Short Stories for Social Research

This innovative volume focuses on social fiction as both a methodological tool and a research product. Drawing on original stories and social theories, this diverse group of authors offers their perspectives to provide a practical guide for developing skills in utilizing social fiction throughout the research process, from study design to the delivery of research outcomes.
While many authors share original works of social fiction in their chapters, others focus on the value of stories, particularly when stories are sacred and cannot be shared in full. Across these approaches, the book broadens the definition of social fiction and demonstrates its power to reimagine research and knowledge-making. This approach fosters a holistic understanding of the relationship between social fiction and research, encouraging researchers to draw on insights from various disciplines.
This interdisciplinary book is for novice and seasoned researchers alike who can recognize the potential of social fiction, as well as scholars and students in the social sciences, humanities, Indigenous studies, and education who use qualitative research in their work. By engaging with this text, readers can develop critical skills in crafting narratives, integrating social theories, and applying fiction as a methodological tool.

List of Contributors Acknowledgement Preface Introduction Part 1: Short Stories to Conceptualize Research 1. "Ethical Mindfulness and the Decision to Use Social Fiction as Method/olgy," by Cecile Sam 2. "Postmodernism, Situational Mapping, and The Prisoner," by Ane Johnson 3. "This is a Truth about Canada: Making Mindfully with Indigenous-Settler Relations," by Anita Sinner Part 2: Short Stories for Data Collection and Analysis 4. "Guilty Bi Association: Queering Bildungsroman & Short Story as Researcher Reflexivity" by Nathaniel Smith 5. "Playing the Death Game: Comics-Based Social Storytelling in Preschool Ethnography," by Sally Pirie 6. "How Educational Technologies Interpellate Neoliberal Subjects (and how AI will make that even better)," by Jan Dickey, Sang-hyoun Pahk, and Colleen Rost-Banik 7. "Traditional Cultural Camp as an Effective Environmental Research Methodology: Learning Reflections from Kâniyasihk Cultural Camp, Saskatchewan, Canada." by Kevin Lewis, Ranjan Datta, and Jodi Houle Part 3: Short Stories as Product 8. "Lavonne Richardson, DEI Administrator Extraordinaire, and the Use of Social Fiction as Testimony," by Sosanya Jones 9. "I am...Hippolyta: How Speculative Fiction Calls this Black Woman Teacher into a Currere Conversation." by Dowan McNair-Lee 10. "The Death of Woke, The Revival of Justice: Biopower and Resistance in Educational Policy" by Jarrett Gupton 11. Epilogue:" Don't Ignore the AI in the Room" by Cecile Sam and Ane Johnson