Critical Qualitative Methodologies in Gender and Sexuality: Key Concepts

This collection foregrounds the experiences, perspectives, and insights of emerging and established scholars who creatively and expansively approach the study of gender and sexuality through qualitative methodologies. By emphasizing positionality and subjectivity, contributors explore the ethical and responsible dimensions of inquiry, offering fresh perspectives on critical qualitative research.
Divided into three sections, the text provides a comprehensive exploration of innovative approaches. The first section, “(Re)conceptualizations of Gender and Sexuality,” re-envisions the possibilities of critical qualitative research in these fields. The second section, “Methodologies of Co-Construction, Participation, and Community-Engagement,” delves into reciprocal, ethical, and reflexive research practices. The third section, “Arts-Based and Contemplative Methodologies,” highlights the transformative potential of multimodal and arts-based methods in exploring questions of gender and sexuality.
Ideal for scholars at all stages of their research journey, this text offers praxis-oriented examples and cutting-edge methodologies. It serves as an invaluable resource for those seeking to expand their understanding of gender and sexuality through innovative qualitative research approaches.

Maureen A. Flint is an Associate Professor in Qualitative Research at the University of Georgia and an affiliated faculty member with the Institute for Women’s Studies. She teaches courses on qualitative research design, theory, and pedagogy. Maureen holds a BFA in fashion design from Pratt Institute and an MA in higher education administration and PhD in educational research from the University of Alabama. Her scholarship brings together commitments to the theory, practice, and teaching of qualitative methodologies with sustained attention to questions of equity and justice in higher education. Specifically, her work explores the generative potential of sonic, visual, and artful approaches to qualitative inquiry and pedagogy, informed by feminist and other critical philosophies.

Luis R. Alvarez-Hernandez, PhD, MSW, LICSW is a queer Puerto Rican social work practitioner, educator, and researcher. He is a community-engaged scholar, centering the transformational possibilities of iteratively linking research, community, and practice. His research focuses on the structural and social determinants of health of Latine, LGBTQ+, and immigrant communities with a particular attention to the liberatory experiences of people living at the intersections of these identities. He is the author of the award-winning book, "See Me! Gay and Trans Latinos' Testimonios on Mental Health, Discrimination, and Joy in South Texas." He teaches graduate courses at Boston University School of Social Work.

Janie Copple is an Assistant Professor in Research, Measurement and Statistics in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Her research explores qualitative research methodologies and pedagogies, specifically feminist critical materialist approaches to narrative, autoethnographic and arts-based research as well as topics on motherhood and puberty education.

Joseph D. Sweet is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke whose research explores intersections among English education, gender, art, ethics and philosophy. Some of this work can be found in Qualitative Inquiry, Reconceptualizing Educational Research Methodology, International Review of Qualitative Research, Teachers College Record, Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, and Gender and Education. Joe holds a BA and MA in Dramatic Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara, an MA in English Education from City University of New York, Hunter College, and a PhD from Arizona State University. Prior to entering academia, Joe served nine years in The Bronx and Flagstaff, Arizona as a secondary English and theatre teacher.

Whitney Toledo (Pociask) holds a PhD from the University of Georgia in Educational Administration and Policy, along with a M.Ed and a B.A. in Social Studies Education. Her research interests include Black homeschool education, political communication, and research in policy-making decisions.