Under the Sign of Hope: Feminist Methodology and Narrative Interpretation

Bloom, L.R. (1988) Under the Sign of Hope: Feminist Methodology and Narrative Interpretation. Albany: SUNY Press

This book is about feminist research in terms of the relationship between the researcher and the researched as well as the aims of feminist research as compared to other approaches of research. Feminist research practices and human subjectivity suggest that feminist researchers need to be more thoughtful and critical about how they analyze and interpret personal narratives of other people. The book focuses on the possibilities and limitations of feminist research in terms of the researcher-participant relationship as well as how feminist narrative interpretations may create a context in which subjectivity can be engaged as a basis for the study of women’s lives. Issues that emerge in feminist methodology such as the use of personal narratives of women as sources of data are discussed in the book. In self-reflection the author argues that a feminist researcher is also open to critical scrutiny by herself as well as her readers and other researchers.