3-5 PAGE ESSAY, 1.5 SPACING. ONLY  ASSIGNED TEXTS AS REFERENCES MENTIONED ARE TO BE USED ( I WILL PROVIDE THE ASSIGNED TEXTS). NO ONLINE CITATIONS OR REFERNCES. 

Discuss the importance of these qualitative approaches of inquiry in building and sustaining 

a “critical psychology” that is interested in understanding how: 

1) knowledge is produced, used and appropriated

2) experience is framed and signified (depending on the social, cultural and particular 

context of the group or individual)

3) the underlying ideologies, discourses and relations of power oppress, stigmatize or 

alienate certain sections of society.

Take into account the following when elaborating the essay:

1. You will notice that there are three (3) interests in these approaches of inquiry. I am 

interested in that you at least elaborate one of them. In essence, the three of them are 

inter-related, so elaborating any of them in-depth will be enough for the purposes of this 

essay.

2. There’s several theoretical frameworks (from constructivist and feminist theories to 

colonial and ethnological theories) and methods (ranging from ground theory to analysis 

of discourse and narrative analysis) that you can choose from in your elaboration of 

qualitative approaches of inquiry. Although it would be recommendable that you mention 

them, I am more interested in that you pick only one (a theoretical framework, 

paradigm or method). Pick the one that fits more with your interests or the way you 

make your approach to answer this essay.

3. Remember that the logic here is to discuss how this approaches of inquiry and particular 

interests are related to a more “critical” psychology (at least as Ian Parker defines it). 

Use at least two (2) of the assigned texts of the conference portion of the class. You 

are also welcomed to use the texts assigned to the laboratory sections, as long as they 

apply to your discussion. 

Assigned texts (in the order they were assigned):

Parker, I & Burman, E. (2008). Critical Psychology: Four Theses and Seven Misconceptions.

Hellenic Journal of Psychology 5, 99-115.

Featherson, J. (2008). Qualitative Research. In Stephen F. David & William Buskist (Eds.), 21st 

Century Psychology. A Reference Handbook I (93-102). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Five Qualitative Approaches to Inquiry. In John W. Creswell, 

Qualitative, Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (53-84). 

London: Sage Publications.

Van Dijk, T.A. (1995). Aims of Critical Discourse Analysis. Japanese Discourse I, 17-27.

Langridge, D. (2007). Hermeneutic turn. In Darren Langdridge, Phenomenological Psychology

Theory, Research and Method (41-53). New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Macleod, C. & Bhatia, S. (2008). Postcolonialism and Psychology. In Carla Willig & Wendy 

Stainton-Rogers (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology 

(576-589). Los Angeles: Sage.

Swartz, L. & Rohledger, P. (2008). Cultural Psychology. In Carla Willig & Wendy Stainton-

Rogers (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology (541-553). Los 

Angeles: Sage.