsidered  (with Bas Levering, 1996), Phenomenology of Practice: Meaning-Giving Methods in Phenomenological Research and Writing (2014), and Pedagogical Tact: Knowing What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do  (2015). He has had his books translated into many languages. Max van Manen has also authored numerous articles and chapters on pedagogy, health science, curriculum, qualitative research methods, and phenomenology. He founded the journal Phenomenology and Pedagogy and developed the website PhenomenologyOnline. He is recipient of an honorary doctorate, and he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Curriculum Division of the American Educational Research Association among many other awards and distinctions.