Circling the Text: Nomadic Writing Practices

The  sixth moment  of  qualitative inquiry demands that researchers rethink traditional definitions  of ethical  research  practices. In  addition,  the  crisis  of representation  demands that researchers rethink the  function of  writing  in qualitative research. In this article, the  author  illustrates how  she  used  Deleuze’s  ethical  principles as  well  as Deleuze  and Guattari’s figurations  of  the  rhizome, the fold, the  nomad,  and  haecceity  to  address  both of  these issues  in her  study  of  the  construction  of subjectivity of  a group  of older, White southern  women  in her  hometown.  Mapping  how  her  understanding  of subjectivity  has shifted  as  she  has  employed  these figurations in  her  writing,  she  suggests that texts can be  the  site  of ethical work  as researchers use  writing  to help  them  think  differently – an ethical practice of  post foundational inquiry – about both the topic of  their studies and the  methodology.

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