Qualitative Methods in Genealogical Research: New Approaches to Studying Intergenerational Memory

Dear Colleagues,

In the sociology of knowledge, some scholars argue that human memory can only function within a collective context (Halbwachs, 1968/2018). Others place the search for knowledge within the discipline of genealogy (Foucault, 2022; Mendoza, 2024). Qualitative research, on the other hand, is where sociology and philosophy intersect (Silverman, 2020; Adorno, 2022; Adorno, 1976). Genealogy, in the context of this volume, refers to the ancestry or history of a discipline, profession, or people (Haley, 1976/2021; Martin, 2016; Nietzsche, 1887/2022). Moreover, the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought about change and continuity in qualitative research (Jung, 2019; Mosweu, 2025). Perhaps the image that best informs how we conduct research is that of “Sankofa,” which involves using past knowledge and experiences to build a different and better future (Bush et al, 2025; Ahmed & Gyamerah, 2025). Sankofa serves as a reminder that research is informed by historical knowledge and a remembrance of the past, and, as qualitative researchers, we remember the philosophical paradigms that shape our worldviews. The image of Sankofa is also a fitting reminder of the role that memory or history plays in how we understand research.

As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, multiple paradigms and frameworks have emerged, making it possible to question and expand upon what is known and what might be accomplished through new studies of intergenerational memory. At the same time, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has not brought about the envisaged apocalypse nor has it brought about total integration (Hopenhayn, 2001). Cultures, buildings, and historical documents even serve as reminders of the role that intergenerational memory plays in society (Rusu & Croitoru, 2021). For example, Adorno’s “Never Again: Education After Auschwitz” is a reminder of the role of education in preventing a recurrence of Auschwitz (Adorno, 2005). Our understanding of life is shaped by long and complex histories, influenced by culture, place, time, power, and identity (Dussel, 2013), and memory enables us to better understand the paths that have led to the recent shift toward alternatives to the past and yearnings for new worlds (Mannheim, 1952/2018; Armah, 2013).

The interdisciplinary and rapidly growing field of qualitative research raises awareness about how we navigate and celebrate life. Given this context, authors will be expected to pursue their individual projects in light of the following set of broad research questions: In what places, genres, and media—narrative, visual, architectural, scholarly, educational, medical, etc.—are memories of the past articulated and elaborated? How does qualitative research expose or inform the types of erasure, erosion, and amnesia that accompany contemporary images of what is remembered? How do memories, both positive and negative, inform projects on human preservation and transformation? In what ways and contexts do memories/genealogies link up with Fourth Industrial Revolution educational debates and social projects? What challenges can new insights address on intergenerational memory? How are new technologies shaping the field of qualitative research? We ask this because, as we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the interregnum presents an opportunity to give birth to something new in relation to the promises of the old paradigms (Armah, 1968/2021) or a relapse into barbarism (Horkheimer, 2019; Orwell, 1949). Finally, how do memories inform the value and purpose of the qualitative research community so many years after the publication of The Positivist Dispute in German Sociology and Minima Moralia: Reflections from Damaged Life? 

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors mmalisa@uwf.edu or to the Genealogy Editorial Office (genealogy@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

References

Adorno, T. W. (1976). The Positivist Dispute in German Sociology. Heinemann.

Adorno, T. W. (2005). Constellations. Columbia University Press.

Adorno, T. W. (2022). Philosophy and Sociology. Polity Press

Adorno, T. W. (1949/2022). Minima Moralia: Reflections from Damaged Life. Verso Books.

Ahmed, A., & Gyamerah, K. 2025). Sankofa: Towards Africa-centered research methodological framework.  International Journal of Social Research Methodology.

Armah, A. (2013). KMT: In the House of Life. Per Ankh.

Armah, A. (1968/2021). The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. Heinemann.

Bush, L. et al. (2025). Sankofa (Re)search Model: (RE)membering, (Re)storing, and (Re)birthing Black Boys and Men. Little Black Book.

Dussel, E. (2013). Ethics of Liberation: In the Age of Globalization and Exclusion. Duke University Press.

Foucault, M. (1982/2021). The Archaeology of Knowledge: And the Discourse on Language. Vintage.

Halbwachs, M. (1968/2018) Collective Memory. University of France.

Haley, A. (1976/2021). Roots: The Saga of an American Family.

Hopenhayn, M. (2001). No Apocalypse, No Integration: Modernism and Postmodernism in Latin America. Duke University Press.

Horkheimer, M. (2019). Towards a New Manifesto: Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer. Verso.

Jung, J. (2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution, knowledge production and higher education in South Korea. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2019.1660047.

Mannheim, K. (1952/2018). The Problem of Generations: Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. Oxford University Press.

Martin, R. E. (2016). Historical Genealogy: The Evolving Definition and Uses of an Ancillary Historical Discipline: Guest Editor’s Introduction. Russian Studies in History, 55(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611983.2016.121401.

Mendoza, C. (2024).  Genealogy of Knowledge.

Mosweu, T. (2025). Oral Traditions/Histories in Times of Technological Revolution and Pandemics in Society: A Wake-Up Call for Memory Institutions. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Nietzsche, F. (1887/2022). The Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic. Penguin Classics.

Orwell, G. (1949/ 2019). 1984. Mariner Books.

Rusu, M., & Croitoru, A. (2021). Memorial Ambivalences in Postcommunist Romania: Generational Attitudes towards the Symbolic Legacy of Communism. Genealogy.

Silverman, D. (2020). Qualitative Research. Sage Publications.

Dr. Mark Malisa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• qualitative research
• Fourth Industrial Revolution
• memory
• genealogy