Robert J. Helfenbein

Methodology and Praxis: Thinking with Patti Lather examines the work of Patti Lather and its importance at the intersections of curriculum theory, cultural studies, and critical qualitative research. The book explores the impact of Lather's work on the field both broadly and in specific and to engage with her ideas and methods in innovative ways.

Since 1988, Patti Lather has been a faculty member at Ohio State University’s School of Educational Policy and Leadership, where she teaches qualitative research, feminist methodology, and courses on gender and education. She has authored four influential books: Getting Smart: Feminist Research and Pedagogy With/in the Postmodern (1991 Critics Choice Award); Troubling the Angels: Women Living with HIV/AIDS (co-written with Chris Smithies, 1998 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title); Getting Lost: Feminist Efforts Toward a Double(d) Science (2008 Critic’s Choice Award); and Engaging (Social) Science: Policy from the Side of the Messy (awarded the Critic’s Choice Award in 2010 and 2011).

Dr. Lather has delivered lectures extensively both nationally and internationally, and has held several distinguished visiting lectureships. Her research explores (post)critical, feminist, and poststructural theories, with her recent work focusing on how the demand for scientifically-based research in education affects qualitative inquiry. She has served in visiting roles at institutions such as the University of British Columbia, Goteborg University, York University, and the Danish Pedagogy Institute, and in 1995 she undertook a sabbatical at the Humanities Research Institute at the University of California, Irvine, where she led a seminar on feminist research methodology. Her accolades include a 1989 Fulbright to New Zealand and induction as an AERA Fellow in 2009.

Lather is a prominent and prolific scholar whose work has been influential in shaping the multiple fields, challenging conventional understandings of research and knowledge, and advocating for social justice and equity in education. This collection represents diverse group of scholars that build on these contributions and showcase the diverse ways.  Contributors in this volume include scholars in educational theory, social science, research methodology, feminist social theory, and curriculum theorizing.

Perfect for courses such as: Cultural Studies of Education; Qualitative Research Methodology; Contemporary Curriculum Theory; Advanced Qualitative Inquiry; Feminist Theory and Methodology; Education Policy Studies; Research In Education