This article opens with a problematisation of how one can meaningfully discuss the concept of quality in a methodology as notoriously 'murky' as narrative research. Unlike other kinds of qualitative ...approaches, there is a lack of consensus of what constitutes narrative, much less a clearly prescribed protocol for ascertaining evaluation. It then proceeds by outlining three features of narrative research (the importance of stories, the 'messy' nature of the data, and the attention to temporality), and then provides a close reading of an extract of an interview with a political activist who describes how she made her decision to break the law. Finally, drawing on the previous discussion, there is a non-exhaustive checklist of quality indicators for narrative research.
The death of Black Theology of Liberation (BTL) has been announced, and many were invited to the funeral. This article rejects vehemently such a death as a myth, and provides two reasons why such a ...theology would have a place to address theologising in the world. It firstly argues that BTL attributes its birth through stories. These stories are captured in history; embodied stories that are told. Secondly, it is found in a broader epistemology than that provided by the Enlightenment paradigm. Therefore, it is not only found in conceptual, argumentative discourses, but other forms of knowledge systems, including stories, poetry, and personal storytelling. However, this has still not been equally appreciated and explored. Taking the above two reasons into account, the death of BTL cannot be announced by academics, since they were never the sole custodians thereof, only recipients of the tradition of an oppressed people.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article has implications for how theology is being done in all theology-related disciplines, moving from context, to scripture, to context in a continuous hermeneutical circle. It addresses the way in which all theological disciplines have been functioning within the Enlightenment paradigm, and how black theology itself has lent itself to it, but is continually reforming, because of its nature to be narrative in its approach.
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