The concept of difference occupies a central place in the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. In this work, David Bright explores how Deleuze's difference can be put to work in critical qualitative research. The book explores research and writing as a creative process of dynamically pursuing problems. Following Deleuze's advice not tothink of problems in terms of solutions, the book offers important methodological insights into the ways the subjects, objects, and processes of research might be conceived and represented in writing, exploring the problem of thinking and writing about difference in complex ways without reducing thought to static representations of identity. Bright uses the example of foreign teachers and international schooling in Vietnam to show us how Deleuze's difference can be used in critical qualitative research, demonstrating the limits of traditional ways of thinking about difference in learning and teaching.
Exploring Deleuze's Philosophy of Difference is a book that will interest all those with an interest in the application of Deleuze's philosophy to critical qualitative research.
Perfect for courses such as: Critical Qualitative Research Qualitative Inquiry Post-qualitative Inquiry Deleuze Difference Identity Ethnography English Language Teaching International Education Writing as a Method of Inquiry
Industry Reviews
By questioning both the object and the subject of teaching, this book challenges us to think in new ways about the processes involved in imparting new knowledge and skills to students. If it refuses to call itself a book in the traditional sense of the word, then it is because it carefully and skillfully sidesteps offering answers and instead, following Deleuze's great advice, it pursues questions and problems, pushing them to their limits. That limit point, interestingly enough, is revealed as the point where, rather unexpectedly, but entirely convincingly, Deleuze and Derrida meet. The book doesn't make the mistake of conflating the two, but it does open up a very nice picture of the two shaking hands over the corpse of traditional ways of thinking about language teaching."" - Professor Ian Buchanan, Cultural Studies, Indigenous Studies, Science & Technology Studies and Environmental Humanities (Discipline leader), University of Wollongong, Australia