As far back as I can remember, I called my family of origin “well-hyphenated”. There was my mom, my half-brother, my step-dad, my “adopted” grandparents (academically, we call this fictive kin), and any number of distant relatives from each. I couldn’t even refer to my father without specifying “biological”, since we hadn’t had a relationship […]
One of the reasons I think caregivers are a rich opportunity for research is that it has not gained much traction as a stage of the life course, but I suspect that is about to change. The demographics are overwhelming: Baby Boomers are living much longer than previous generations and the economy is not structured […]
I probably could use some, but I’m just getting back into reflective writing. As I’ve said before, I have some history with confessional blogging. I suppose I can share what I learned there: I write reflexively fairly naturally, because I’m an introspective processor who needs an external audience (even if that audience is a pen […]
This week, we took this Internet quiz for an approximation of our research paradigms. My result, above, filled me with dread — not because Foucault’s work isn’t important and influential, not because I don’t share his eagerness to unpack everything with an eye toward questioning power and custom — but because his prose is just […]
I. I noticed last week while reviewing Daly, Chapter 1, how much qualitative research reminds me of the Tao Te Ching, the closest thing I have to a holy book. I grew up in a pretty apathistic home; I thought I was a Christian just because everyone else was until I was about 14, then […]
One of the biases that I should, perhaps, acknowledge in much of my work ahead is that I’m something of a post-positivist and certainly a post-structuralist. I think there is value in approaching questions as if there exist concrete, permanent answers, but I also believe the whole academic apparatus for identifying and defending these answers […]
It’s amazing how quickly online assignments can get away from you. I’m struggling to keep up with the tasks and details of my Qualitative class because they are strewn across multiple interfaces within Instructure. I often get flack for my numerous browser tabs, but in this class navigating them is an asset! Too bad my […]
My Reflexive Researcher Stance My name was not always G.J. Hodson. In another phase (I somewhat flippantly call these my “past lives”), I blogged quite extensively. Mostly about becoming. Even before I knew what I was becoming. What was I becoming? G.J., I guess. G.J. came to graduate school to become a researcher in order […]
Theories of Care 