Things That Tell: An Object-Centered Methodology for Restorying Women’s Longing and Belonging

Abstract

Developments in qualitative research methods recognize the benefits of working with material objects to evoke memories, stories, and reflections on specific topics. Through engagement with materialist theory and methods, our research demonstrates that more than simply eliciting storied responses, self-chosen material objects can in fact co-tell stories in novel ways. This article draws on our storied experiences as a group of women who took part in a four-day residential storying retreat. Our qualitatively driven research employed a range of multi-modal methodologies; however, this article focuses on a particular method that involved co-telling personal stories with the aid of self-selected objects. This method embodies the emotive and co-constitutive power, relational materiality, and reflective potency of object-centered storying. The article builds on and extends qualitative methodologies that value more-than-rational ways of researching.