In this article Laurel Richardson and Melissa Anyiwo detail Patricia Leavy’s contributions to qualitative inquiry. After providing background information, they provide a thematic look at Leavy’s contribution in the areas of innovation and trailblazing, paradigm shifts, border crossing, creativity and artistry, and social justice and humanitarianism. They conclude with remarks about Leavy’s enduring legacy in the field of qualitative research.
Keywords
Patricia Leavy, arts-based research, social fiction, fiction as research, transdisciplinary research, interdisciplinary research, qualitative inquiry, creativity, paradigm shift, emergent research practices
Author Bio(s)
Laurel Richardson, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Sociology at The Ohio State University. She has been honored with multiple awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Congress of Qualitative Research. She is the author of numerous books including the landmark text, Fields of Play, and recent autoethnographic works such as Seven Minutes from Home: An American Daughter’s Story and Lone Twin: A True Story of Loss and Found.
U. Melissa Anyiwo is a Professor of History and Director of Black Studies at the University of Scranton with 20+ years’ experience. The focus of her career has been advancing the representation and inclusion of minoritized communities and individuals to aid expanding knowledge and understanding of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). Her teaching includes the U.S. History and Culture sequence, where she regularly uses texts by Patricia Leavy to enhance and a range of Black Studies courses based in historiography often using the vampire as an inclusive pedagogy. She has published on inclusive practices including “That’s Not What I Signed Up For”: Teaching Millennials about Difference through First-Year Learning Communities” in Outside/In in Teaching Race & Anti-Racism in Contemporary America (2013) and “Using Vampires to Explore Diversity and Alienation in a College Classroom” in The Vampire Goes to College (2013). Finally, she starred in the WVIA Short “It’s More Than Hair” (2023), the Podcast Systemic episode “Policing Black Bodies” (2023) and the documentary “Lestat, Louis, and the Vampire Phenomenon” for the Interview with the Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition DVD (Warner Brothers, 2014). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Melissa Anyiwo at melissa.anyiwo@scranton.edu
Richardson, L., & Anyiwo, U. M. (2025). Celebrating Dr. Patricia Leavy’s body of work: An introduction to this special issue. The Qualitative Report, 30(2), 3125-3131. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7941
