Hermeneutic Phenomenological Research and Writing
Hermeneutic Phenomenological Research and Writing
EDCP 585 Winter 2015; Wed 4:30-7:30, Scarfe 1210
Norman Friesen, PhD (norman.friesen@ubc.ca)
What is the experience of an exhilarating moment in class? How does a child live through failure or abandonment (and what can we actually “know” about it)? The purpose of this course is to give a “hands-on” introduction to the methods involved in the research of the nature and meaning of these and other lived experiences. Based largely on the work of Max van Manen, but relying on texts by Heidegger, Gadamer, Merleau-Ponty and others, it focuses on the practices of writing and analysis in hermeneutic phenomenological research. It is intended to provide students with an opportunity to learn about and apply of hermeneutic phenomenology as it relates to MEd or doctoral research projects. It will engage students in a number of hermeneutic phenomenological research practices, including descriptive writing (and re-writing), interviewing, conceptual clarification and the thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Students will also learn about phenomenological research as a way of formulating a research question, and of “dwelling with” that question as research progresses.