Patricia Leavy’s Spark as a Novel and Metaphor for Creative Interdisciplinary Research

Authors

Ashleigh Watson, University of New South Wales, SydneyFollow

Abstract

Spark by Patricia Leavy follows Sociology Professor Peyton Wilde as she travels to remote Iceland to participate in a mysterious scholarly seminar. Set in a moody grand manor with an enigmatic host and an eclectic cast of characters, the story blends intellectual intrigue with personal discovery and highlights the strength of Leavy’s social fiction: her characterisation, her use of motifs, and her attention to questions at the heart of scholarly work. This article reflects on the research tensions, interpersonal differences and everyday materialities that animate the story and raise valuable questions for interdisciplinary collaboration. For those interested in fiction and research, whether through creative writing or literary analysis, Spark shows how to blend social research and storytelling in vibrant, imaginative and poetic ways. It demonstrates the possibilities of fusing these realms to create a compelling and thought-provoking narrative.

Keywords

social fiction, narrative, qualitative research, interdisciplinary, creative, storytelling, sociological fiction, character

Author Bio(s)

Ash Watson is a Scientia Fellow and Senior Lecturer with the Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Her research uses creative and qualitative methods to explore how people live with digital technologies and how people imagine the future. She is Fiction Editor of The Sociological Review, where she helms a sociological short story series, and the creator/editor of So Fi Zine, an independent publication for sociological flash fiction, poetry and visual art. Her debut novel Into the Sea was published in the Social Fictions Series by Brill in 2020. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to ashleigh.watson@unsw.edu.au

Publication Date

3-3-2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7947

Recommended APA Citation

Watson, A. (2025). Patricia Leavy’s Spark as a novel and metaphor for creative interdisciplinary research. The Qualitative Report, 30(2), 3186-3192. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7947