Crafted Stories: Interpretive Leaps in Hermeneutic Phenomenology with Professor Susan Crowther

How can a researcher shape a participant’s words without losing the meaning of their experience?In this episode of The Phenomenology Collective, we explore crafted stories as a creative, interpretive and philosophically grounded practice within hermeneutic phenomenology.We are joined by Professor Susan Crowther, Professor of Midwifery at Auckland University of Technology, whose work brings together phenomenology, ecological thinking and a lifelong commitment to relational care. Susan helps us consider how phenomenological researchers can move beyond simply reporting what participants say and begin to reveal meanings that may otherwise remain concealed or taken for granted.At the heart of our conversation is the crafted story: an account carefully developed from interview material through a process of dwelling, interpreting, pruning and writing. Susan also reads a crafted story from her own research, allowing us not only to discuss this form of phenomenological writing, but to experience its emotional and evocative possibilities.In this episode, we discuss:What makes hermeneutic phenomenology distinctiveMoving from description towards phenomenological interpretationWhat crafted stories are—and what they are notThe relationship between crafting, analysis and representationVoice, power, ethics and trustworthinessHow rhythm, mood and reading aloud can reveal lived meaningWhy phenomenological writing should speak to us emotionally as well as intellectuallyA rich and thought-provoking conversation about the craft of phenomenological research—and the possibilities that emerge when we allow stories to do more than simply report experience.