Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Love as an Agent of Justice
Will be published approx. on 25. September 2026
210 pages
E-Book
978-1-040-61280-4 (ISBN)
Description
Endarkened Narrative Inquiry reimagines inquiry as a relational, embodied, and ethical practice. Drawing together theory, lived experience, and guided reflection, it challenges detached models of research and invites more accountable, responsive ways of listening, interpreting, writing, and representing knowledge.
Conceptual grounding is paired with reflective prompts that ask readers to examine positionality, responsibility, and representation in knowledge production. Reflexivity, embodiment, and spirituality are taken up not as supplements to inquiry but as integral to how knowledge is formed, interpreted, and carried forward. In this way, the text supports work that is more attentive, accountable, and grounded in the realities it seeks to engage.
Written for researchers, scholars, graduate students, educators, and reflective practitioners, this book will resonate most with those working across qualitative, narrative, arts-based, and culturally responsive traditions. It speaks to those navigating the strain between who they are and how academic or professional spaces ask them to appear, and who are seeking ways to conduct inquiry without leaving parts of themselves behind.
Conceptual grounding is paired with reflective prompts that ask readers to examine positionality, responsibility, and representation in knowledge production. Reflexivity, embodiment, and spirituality are taken up not as supplements to inquiry but as integral to how knowledge is formed, interpreted, and carried forward. In this way, the text supports work that is more attentive, accountable, and grounded in the realities it seeks to engage.
Written for researchers, scholars, graduate students, educators, and reflective practitioners, this book will resonate most with those working across qualitative, narrative, arts-based, and culturally responsive traditions. It speaks to those navigating the strain between who they are and how academic or professional spaces ask them to appear, and who are seeking ways to conduct inquiry without leaving parts of themselves behind.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Reflowable
Illustrations
2 Line drawings, black and white; 2 Illustrations, black and white
ISBN-13
978-1-040-61280-4 (9781040612804)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 09/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€191.50
Not yet published
Book
approx. 09/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€57.00
Not yet published
Person
Keondria McClish Boyd's work explores human development and the role narratives play in personal and academic growth through an intersectional lens, with particular attention to lifespan, adult education, leadership, and spirituality. She developed Endarkened Narrative Inquiry (ENI) in her 2018 dissertation and continues to extend its contributions across research and practice. Her work has been published in Qualitative Inquiry, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, the Journal of Continuing Higher Education, and the BYU Journal of Public Law.
She has presented widely at conferences and is a member of the Association of Leadership Educators (ALE), a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) through the National Council on Family Relations, and an International Coaching Federation-certified coach. Through her company, Sienna and Slate, Keondria supports scholars, practitioners, and creatives in developing work that is both rigorous and aligned.
She has presented widely at conferences and is a member of the Association of Leadership Educators (ALE), a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) through the National Council on Family Relations, and an International Coaching Federation-certified coach. Through her company, Sienna and Slate, Keondria supports scholars, practitioners, and creatives in developing work that is both rigorous and aligned.
Content
Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction: The Vulnerable, Empowered, and Spirit-Driven Endarkened Narrative
How to Engage This Book
A Word About Who This Book Is For
A Note on Language, Which Shapes How We See and Are Seen
1: When Women of Color Are Free, All People Move Toward Freedom
How We Got Here
Early Feminism and Women's Liberation
Feminism and Women of Color: A Complicated Relationship
Endarkened Feminist Epistemology
Womanism
2: Transformative Love: Shaping the Endarkened Narrative
Narrative Inquiry
Storytelling as Cultural Practice
The Need for Culturally Situated Methodology
Methodological Framework and Constructed Spaces of Inquiry
Endarkened Narrative Tenets
Viola and Pamela's Endarkened Narratives
A Life Lived in Testimony: Viola's Narrative
Grace and Mercy: Pamela's Life Lived in the In-Between
Reflections on Viola and Pamela's Narratives
3: Narrative as Data: Centering Trace-Making, Memory, and Meaning
Epistemological and Ethical Foundations for Culturally Situated Methods
Overview of Methods: Wisdom Whispers and Timelines
Wisdom Whispers
Power- Sharing and Researcher Positioning
Eliciting Wisdom Whispers Through Artistic and Embodied Forms
The Treasure Box Method
Prompts for Wisdom Whispers
Timelines
Ethical Considerations for Vulnerable and Empowered Storytelling
Pamela's Timeline: A Critical Moment
Improvising Ethical Responses
Improvisation to Heighten Creativity
A Note on Language
4: The Story Within the Story: Making Meaning from the Margins
Narrative and Story: A Necessary Distinction
An Example: Black Women's Negotiations of Spirituality and Sexuality
Narrative as Data: Endarkened Narrative Structure and Analytic Approach
Analytic Structure for Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Life's Lessons: Interconnected Aspects of Personhood
Sources of Strength and Barriers: Cultural, Spiritual, and Healing Traditions
Lives, Dreams, and Hopes: Relational Aspects of Experience
(Re)Presenting the Data Through Vulnerable, Empowered, and Spirit-Driven Narratives
The Limitations of Bildungsroman
Vulnerable, Empowered, and Spirit-Driven (VES) Narratives
5: Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
The Role of Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
The Researcher as Embodied Knower
Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Reflection and Reflexivity: Distinctions and Entanglements
How Endarkened Narrative Inquiry Deepens Reflexivity
Relational Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Embodied Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Relational and Embodied Experiences Represented
Creating Space for Relational Reflexivity
Expanding Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Reflexive Cycle for Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Awareness
Relational Engagement
Spiritual and Cultural Integration
Critical Examination
Knowledge Transformation
Documentation and Integration
6: Love as an Agent of Justice Through Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
The Tenets as Agents of Justice
Research that is Personal
Research that is Relational
Research that is Reflexive
Research that Represents
Research that Reclaims
What ENI Can Disrupt and Build
Methods for Data Collection and Analysis
This Work Is Not Finished
But Are Our Brothers Alright? An Open Invitation
Love as Praxis: A Closing Invitation
References
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction: The Vulnerable, Empowered, and Spirit-Driven Endarkened Narrative
How to Engage This Book
A Word About Who This Book Is For
A Note on Language, Which Shapes How We See and Are Seen
1: When Women of Color Are Free, All People Move Toward Freedom
How We Got Here
Early Feminism and Women's Liberation
Feminism and Women of Color: A Complicated Relationship
Endarkened Feminist Epistemology
Womanism
2: Transformative Love: Shaping the Endarkened Narrative
Narrative Inquiry
Storytelling as Cultural Practice
The Need for Culturally Situated Methodology
Methodological Framework and Constructed Spaces of Inquiry
Endarkened Narrative Tenets
Viola and Pamela's Endarkened Narratives
A Life Lived in Testimony: Viola's Narrative
Grace and Mercy: Pamela's Life Lived in the In-Between
Reflections on Viola and Pamela's Narratives
3: Narrative as Data: Centering Trace-Making, Memory, and Meaning
Epistemological and Ethical Foundations for Culturally Situated Methods
Overview of Methods: Wisdom Whispers and Timelines
Wisdom Whispers
Power- Sharing and Researcher Positioning
Eliciting Wisdom Whispers Through Artistic and Embodied Forms
The Treasure Box Method
Prompts for Wisdom Whispers
Timelines
Ethical Considerations for Vulnerable and Empowered Storytelling
Pamela's Timeline: A Critical Moment
Improvising Ethical Responses
Improvisation to Heighten Creativity
A Note on Language
4: The Story Within the Story: Making Meaning from the Margins
Narrative and Story: A Necessary Distinction
An Example: Black Women's Negotiations of Spirituality and Sexuality
Narrative as Data: Endarkened Narrative Structure and Analytic Approach
Analytic Structure for Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Life's Lessons: Interconnected Aspects of Personhood
Sources of Strength and Barriers: Cultural, Spiritual, and Healing Traditions
Lives, Dreams, and Hopes: Relational Aspects of Experience
(Re)Presenting the Data Through Vulnerable, Empowered, and Spirit-Driven Narratives
The Limitations of Bildungsroman
Vulnerable, Empowered, and Spirit-Driven (VES) Narratives
5: Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
The Role of Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
The Researcher as Embodied Knower
Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Reflection and Reflexivity: Distinctions and Entanglements
How Endarkened Narrative Inquiry Deepens Reflexivity
Relational Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Embodied Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Relational and Embodied Experiences Represented
Creating Space for Relational Reflexivity
Expanding Reflexivity in Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Reflexive Cycle for Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
Awareness
Relational Engagement
Spiritual and Cultural Integration
Critical Examination
Knowledge Transformation
Documentation and Integration
6: Love as an Agent of Justice Through Endarkened Narrative Inquiry
The Tenets as Agents of Justice
Research that is Personal
Research that is Relational
Research that is Reflexive
Research that Represents
Research that Reclaims
What ENI Can Disrupt and Build
Methods for Data Collection and Analysis
This Work Is Not Finished
But Are Our Brothers Alright? An Open Invitation
Love as Praxis: A Closing Invitation
References
About the Author
