Interpretive Biography (Qualitative Research Methods)

Like all writing, biographies are interpretive. They require no less than organizing into text the chaos of human existence. Interpretive Biography Norman Denzin 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, he reexamines the biographical and autobiographical genres. The book points up the inherent weaknesses in traditional biographical forms, and outlines a new way in which biographies should be conceptualized and shaped.

With numerous examples taken from his own work and those of past biographies, this practical volume makes provocative reading for all social scientists.

"I believe most sociologists will find this work useful because of several contributions. Of particular merit here is the development of the sociological enterprise along lines of the ′′sociological imagination.′′ Denzin not only adds to the Mills tradition, but also extends it . . . most useful for those also versed in phenomenological and cognitive theories."

--Teaching Sociology

"Denzin′s critical grasp of the subtle issues in biography production can serve as conceptual benchmarks in the production of biographical ′′texts′′ in the field."

--Nexus: The Canadian Student Journal of Anthropology

"In five short chapters, Interpretive Biography provides an excellent guide to the assumptions of the biographical method, to its key terms, and to the strategies for gathering and interpreting such materials. In this book, he introduces the key concept of epiphany, or turning points in person′s lives. Along the way, a host of examples are provided, making this an extremely valuable volume for practitioners of the method."

--The Sociological Review

"Skillfully uses examples from sociological life stories to show deficiencies in current research procedures and the new dimensions that semiotic analysis can add."

--Contemporary Sociology

"A welcome addition to the literature on qualitative research methodology."

--Qualitative Studies in Education

Norman K. Denzin was Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Communications, College of Communications Scholar, and Research Professor of Communications, Sociology, and Humanities at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. One of the world’s foremost authorities on qualitative research and cultural criticism, he was the author or editor of more than 30 books, including The Qualitative Manifesto; Qualitative Inquiry Under Fire; Reading Race; Interpretive Ethnography; The Cinematic Society; The Alcoholic Self; and a trilogy on the American West. He was past editor of The Sociological Quarterly, co-editor of six editions of the landmark SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, co-editor (with Michael D. Giardina) of 18 books on qualitative inquiry, co-editor (with Yvonna S. Lincoln and Michael D. Giardina) of the methods journal Qualitative Inquiry, founding editor of Cultural Studies-Critical Methodologies and International Review of Qualitative Research, editor of four book series, and founding director of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry.