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Symbolic interactionism is one of the most enduring - and certainly the most sociological - of all social psychologies. In this landmark work, Norman K. Denzin traces its tortured history from its roots in American pragmatism to its present-day encounter with poststructuralism and postmodernism. Arguing that if interactionism is to continue to thrive and grow it must incorporate elements of post structural and post-modern theory into its underlying views of history, culture and politics, the author develops a research agenda which merges the interactionist sociological imagination with the critical insights on contemporary feminism and cultural studies. Norman Denzin's programmatic analysis of symbolic interactionism, which develops a politics of interpretation merging theory and practice, will be welcomed by students and scholars in a wide range of disciplines, from sociology to cultural studies.

Like all writing, biographies are interpretive. In Interpretive Autoethnography, Norman Denzin combines one of the oldest techniques in the social sciences with one of the newest. Bringing in elements of postmodernism and interpretive social science, he reexamines the biographical and autobiographical genres as methods for qualitative researchers. Grounded in theory and rigorous analysis, this accessible book points up the inherent weaknesses in traditional biographical forms and outlines a new way in which biographies should be conceptualized and shaped. The book provides a guide to the assumptions of the biographical method, to its key terms, and to the strategies for gathering and interpreting such materials. Denzin introduces the key concept of "epiphany," or turning points in person’s lives. A final chapter returns to autoethnography’s primary purpose: to make sense of our fragmented lives.

Theoretical foundation for nursing as a science/ Ragnar Fjelland and Eva Gjengedal -- Is a science of caring possible?/Margaret J. Dunlop -- A Heideggerian phenomenological perspective on the concept of person/ Victoria W. Leonard -- Hermeneutic phenomenology:a methodology for family health and health promotion study in nursing/ Karen A. Plager -- Toward a new medical ethics: implications for ethics in nursing/ David C. Thomasma -- The tradition and skill of interpretive phenomenology in studying health, illness and caring practices/ Patricia Benner -- MARTIN, a computer software program: on listening to what the text says/ Nancy L. Diekelmann, Robert Schuster,and Sui-Lun Lam -- Beyond normalizing: the role of narrative in understanding teenage mothers' transition to mothering/ Lee Smithbattle -- Patients' caring practices with schizophrenic offspring/ Catherine A. Chesla -- Parenting in public: parental participation and involvement in the care of their hospitalized child/ Philip Darbyshire -- A clinical ethnography of stroke recovery/ Nancy D. Doolittle -- Moral dimensions of living with a chronic illness: autonomy, responsibility, and limits of control/ Patricia Benner, Susan Janson-Bjerklie, Sandra Ferketich and Gay Becker -- The ethical context of nursing care of dying patients in critical care/ Peggy L. Wros -- The ethics of ambiguity and concealment around cancer: interpretations through a local Italian world/ Deborah R. Gordon -- Narrative methodology in disaster studies: rescuers of Cyprus/ Cynthia M. Stuhlmiller.

This is a collection of articles dealing with the point of view of symbolic interactionism and with the topic of methodology in the discipline of sociology. It is written by the leading figure in the school of symbolic interactionism, and presents what might be regarded as the most authoritative statement of its point of view, outlining its fundamental premises and sketching their implications for sociological study. Blumer states that symbolic interactionism rests on three premises: that human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings of things have for them; that the meaning of such things derives from the social interaction one has with one's fellows; and that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process.

This book provides invaluable guidance for thinking through and planning a qualitative study. Rather than offering recipes for specific techniques, master storyteller Robert Stake stimulates readers to discover "how things work" in organizations, programs, communities, and other systems. Topics range from identifying a research question to selecting methods, gathering data, interpreting and analyzing the results, and producing a well-thought-through written report. In-depth examples from actual studies emphasize the role of the researcher as instrument and interpreter, while boxed vignettes and learning projects encourage self-reflection and critical thinking. Other useful pedagogical features include quick-reference tables and charts, sample project management forms, and an end-of-book glossary. After reading this book, doctoral students and novice qualitative researchers will be able to plan a study from beginning to end.

'Interpretive Biography' combines one of the oldest techniques in the social sciences and humanities with one of the newest. Bringing in elements of postmodernism and interpretive social science, it re-examines the biographical and autobiographical genres.